“Ritter was always willing to lay the blame on somebody else,” added Andy.

The chums skated as closely as possible to where the iceboat was drifting in a sheet of open water—­a spot where some days before a farmer had been cutting ice.  To the craft Coulter was clinging and still crying piteously.

“Help!” came in a chattering tone.  “Please help me, somebody, or I’ll be dro—­drowned!  I can’t ho—­hold on mu—­much lon—­ger!”

“We are coming, Coulter!” yelled Pepper.

“I’m nearly fro—­frozen to de—­death!” chattered the suffering cadet.

“If we only had a line we might throw it to him,” said Andy.

“I’ve got an idea!” exclaimed Pepper.  “Come on and get that fallen tree!”

He pointed to the shore, where a long sapling lay partly uncovered in the snow.  He skated off for this, with Andy at his heels.

While Andy and Pepper were doing their best to get the sapling out of the snow and drag it over the ice, Jack circled the spot where the Rosebud was drifting.  The iceboat was now within ten feet of the ice, so he could see Coulter quite plainly.  The poor fellow had been ducked in the water and was shaking from head to feet from cold.

“We’ll soon have you ashore, Gus!” he called out.  “Keep up your courage.”

“I—­I can’t hold on much longer!” was the gasped-out reply.  “I am free—­freezing to de—­death!”

At that moment a blast of air came sweeping across the lake.  It caught the sail of the iceboat and tilted the craft over in the water.

“Oh! oh!” screamed Coulter, and then, as the iceboat whirled around, the exhausted cadet lost his grip and 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.