d commenced to slip slowly downward.
Soon he was in the water up to his shoulders.

"Save me!" he yelled. "Oh, Ruddy, don't let me drown! Please sa--save
m--me! Please!" And then of a sudden his head went under out of sight!

Jack was for the moment struck dumb with horror. He felt that Coulter
was drowning before his very eyes. Then a sudden noble determination
came to him, and measuring his distance carefully he leaped for the
iceboat and managed to catch the swaying mast. He went down in the water
up to his knees, but held on to a stay with his left hand.

The icy water made the youth gasp. But he set his teeth hard and looked
down for Coulter. Presently he saw the other cadet bob upward. Then a
hand came up and was waved frantically. Jack tried his best to reach
that hand, but could not. Then Coulter commenced to sink again from
sight.

"I must save him! I must!" thought Jack, and an instant later leaped
boldly into the waters of the icy lake.

CHAPTER XXIX

A REAL HERO

It was a desperate plunge to take, for the former major of the school
battalion ran the risk of getting a chill that would kill him. But Jack
was a hero, and he could not bear to see Gus Coulter drowned before his
eyes.

As the icy waters closed over him, he struck out boldly for the spot
where he had last beheld the struggling youth. Then his hand came in
contact with Coulter's body and he caught the cadet by the arm.

As soon as Coulter felt himself touched, he swung around, and the next
instant had Jack by the shoulder, in a grip like that of death itself.

The former major of the school battalion realized only too well that he
must not let the drowning boy catch him by the neck, otherwise both
would go down to rise no more. He shoved Coulter as far off as possible
and at the same time struck out to regain the surface of the lake.

When the pair came up they were some distance from the iceboat and also
some distance from the edge of the ice.

"Help! help!" yelled Jack to Pepper and Andy.

The latter had succeeded in getting the sapling free of the snow, and
were dragging it to the ice on the lake-shore.

"Hello, Jack's in, too!" cried Andy, in horror.

"Hurry with the tree!" yelled Jack, as he commenced to swim for the edge
of the ice. "Quick now, or we'll both go down again! This water is
frightfully cold."

A few strokes brought Jack and Coulter to the edge of the ice. Coulter
was still holding fast, but his strength