“I should say so,” agreed Laura, with a little whistle of astonishment as she edged over to the treacherous place in the ice which was crisscrossed over with long cracks. “Look here, girls. I could almost push this ice through with my finger.” “Well, don’t try it,” advised Vi, backing away anxiously from the dangerous spot. “I wonder if there any more places like it.” “S’pose there are—lots of them,” said Billie, who had recovered from her fright and was disposed to treat the whole thing as a joke. “The thing for us to do is to keep out of their way, that’s all.” “Sounds easy,” grumbled Vi as they joined hands again and skated on more slowly over the frozen surface. “But how are we going to know where the thin places are unless we step on ’em—and fall through, maybe?” “P’r’aps we’d better go back if——” Billie was beginning uneasily when a sudden, terrified scream cut her short. It was a child’s scream and it was followed by another, and yet another. “Oh!” cried Laura wildly, “somebody’s getting killed.” CHAPTER II—NEARLY FROZEN The screams for help seemed to be quite near the girls, but whoever was in trouble was hidden from them by a sharp bend in the lake shore. Without further thought of danger to themselves, the chums skated forward swiftly, the long fringed ends of their scarfs flying out behind them and their bodies thrown eagerly forward. “Maybe somebody is drowning!” “It’s some great peril, you may be sure of that—otherwise they wouldn’t scream so.” “They are children!” “Yes, and little ones at that, if I am any judge of voices.” Thus talking excitedly the girls skated forward along the lake shore. Then came a sudden scream from Vi. She had skated too close to an overhanging tree and a branch caught in her hair as she tried to sweep past. “Wait! wait!” she cried. “Don’t leave me behind!” “What’s the trouble?” came simultaneously from the others. “I’m caught—my hair is fast in the tree.” “Pull yourself loose,” cried Billie. “Hurry, do! Oh, just listen to those cries!” she added, as scream after scream rent the wintry air. In frantic haste poor Vi tried to do as bidden. But the tree was a thorny one, and she had considerable trouble to liberate herself. Then came fresh trouble as Billie’s left skate became loosened. “I’ve got to fasten it,” she said, and bent down to do so. Then the classmates swept forward as before. They rounded the bend in the lake a minute later and then drew up suddenly as they came upon a singular scene.