ur if they held hands firmly. But to
separate meant that the end ones would be whirled away, and might get a
bad fall.

As the boys were strong and sturdy, and the girls had promised to hold
on tightly and carefully, Mr. Maynard let them play this game, though he
had always thought it a dangerous sport.

"Just once more," begged Marjorie, when at last he told them he would
rather they'd play something else--and permission was given for one more
"Snap the Whip," on condition that it should be the last. And it was.

Marjorie was on one end, and Molly was next to her.

Kingdon was at the other end, and, after a few vigorous strokes, he
pulled the line about so suddenly that Molly, who was not expecting it
so soon, was jerked away from her next neighbor.

She and Marjorie were flung with force across the ice, but they were
quite alert, kept their balance perfectly, and would have been skating
back again in a minute, but they chanced upon a thin place in the ice,
and it broke through, and in they went!

Many of the children screamed, but Molly's voice rang out clear above
the rest:

"Don't yell so! We're all right, only it's awful cold. Just get us out
as quick as you can."

Relieved to learn that they hadn't gone under the water, Mr. Maynard
soon found a fence-rail, and, with the boys' assistance, it was not long
before the dripping girls were once more outside the lake, instead of
inside.

"No harm done, if you obey my orders," said Mr. Maynard, cheerily, for
the two white faces looked more scared than they had at first. He
hurriedly took off their skates, and then said, "Now, run for home, just
as fast as you can go, and the one who gets there first shall have a
prize."

A little bewildered by this order, but quite ready to obey, Marjorie
started at once and fairly flew over the hard ground. Molly followed,
and in a moment had overtaken and passed Midget. But spurred by this,
Midget ran faster, and at last, quite out of breath, and also quite
warm, they reached the Maynard house at almost exactly the same time.

Exhausted, they tumbled in at the door, and Mrs. Maynard met them in the
hall.

"What _is_ the matter?" she exclaimed. "Where _have_ you been?"

"Skating," said Marjorie, hurriedly, "and we fell in, and Father said
to run home quick and get dry shoes and things and he'd give us a
prize."

"A prize!" said Mrs. Maynard, laughing. "You deserve a prize, indeed! A
hot bath is what you'll get, and a d