Christmas Holidays at Merryvale/II.



By evening the snow that Toad and Reddy had so eagerly awaited had come, and by morning many inches had fallen. A crowd of boys had gathered on the Brown's lawn, for the news of a snow battle had carried far.

"First chooser!" cried Charley Brown, a happy-faced boy who bore the name of "Chuck" among his friends.

"Second," shouted Reddy, and when the sides were chosen Toad found himself with Herbie, a boy with whom he played very often, and four others on Reddy's side.

It was then decided by the choosers, who were also the captains, to build two forts, ten yards apart, and a half hour was agreed upon as time enough in which to do the work.

"We must hurry," Reddy told the boys he had chosen, "and I think," he added in a low voice, "three of us had better build the fort while the other three make snowballs, as we want a lot on hand so we wont have to stop firing to make them.

"Work fast," he ordered as he selected two of them to help him build the fort.

Toad piled up great heaps of snow while Reddy and Herbie packed it down with wooden spades into a wall which curved like a new moon.

"How are the snowballs getting on, boys?" asked Toad of the three boys who were working hard making them.

"We're stacking them up so they'll be easy to get at," answered one.

"They're good hard ones," said another. "It's fine packing snow."

"We're going to have plenty, too," laughed the third.

"Wonder what Fat's doing?" cried Reddy. "He's bringing a pail of water from the house."

Frank, called "Fat" by the other boys, because of his size, was Reddy's older brother.

"I wonder," mused Toad. "He's pouring it on the walls of their fort. Oh, don't you see," he added a moment later, "it's to make it freeze."

"Let's do that too," proposed Herbie. "I'll get the water," and he started for the house.

Ten minutes later the walls of the fort were like a solid mass of ice, and the snowballs were inside in four heaps so all were anxious for the fun to begin.