em and the shore the sea was dotted
with pans and pieces of ice, separated by canals of black water. The
men looked at each other in consternation as they realized that they
had no means of reaching land and safety, and that a few hours might
find them far out on the Atlantic.

In the hope of attracting attention, Dr. Grenfell and William Taylor,
his companion, fired their guns at regular intervals. Expectantly they
waited, but there was no answering signal from shore and no sign of
life anywhere within their vision.

For a long while they waited and watched and signalled. With a turn in
the tide it became evident, finally, that the pan on which they were
marooned was drifting slowly seaward. If this continued they would
soon be out of sight of land, and then all hope of rescue would
vanish.

"I'll tell you what I'll do, now," suggested Taylor. "I'll copy toward
shore. I'll try to get close enough for some one to see me."

To "copy" is to jump from one pan or piece of ice to another. The gaps
of water separating them are sometimes wide, and a man must be a good
jumper who lands. Some of the pieces of ice are quite too small to
bear a man's weight, and he must leap instantly to the next or he will
sink with the ice. It is perilous work at best, and much too dangerous
for any one to attempt without much practice and experience.

They had a boat hook with them, and taking it to assist in the long
leaps, Taylor started shore-ward. Dr. Grenfell watched him anxiously
as he sprang from pan to pan making a zigzag course toward shore, now
and again taking hair-raising risks, sometimes resting for a moment on
a substantial pan while he looked ahead to select his route, then
running, and using the boat hook as a vaulting pole, spanning a wide
chasm. Then, suddenly, Dr. Grenfell saw him totter, throw up his hands
and disappear beneath the surface of the water. In a hazardous leap he
had missed his footing, or a small cake of ice had turned under his
weight.

XXII

SAVING A LIFE

It was a terrible moment for Grenfell when he saw his friend disappear
beneath the icy waves. Would the cold so paralyze him as to render him
helpless? Would he be caught under an ice pan? A hundred such thoughts
flashed through Grenfell's mind as he stood, impotent to help because
of the distance between them. Then to his great joy he saw Taylor rise
to the surface and scramble out upon a pan in safety.

The ice was too far separated no