won't try to take 'em off for you. We'd both be walked on while I was
doing it. Come on, we'll see if these folks are in too big a hurry to
let us get ashore with them."

Sunny Boy was not exactly frightened, but he felt rather queer.
Grandpa Horton was gone, a strange boy had him by the hand, and many
people kept shouting and making a loud noise. And now, instead of
clear, smooth ice under his skates, he seemed to be walking through
slushy water.

"Don't you get scared," said the big boy kindly. "We wouldn't drown if
we went right through the ice. It isn't very deep right here. Look
out--here we go!"

Sunny Boy cried out in surprise and a girl ahead of him screamed. The
ice seemed to part and let them down gently into the coldest water
Sunny Boy had ever felt. He had not known that water could be so cold!

"You're all right," the big boy assured him, "Put your arms around my
neck and I'll carry you ashore. The girls make a lot of noise, don't
they? Well, in one way it's a good sign--as long as they can scream we
know they are not drowned."

The boy had a round, freckled face, and he grinned so cheerfully that
Sunny Boy had to smile back. The boy looked blue from the cold and his
coat was thin and shabby, if Sunny Boy had only noticed it, but he
talked every minute and didn't complain once. He showed Sunny Boy how
he wanted him to put his arms, and then he lifted him up and carried
him toward the bank.