"He's afraid to race," said George. "My! how mad it makes some fellows to get beaten!"
It may be mentioned here that Peter Slade had been one of Tad Sobber's cronies, and now that Sobber was gone he took it on his shoulders to fill the bully's place in the particular set to which he belonged. He was a quick-tempered youth, and had been in more than one fight since his arrival at Putnam Hall.
The boys who could not ride on the hill amused themselves by making some big snowballs, which they allowed to roll down another hill. One of the snowballs made was fully eight feet in diameter, and it was a great sight to see this go down, getting bigger and bigger as it progressed.
"Hello, I've got an idea!" cried Tom, as he watched the rolling of the big snowballs.
"Something brand new, Tom?" queried Larry.
"I think so. Let us give Peleg Snuggers a roll. It will do him good—shake up his liver, and all that."
"You mean to roll him down this hill?" asked a student named Morley.
"That's it."
"Might hurt him."
"Not if we put a snow overcoat on him first," answered Tom.
