“The ice talking?” And the lads looked at each other as though they suspected Ben was making sport of them.
“Yes; you see, before it breaks up in the spring air gets underneath and rumbles and makes a big noise as it rushes along in bubbles between the ice and the water. Then the ice expands and contracts, as it thaws during the day and freezes at night. That makes it snap and crack. We say it’s talking,” he explained.
The boys immediately went down to the shore, where they heard the sounds more distinctly. The winter had passed before they realized it. Soon it would be spring. Even now the sun was quite warm, and the snow had almost disappeared from the southern slopes of the mountains. They sat in the bright sunlight, listening to the loud booming of the ice—the guns of spring shattering the icy fortress of winter.
Suddenly George touched Ed on the arm and pointed to the center of the lake.
“Look!” he cried. “What’s that?”
Ed instantly turned his eyes in the direction indicated and saw a dark-colored animal with a low body about four feet long. It was making its way leisurely across the frozen surface of the lake, and it walked with a peculiar, waddling sort of gait.
They immediately started in pursuit, and the unknown creature broke into an awkward gallop. The boys ran at top speed to overtake it; but, since there were several inches of soft, slushy snow on the ice, they were unable to gain much. They were greatly astounded when the animal threw itself flat and apparently dove through the ice. On reaching the spot, however, they saw that it had disappeared into an air-hole.
“He’ll have to come out again,” declared Ed. “You stay here, and I’ll see if I can find any other opening where he might bob up.”
Then they saw the head of their quarry appear above the ice about two hundred feet farther on. They waited until the wet, glistening body emerged from the hole, when they again started in pursuit.
“Head him off before he gets to shore!” urged George, bounding recklessly along in the uncertain footing.