“Catch the buckle, Minnie!” he cried. “Can you reach it, or shall I come closer?”
The poor girl in the water tried to speak, but the words would not come, so benumbed and cold was she.
But she put out one hand convulsively, and caught the strap just above the buckle.
“Now put the other hand on the ice, and I’ll pull you up,” went on Harry. “Steady, now, or the ice will——”
Crack! crack! crash!
The ice around the brave boy had suddenly given way, and on the instant he found himself plunged into the chilling water head first.
He went down several feet, and then turned and came up. The shock to his system, all overheated from racing, was terrible, and for a few seconds he seemed fairly paralyzed.
But he retained his hold on the straps, and by their aid was quickly at Minnie Woodruff’s side.
“Oh, Harry!” the girl burst out.
She could not say more, but those two words just then meant a good deal.