Fred looked a little confused.
“I was on my way upstairs, Mother,” he said, with dignity. “I stopped to speak to Daddy.”
CHAPTER XIV
ON POND’S HILL
Fred took his bank upstairs and hid it in the usual place. That night he dreamed he was president of a bank and the members of the Riddle Club came to him to pay their dues faster than he could take the money in. There seemed to be a great many more members than six, and presently Fred discovered the reason—the Conundrum Club members had joined!
The shock of this discovery woke him up. It was morning, but so gray and dull that Fred was ready to turn over and go to sleep. Then he remembered that it had begun to snow the night before and he hopped out of bed and pattered to the window. It was still snowing and everything in sight was well covered.
Of course there was no sleep for Fred after that, and not much for the rest of the Williamson family. Usually Fred waited till his father called him before he started to dress, but this morning he was downstairs and prancing about on the porch when his father came to look for him.
“Here, here, can’t you wait till after breakfast?” asked Mr. Williamson. “Mother is going to bake hot cakes, and the boy who appears with his hair combed and his necktie straight is going to have the first one.”
Fred dashed back to his room and hastily brushed his hair. He and Margy felt a deep interest in hot cakes, but it must be confessed they were also “crazy” about the snow. They could hardly wait to eat their breakfast, bundle themselves into coats and hats and woolly scarfs, and plunge into that beautiful whiteness.
“Hello!” called Artie, from his porch, as he saw the Williamsons about to start for school. “Wait a minute!”
The Marley front steps had not been brushed off, and Artie had no idea of the depth of the snow. He took one step and sank into a feathery, fluffy bed up to his neck.