CHAPTER XXI
THROUGH THE ICE
How long he lay in the blackness, which was caused by the blow on his head, Rick did not know. But when he opened his eyes, to find himself lying half under his sled which had fallen with him, it was dark all about him—that is, all dark except a faint light which came from the snow pile into which he had tumbled. That made a gleam of whiteness even when all else was black.
"I wonder—I wonder what happened?" asked Rick, speaking in a faint voice.
Then it came back to him—how he had taken one last coast down the hill, how something had slipped and how he had fallen down into the hole in the snow.
That was where he found himself now, and, as he opened his eyes, though his head hurt him very much as he did this, he saw the snow all about him.
And then Rick heard the barking of a dog, and at once he knew whose dog it was.
"That's Ruddy!" he murmured. "Good, old Ruddy! Here, Rud! Rud!" he called.
The barking came louder, and Rick looked up toward the top of the hole. It was as if he were down in a well, the sides of which were made of snow. At the top he could see the sky, from which the last glow of the sun had faded, but a few stars were glittering there. And Rick saw something else. It was the head of Ruddy.
Ruddy was leaning over the hole in the snow drift, looking down at Rick who had fallen to the bottom.
"Come on down, Ruddy. Come and help me up!" called Rick, after he had tried to move and found that he could not. Something seemed to be the matter with one of his legs, and when he turned his head the least bit, he felt dizzy. It even hurt him to call to his dog.