The snowballs in the hands of the freshmen were thrown; then great armfuls of snow were picked up and dashed into the faces and eyes of the advancing sophomores.
Ready mounted the wall and fell over on the inside. His men tried to emulate his example. Four of them came over with Ready, but the others were beaten back and almost smothered.
Then Ready and Starbright found themselves face to face. At it they went, each digging up snow by the armful and hurling it at the head and face of his opponent.
Ready fought blithely and chirpingly, pushing the snow out of his mouth and eyes. But a great armful fell on him out of the arms of the giant freshman, and Ready fell under it.
As if in a frenzy, Starbright danced about, heaping snow and still more snow on the prostrate freshman leader, until, from beneath his snowy covering, Ready was willing to confess his defeat.
“Let up!” he begged. “I’m not an Esquimaux! My maux is full now, clean down to my twinkling toes.”
The other sophomores had been overthrown, and the assault had failed.
The time was so nearly up that it was seen to be impossible for the sophomores to take the fort in the few minutes remaining. So there was a truce.
Two of Ready’s men had been hurt, and another of Starbright’s; but not by snowballs containing pieces of rock.
Morgan was so weak from the effect of the blow that it was seen he could not again assume the leadership of the freshmen.