The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1900-03-01

1
far from that world in which lay the
great, crowded city few miles away.
But they kept up stout hearts and
battled bravely against the wind. Sem
eca still held onto Bobby's hand and
helped him forward. Presently the
snow began to fall less thickIy, and
Sidney called out:
81 think I see light ahead!"
Sure enough. through che falling
fakes there shone dimly light in front
of them. but how far it was they could
only conjecture. The sight Of II cheered
them up and they pressed forward to-
ward it with lighter hearts.
| Suddenly Seneca shouted:
Look out! Look out!" at the same
moment striking his skste-heels sharp
ly into the ice, and pulling Bobby back.
Directly in front of them was a wide
opening in the ice. Fortunately, they
were not going very fast, owing to the
wind, and they managed to stop, though
not till they had reached the very brink
of the water. Sidney, who was little
behind and saw the water at the same
moment Seneca did, turned sharply and
thus avoided skating into it, North and
south, as far as they could see in the
darkness, there was water in front of
them. A section of the ice had broken
off, and in the strong wind had drifted
away from the main body. 1t had not
drifted very far yet, for across the dark
water they could see the white ice be-
yond, and it appeared not to be more
than 20 yards distant.
Lets skate south. Perhaps we'll
come to narrower-place, where we
can Jump across" Seneca said. He
spoke eheerily, and Bobby, whose heart
had failed him when he saw the black
water between them and the shore, felt
encouraged.
But the farther south they skated
the wider seemed to grow the space be-
tween them and the msin body of ice,
and soon Seneca said:
81 guess We'll have to 60 to the north
ward"
So they turned back and skated for
quite a distance toward the north, and
presently thev thought the gap be-
tween them and the ice beyond seemed
TO be getting narrower. The wind was
apparently blowing the southern end
of the floating icefield eastward faster
than the northern end, and they thought
they might come to spot where the
floating field would rest against the
stationary one. Encouraged, they con-
tinued north. the wind now helping
them instead of hindering. The snow
had stopped falling, and they could see
lights in the houses along the north
shore. Seneca judged they were mile
away or more.
After skating for some distance they
were suddenly brought to a halt again.
The northern limits of their ice island
had been reached. and they could see
"a stretch of black water in front. More
over, the channel to their left had sud
denly wdened.
A new danger beset them. Under
the strain of the wind and the motion
through the water. the field of ice over
which they had skated was breaking up.
1t was fragment detaching itself from
the part they were on that had caused
the gulf from the north and learing
Q loud cracking behind them, they
looked back, and saw that the piece
they were on had broken from the
| larger part behind it. The smaller
pieces aoated before the wind faster
than the larger ones, and when they
skated back to the edge that had just
parted from the large island, they found
there was already gap too wide for
them to leap, even if they had wanted
to do so.
| The wind was now bearing them
northward and eastward faster than
before, and the gulf between them anC
the shore was constantly widening.
1--WE ought to have tried to swim
across when we first saw the water"
Sidney said.
Bobby cant swim, you know" was
Sensca's only reply.
The idea of swimming across the
channel had come TO Seneca long be-
fore. but he had rejected it because
Bobby wasn't swimmer. Even now.
Seneca and Sidney, who were both good
| ''' Ah'''N'e' ''h'b navy oN uii
to the firm ice, but the idea of doing so
and leaving Bobby alone on the ice
foe did not enter the mind of either.
Fragments Of ice had broken off from
the eastern boundary OF their island,
and the piece they were now on was
about 100 feet wide by 200 feet long.
but Of irregular shape. Soon this piece
parted in two, and the three boys were
left on the smaller of the two frag-
ments. The strong wind had put the
water in motion, and the strain contin-
ued to crack up the ice, until presently,
the piece they were left on was, scarce
ly larger than good-sized raft, with
other similar pieces floating around
them. The ice comprising their raft
was of good quality, and after it had
broken loose from the larger pieces
and the strain had thus been relieved.
it ceased to break any more, and soon
the boys began to feel reasonably Sc
cure on it.
But their plight was a sorry one al
best. The wind, still blowing strongly
was bearing them steadily away from