All of the sleighs were gone, and Mac led them down the slope toward where he had seen the sleighs slide out on the ice. They expected to find the vehicles scattered and the raiders gone. But to their astonishment they heard voices and saw a dark mass at the edge of the lake shore.
“Keep his head above water!” a voice cried out. “We’ll try to pull this sleigh out. Keep a stiff upper lip, Carter!”
“Get—get me out!” a voice gasped. “I told you not to let that sleigh go until I told you to!”
By this time the boys and the coach had arrived on the spot, and Mac’s flashlight showed the scene before them. One of the sleighs was turned sideways, and another had run into it and was partly sunk under the ice. Caught under a runner, and immersed in water to his chin, was Carter Wolf. The sleigh had broken the ice, and he had gone in with a splash. The sleigh runner had pushed in on top of him and was pressing against his chest, while his five friends worked frantically to hold his head above water and at the same time to pull the winter conveyance back out of the break in the ice.
“What happened here?” the coach cried, as they took in the scene.
“These f-f-fellows let a sleigh come down the hill b-be-before I had moved the other one out of the way,” Wolf answered, with chattering teeth. “The ice was thin here and——” In his effort to talk he slipped slightly and swallowed some icy water.
“Keep perfectly still,” the athletic coach commanded. “We’ll get you out.” He lay down flat on the ice and passed his gloved hands under Wolf’s armpits, feeling the shock of the cold water. It was a position of extreme peril for Coach Jordan if the ice broke away, but he did not allow his mind to dwell on the thought. “Now, the rest of you boys draw that sleigh up out of the hole.”
The girls had followed and now stood on the shore, silent except for a few low-voiced exclamations, their faces white as they saw what had happened. Mac sprang up the bank and pressed his flashlight into Mrs. Jordan’s hand.
“Keep this trained on us, please,” he requested, and then he was back with the others, lending a hand.
The sleigh was a big one and had considerable weight to it, but by their united efforts they managed to move it backward. Coach Jordan had considered using some of the horses, but time was pressing, and he knew that Wolf must be rescued as soon as possible. The boys pulled and tugged steadily, and the sleigh was finally drawn up on the bank and off of the ice.