mrs. dangerfield was indeed delighted with the stole, for she had an almost extravagant fondness for furs; and it was long since she had had any. she wondered how the twins had saved and collected the money it had cost; she knew that it had not been drawn from the cats’ home fund, since the terror had promised her that none of that money should be diverted from its proper purpose; and she was the more grateful to them for the thought and labor they must have devoted to acquiring it. on the whole she thought it wiser not to inquire how the money had been raised.

the twins, as always, enjoyed an exceedingly pleasant christmas. it was the one week in the year when little deeping flung off its quietude and gently rollicked. there was a dearth of children, young men and maidens among their little deeping friends; and the twins and wiggins were in request as the lighter element in the christmas gatherings. thanks to the terror, the three of them took this brightening function with considerable seriousness: each of them learned by heart a humorous piece of literature, generally verse, for reciting; and they performed two charades in a very painstaking fashion. they had but little dramatic talent; but they derived a certain grave satisfaction from the discharge of this enlivening social duty; and their efforts were always well received.

it was, as usual, a green and muggy christmas. the weather broke about the middle of january; and there came hard frosts and a heavy snow-storm. the twins made a glorious forty-foot slide on the common in front of colet house; and they constructed also an excellent toboggan on which they rushed down the hill into the village street. these were but light pleasures. they watched the ponds with the most careful interest; eager, should they bear, not to miss an hour’s skating. wiggins shared their pleasures and their interest; and mr. carrington, meeting the terror on his way to his lessons at the vicarage, drew from him a promise that he would not let his ardent son take any risk whatever.

the ice thickened slowly on the ponds; then came another hard frost; and the twins made up their minds that it must surely bear. they ate their breakfast in a great excitement; and as the terror gathered together his books for his morning’s work they made their plans.

he had strapped his books together; and as he caught up one of the two pairs of brightly polished skates that lay on the table, he said: “then that’s settled. i’ll meet you at pringle’s pond as soon after half past twelve as i can get there; but you’d better not go on it before i come.”

“oh, it’ll bear all right; it nearly bore yesterday,” said erebus impatiently.

“well, wiggins isn’t to go on it before i come. you’ll do as you like of course—as usual—and if you fall in, it’ll be your own lookout. but he’s to wait till i come. if the ice does bear, it won’t bear any too well; and i’m responsible for wiggins. i promised mr. carrington to look after him,” said the terror in tones of stern gravity.

erebus tossed her head and said in a somewhat rebellious tone: “as if i couldn’t take care of him just as well as you. i’m as old as you.”

“perhaps,” said the terror doubtfully. “but you are a girl; there’s no getting over it; and it does make a difference.”

erebus turned and scowled at him as he moved toward the door; and she scowled at the door after he had gone through it and shut it firmly behind him. she hated to be reminded that she was a girl. the reminder rankled at intervals during her lessons; and twice mrs. dangerfield asked her what was distressing her that she scowled so fiercely.

at noon her lessons came to an end; and in less than three minutes she was ready to go skating. she set out briskly across the common, and found wiggins waiting for her at his father’s garden-gate. he joined her in a fine enthusiasm for the ice and talked of the certainty of its bearing with the most hopeful confidence. she displayed an equal confidence; and they took their brisk way across the white meadows. more than usual wiggins spurned the earth and advanced by leaps and bounds. his blue eyes were shining very brightly in the cold winter sunlight.

in ten minutes they came to pringle’s pond. the wind had swept the ice fairly clear of snow; and it looked smooth and very tempting. also it looked quite thick and strong. erebus stepped on to it gingerly, found that it bore her, and tested it with some care. she even jumped up and down on it. it cracked, but it did not break; and she told herself that ice always cracks, more or less. she set about putting on her skates; and the joyful wiggins, all fear of disappointment allayed, followed her example.

when presently he stood upright in them ready to take the ice, she looked at him doubtfully, then tossed her head impatiently. no; she would not tell him that the terror had charged her not to let him skate till he came.… she could look after him quite as well as the terror.… she had tested the ice thoroughly.… it was perfectly safe.

wiggins slid down the bank on to the ice; and she followed him. the ice cracked somewhat noisily at their weight, and at intervals it cracked again. erebus paid no heed to its cracking beyond telling wiggins not to go far from the edge. she skated round and across the pond several times, then settled down to make a figure of eight, resolved to have it scored deeply in the ice before the terror came. wiggins skated about the pond.

she had been at work some time and had got so far with her figure of eight that it was already distinctly marked, when there was a crash and a shrill cry from wiggins. she turned sharply to see the water welling up out of a dark triangular hole on the other side of the pond, where a row of pollard willows had screened the ice from the full keenness of the wind.

wiggins was in that hole under the water.

she screamed and dashed toward it. she had nearly reached it when his head came up above the surface; and he clutched at the ice. two more steps and a loud crack gave her pause. it flashed on her that if she went near it, she would merely widen the hole and be helpless in the water herself.

“hold on! hold on!” she cried as she stopped ten yards from the hole; and then she sent a shrill piercing scream from all her lungs ringing through the still winter air.

she screamed again and yet again. wiggins’ face rose above the edge of the ice; and he gasped and spluttered. then she sank down gently, at full length, face downward on the ice, and squirmed slowly, spread out so as to distribute her weight over as wide a surface as possible, toward the hole. half a minute’s cautious squirming brought her hands to the edge of it; and with a sob of relief she grasped his wrists. the ice bent under her weight, but it did not break. the icy water, welling out over it, began to drench her arms and chest.

very gently she tried to draw wiggins out over the ice; but she could not. she could get no grip on it with her toes to drag from.

wiggins’ little face, two feet from her own, was very white; and his teeth chattered.

she set her teeth and strove to find a hold for her slipping toes. she could not.

“c-c-can’t you p-p-pull m-m-me out?” chattered wiggins.

“no, not yet,” she said hoarsely. “but it’s all right. the terror will be here in a minute.”

she raised her head as high as she could and screamed again.

she listened with all her ears for an answer. a bird squeaked shrilly on the other side of the field; there was no other sound. wiggins’ white face was now bluish round the mouth; and his eyes were full of fear. again she kicked about for a grip, in vain.

“it’s d-d-dreadfully c-c-cold,” said wiggins in a very faint voice; he began to sob; and his eyes looked very dully into hers.

she knew that it was dreadfully cold; her drenched arms and chest were dreadfully cold; and he was in that icy water to his shoulders.

“try to stick it out! don’t give in! it’s only a minute or two longer! the terror must come!” she cried fiercely.

his eyes gazed at her piteously; and she began to sob without feeling ashamed of it. then his eyes filled with that dreadful look of hopeless bewildered distress of a very sick child; and they rolled in their sockets scanning the cold sky in desperate appeal.

they terrified erebus beyond words. she screamed, and then she screamed and screamed. wiggins’ face was a mere white blur through her blinding tears of terror.

she knew nothing till her ankles were firmly gripped; and the terror cried loudly: “stop that row!”

she felt him tug at her ankles but not nearly strongly enough to stir her and wiggins. he, too, could get no hold on the ice with his toes.

then he cried: “squirm round to the left. i’ll help you.”

he made his meaning clearer by tugging her ankles toward the left; and she squirmed in that direction as fast as she dared over the bending ice.

in less than half a minute the terror got his feet among the roots of a willow, gripped them with his toes, and with a strong and steady pull began to draw them toward the bank. the ice creaked as wiggins’ chest came over the edge of the hole; but it did not break; and his body once flat on the ice, the terror hauled them to the side of the pond easily. he dragged erebus, still by the ankles, half up the bank to get most of her weight off the ice. then he stepped down on to it and picked up wiggins. erebus’ stiff fingers still grasped his wrists; and they did not open easily to let them go.

the terror took one look at the deathly faintly-breathing wiggins; then he pulled off his woolen gloves, drew his knife from his pocket, opened the blade with his teeth for quickness’ sake, tossed it to erebus and cried: “cut off his skates! pull off his boots and stockings!”

then with swift deft fingers he stripped off wiggins’ coat, jersey and waistcoat, pulled on his gloves, caught up a handful of snow and began to rub his chest violently. in the spring the twins had attended a course of the st. john’s ambulance society lectures, and among other things had learned how to treat those dying from exposure. the terror was the quicker dealing with wiggins since he had so often been the subject on which he and erebus had practised many kinds of first-aid.

he rubbed hard till the skin reddened with the blood flowing back into it. erebus with feeble fumbling fingers (she was almost spent with cold and terror) cut the straps of his skates and the laces of his boots, pulled them off, pulled off his stockings, and rubbed feebly at his legs. the terror turned wiggins over and rubbed his back violently till the blood reddened that. wiggins uttered a little gasping grunt.

forthwith the terror pulled off his own coat and jersey and put them on wiggins; then he pulled off wiggins’ knickerbockers and rubbed his thighs till they reddened; then he pulled off his stockings and pulled them on wiggins’ legs. the stockings came well up his thighs; and the terror’s coat and jersey came well down them. wiggins was completely covered. but the terror was not satisfied; he called on erebus for her stockings and pulled them on wiggins over his own; then he took her jacket and tied it round wiggins’ waist by the sleeves.

wiggins was much less blue; and the whiteness of his cheeks was no longer a dead waxen color. he opened his eyes twice and shut them feebly.

the terror shook him, and shouted: “come on, old chap! make an effort! we want to get you home!”

with that he raised him on to his feet, put his own cap well over wiggins’ cold wet head, slipped an arm round him under his shoulder, bade erebus support him in like manner on the other side; and they set off toward the village half carrying, half dragging him along. they went slowly for wiggins’ feet dragged feebly and almost helplessly along. their arms round him helped warm him. it would have taken them a long time to haul him all the way to his home; but fortunately soon after they came out of pringle’s meadows on to the road, jakes, the great deeping butcher, who supplies also little deeping and muttle deeping with meat, came clattering along in his cart. wiggins was quickly hauled into it; and the three of them were at mr. carrington’s in about four minutes.

as they hauled wiggins along the garden path, the terror, said to erebus: “you bolt home as hard as you can go. you must be awfully wet and cold; and if you don’t want to be laid up, the sooner you take some quinine and get to bed the better.”

as soon therefore as she had helped wiggins over the threshold she ran home as quickly as her legs, still stiff and cold, would carry her.

the arrival of the barelegged terror in his waistcoat, bearing wiggins as a half-animate bundle, set mr. carrington’s house in an uproar. the terror, as the expert in first-aid, took command of the cook and housemaid and mr. carrington himself. wiggins was carried into the hot kitchen and rolled in a blanket with a hot water bottle at his feet. the cook was for two blankets and two hot water bottles; but the expert terror insisted with a firmness there was no bending that heat must be restored slowly. as wiggins warmed he gave him warm brandy and water with a teaspoon. in ten minutes wiggins was quite animate, able to talk faintly, trying not to cry with the pain of returning circulation.

the terror sent the cook and housemaid to get the sheets off his bed and warm the blankets. in another five minute’s mr. carrington carried wiggins up to it, and gave him a dose of ammoniated quinine. presently he fell asleep.

the terror had taken his coat off wiggins; but he was still without stockings and a jersey. he borrowed stockings and a sweater from mr. carrington, and now that the business of seeing after wiggins was over, he told him how he had come to the pond to find wiggins in the water and erebus spread out on the ice, holding him back from sinking. he was careful not to tell him that he had forbidden erebus to let wiggins go on the ice; and when mr. carrington began to thank him for saving him, he insisted on giving all the credit to erebus.

mr. carrington made him also take a dose of ammoniated quinine, and then further fortified him with cake and very agreeable port wine. on his way home the terror went briskly round by pringle’s pond and picked up the skates and garments that had been left there. when he reached home he found that erebus was in bed. she seemed little the worse for lying with her arms and chest in that icy water, keeping wiggins afloat; and when she learned that wiggins also seemed none the worse and was sleeping peacefully, she ate her lunch with a fair appetite.

the terror did not point out that all the trouble had sprung from her disregard for his instructions; he only said: “i just told mr. carrington that wiggins was already in the water when i got to the pond.”

“that was awfully decent of you,” said erebus after a pause in which she had gathered the full bearing of his reticence.