THERE was considerable talk among the boys in Danny's room after Mr.Tetlow departed.And it was noticed that Danny and some of his particular friends looked around with rather frightened faces, over their shoulders, as they talked among themselves.What they said could not be heard, for they spoke in whispers.
"I hope you weren't one of those boys, Bert," said Nan, as she passed her brother on the way home from school that afternoon."If you were -""You needn't worry," he said, with a smile."I'm not ready to smoke yet.""Nor ever, I hope," said Nan, as she turned up her little nose."It - it smells so."Nothing more was heard of the smoking matter for several days, and it was about forgotten, when something else came to claim the attention of the Bobbsey twins and their friends.
It was toward the close of school one afternoon, when all the pupils were wishing the hands of the clock would point to letting-out time, that Nan, looking from the window, and away from her arithmetic book, saw a few white flakes of snow sifting lazily down.At once she was all attention, and her lesson was forgotten.
"Oh!" she thought, "it's snowing! And it looks as if it would be a big storm.Oh, I'm so glad!"Nan did not know all the trouble and misery a big snow storm can cause, so she may be forgiven for wishing for one.She only saw the side of it that meant fun for her and her friends.
The flakes were coming down faster now, and there was about them something which seemed to tell that this storm would be more than a mere flurry or squall, and that it would keep up for some time, making big drifts.
But now a number of other pupils in the room had noticed the storm, and eyes were out of doors rather than on books.The teacher saw thatshewas not getting the attention of her class, and she understood the reason.
"Now, boys and girls," she said gently, "you can have a good time in the snow after you get out of here.So please give attention to your lessons for a few minutes more.Then you will be finished.Nan Bobbsey, you may go to the board and do the third example."But Nan was thinking so much of the fun she might have riding down hill, or snowballing with her friends, that she got the example wrong, and had to go to her seat.Nor was Bert any more successful.
Bert was busy thinking about putting a bell and a steering wheel on the new bob he and Charley had made, and when he was asked how many times two and a half went into ten he answered: "Three." He was thinking how many times he would ring the bell on the bob when he came to a street crossing.
When the Bobbsey twins, little and big, came out of school the snow was coming down more thickly.The flakes were not so large, but there were more of them, and they blew here and there in the wind, drifting into piles that would make the shoveling off of walks hard the next day.
There were just about enough of the white crystals on the ground, when the school children came out to make a few snowballs, and this they at once proceeded to do.
Danny Rugg, who had not forgiven Bert for the many times the Bobbsey lad had gotten the best of him, threw a ball at Freddie.But Bert was on the watch, and managed to jump up and catch the white missile in his hand.Then he threw it at Danny, striking him on the neck.
"Here!Where you throwin'?" demanded Danny, in angry tones.
"The same place you are," replied Bert, not a bit afraid."Good weather for ice cream, Danny," he added, and Danny went off in an angry fashion.
Other boys and girls too, threw the snowballs, but it was in goodnatured fun, and no one was hurt.Some rough boys did use hard snowballs, but they were soon left to play among themselves, while the others amused themselves with soft and fluffy missiles, which, breakingas they hit,scattered the white stuff all over, harming no one.
