ht in one of
the new cracks, and both of them had gone down headlong. Andy and Randy
had been close behind, and now they too went sprawling, while the ice
cracked ominously, as if ready to let them down into the water at any
instant!

CHAPTER III

OUT OF PERIL

"Oh look! May and Fred have both gone down!" cried Ruth.

"Yes, and there go Andy and Randy over them!" exclaimed Jack.

"And look, Jack, the ice is cracking everywhere!" continued the
frightened girl. She clutched his arm and looked appealingly into his
face. "Oh! what shall we do?"

"Spread out, you fellows! Spread out!" yelled the oldest Rover boy.
"Spread out! Don't keep together!"

His cry was heard, and an instant later Andy commenced to roll over on
the ice in one direction while his twin rolled in another. In the
meantime, Fred had managed to scramble to his feet, and now he pulled up
May.

"Come on, we'll soon be out of danger," encouraged the youngest Rover;
and, striking out, he pulled May behind him, the girl being too excited
to skate.

In less than a minute the danger, so far as it concerned the Rovers and
the two girls from Clearwater Hall, was past. All reached a point where
the ice was perfectly firm. Here Ruth speedily gained her
self-possession, but May continued to cling closely to Fred's arm.

"I'm going to see how they are making out in front of the boathouse!"
cried Randy. "Some of the skaters must have gotten in."

"I'm with you," returned his twin. He looked back at his cousins. "I
suppose you will look after the girls?"

"Sure!" answered Jack quickly. "Go ahead."

"I don't suppose we can be of any assistance down there?" came from
Fred.

"I don't think so, Fred. There is too much of a crowd as it is; they
will simply be in one another's way."

"Oh! oh! suppose some one should be drowned!" moaned May.

"Let us hope for the best," answered Jack. He did not want to add to the
girls' fright, yet he was decidedly anxious over the outcome of the
unexpected catastrophe.

They skated toward the shore at a point between Colby Hall and the town,
and then they worked their way along shore up to the vicinity of the
military academy. Here men and cadets were rushing hither and thither,
some with planks and others with ropes.

"Six of the cadets broke through," announced Spouter Powell, as he came
up to learn if his cousin was safe.

"They are all out, aren't they?" questioned Jack quickly.

"Yes. But there may have