244 THE LAND OF PLUCK

the next day; but, now, as the snow threatened to stop
their promised sport, they had decided not to wait, but to
have their game at once.

The beautiful storm ceased as suddenly as it had begun ;
but that night the snow came again,—and this time to con-
tinue until morning. Then youthful existence in that region
Was comprised in the term, “lots of fun.” The coastine-
hill was crowded on that Saturday. Snow forts, hastily
erected, became scenes of bold attack and desperate de-
fense, and three hardy boys proceeded to make the biggest
ball of snow ever seen in that locality ; it grew and grew
until it reached to their shoulders, and finally it was as
much as the three could do to roll it to the edge of the
precipice called in Rockville— by the young ladies “the
Lovers’ Leap”; and by the boys “Clifford’s Jump,” be-
cause a daring young fellow of that name really had
jumped from it once,—and had taken a good, long rest
in the hospital afterward.

Well, the mammoth ball—after the boys’ ecstatic “ One,
two, three! Let her go !”—went over “ Clifford’s Jump”
fine style. It dashed down the steep descent, distributing
itself in blocks and fragments as it went,—and was soon
forgotten. The shinny-pond had yielded overnight to cir-
cumstances and become as white as its own level shores.
Before dusk the forts were demolished or abandoned, and
snow-day foes returned to the ways of peace.

Meantime, four fine fellows—Hal McDougal, Charley
Green, and Sydney Burton and his brother Will,—eager to
enjoy their Saturday to the utmost, had assembled after
early breakfast behind the McDougal cottage.