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.
As the icy waters closed over him, he struck out boldly for the spot where he had last beheld the struggling youth.

Then his hand came in contact with Coulter's body and he caught the cadet by the arm.
As soon as Coulter felt himself touched, he swung around, and the next instant had Jack by the shoulder, in a grip like that of death itself.
The former major of the school battalion realized only too well that he must not let the drowning boy catch him by the neck, otherwise both would go down to rise no more.

He shoved Coulter as far off as possible and at the same time struck out to regain the surface of the lake.
When the pair came up they were some distance from the iceboat and also some distance from the edge of the ice.
"Help! help!" yelled Jack to Pepper and Andy.
The latter had succeeded in getting the sapling free of the snow, and were dragging it to the ice on the lake-shore.
"Hello, Jack's in, too!" cried Andy, in horror.
"Hurry with the tree!" yelled Jack, as he commenced to swim for the edge of the ice.

"Quick now, or we'll both go down again! This water is frightfully cold." A few strokes brought Jack and Coulter to the edge of the ice.