The boys and girls spent a happy evening together, and all too soon Mr. Porter and Mr. Wadsworth arrived to take Laura and Jessie back to Crumville. The boys hated to see them go, and went to the depot with them. There was some warm handshaking, and then the train rolled away, and the boys went back to the house.
"Splendid girls, both of them," was Roger's comment, and Dave quite agreed with him. But he was thinking more about Jessie than his sister,—and it is quite likely Roger was thinking more about Laura.
The boys remained at Roger's home until Saturday afternoon, and then returned to Oak Hall. The air was heavy and very cold, and they were glad to get out of the carryall, rush into the school, and warm up.
"Feels like snow to me," said Dave; and he was right. It started to snow that night, and kept it up for the greater part of Sunday, so that by Monday the ground was covered to the depth of a foot or more.
"Hurrah, for a snowballing match!" cried Buster. "Everybody in the line after school."
"Let us choose sides," suggested Ben. "Instead of having an Army of the North and an Army of the South, we can have"
"An Army of Red and an Army of Blue," fin-
