But where was Fred?
"Ripley just sank!" came the hoarse chorus from shore and cove.
This was serious enough.

He who sinks for the second time in icy waters, especially when hampered by skates, may very likely not come up again.
"It must have been about here that he went down," calculated Prescott, deliberately, as he swam through the open water.

"Now, then!" Down went Dick.

To those looking on, it was heroic---sublime?
Yet it looked as though the rescuer must be dooming himself.
"One Prescott is worth a dozen Ripleys" murmured one man who, unable to swim, was obliged to stand looking uselessly on.
There were still many who were shouting confusing advice as to what others ought to do.

A few were even running about trying to do something.
Dave Darrin was actually "on the job." He had pressed Dick's other partners into service and as many of the High School boys as possible.