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 now for Taylor either to advance or
retreat, and the pan upon which he had taken refuge began a rapid
drift seaward.
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