1 84 THE CHILDREN OF THE COLD. 



At last, Koomanah found a suitable 

 place, and taking advantage of an ap- 

 parent lull in the storm, without hesita- 

 tion he started across the pack with his 

 brother's and sister's hands in his ; and 

 knowing that their lives depended on 

 his judgment, he carefully picked his 

 way from block to block. A dozen 

 times, either he or the children slipped 

 on the dancing ice, and once a great 

 block near them rolled completely over, 

 deluging them with \vater and blinding 

 Koomanah with the spray. Recovering 

 himself, he still splashed and struggled 

 on like a little hero. At last one block, 

 on which they stopped a moment, tilted 

 on its side, and threw them in a heap. 

 Here one of the little children was 

 crushed between two great grinding 

 cakes of ice, and sunk out of sight in 



