l, the entertaining cousin of
Spouter.

And now, having introduced these young ladies in a proper manner, let us
return to them at the time when they were struggling on the ice and in
the midst of the frightened crowd rushing hither and thither, striving
to save itself from being immersed in the icy waters of the lake.

"Oh! oh! What shall we do?" cried May in terror, as she clung to her
companion's arm.

"Come on! We'll have to skate away from here!" burst out Ruth. "Come!
let us see if we can't get to shore," and she started off, her companion
still clinging to her.

In the meanwhile, Jack and Randy were skating as fast as possible in the
direction where they had seen the two girls. But now a crowd of cadets
and town folks swept in front of them, and the next instant Randy was
hurled flat on his back and went spinning across the smooth ice.

By this time one of the spots on the lake had broken through, and the
water was rapidly rising all around it and covering the sinking surface.
Men, women and children mingled with the cadets and hurried in all
directions, but most of them toward the shore.

"Come on! We've got to help those girls somehow!" panted Jack, as he
skated over to where Randy had been flung. He assisted his cousin to his
feet just as Fred and Andy flashed up.

"The girls! Don't you see them over there? They are going down!" yelled
Fred.

"Yes, I see them! Come on!" answered Jack.

As tired as he was because of the race, the oldest Rover struck out with
all the vigor he could muster. Soon he found himself sloshing through
water that was several inches deep. The next moment he stood beside the
two girls, who had become almost too frightened to move.

"Come on! Don't stand here!" he called, catching Ruth by the arm.

He looked back and saw that Fred and the others were close behind him,
and that Fred already had hold of May. Then he started off up the lake.

"Oh, Jack, hadn't we better head for the shore?" gasped the frightened
girl.

"No. There is too much of a crowd in that direction already," he
answered quickly. "If they don't look out they'll all go in. Come on!
The best thing to do is to get out where there isn't anybody."

He skated on, allowing the girl to rest on his arm as he did so. Soon
they seemed to be out of the danger zone, and then he looked back.

The sight that met his gaze filled him with new alarm. Fred had been
skating with May close beside him, but their feet had caug