“Luckily, it is only a half day,” whooped Don, slipping into his coat. “We can get out into the snow soon after dinner. It’s coming down steadily.”
When they got downstairs they found only a few cadets ahead of them. Hudson was one of them. He stood out on the front steps, admiring the view across the rolling fields and hills. His back was toward the boys and Don quietly packed a snowball and threw it at him. It hit the senior captain on the back of the neck and he whirled around, grinning, intending to say something.
But he closed his mouth with a snap and waited. Just above Don’s head was a tiny shed roof, and Hudson saw what was going to happen. A puffy drift had gathered there and a fierce swirl of wind hit it at the precise moment that he turned around. Hudson grinned broadly as the miniature snowslide hit Don on the shoulders, knocking off his hat and sifting in powdery masses down his neck. Don coughed and sputtered in surprise.
“Very neatly and efficiently done,” cried Hudson lifting his hat politely to the snow drift. “I thank you!”
All through the morning classes the cadets were impatient and when the noon meal was over they piled out into the snow with zest and a sense of pleasure. By this time it had stopped snowing, leaving about a foot of snow carpeting the ground. The sun came out briefly and the cadets were alarmed lest it do some damage, but in the long run it turned out to be their friend. It melted enough of the white material to make it watery and then the cold air promptly froze it, making a delightful surface for coasting.
“Tonight we can go coasting on Nelson Hill!” cried Lieutenant Thompson.
Nelson Hill was a long stretch of sloping hillside less than a half mile west of the school, and the majority of the cadets were preparing to spend the evening with their sleds. Most of them had already started for the hill with barrel staves and miscellaneous wood, with which to build fires on top of the long slope. When Terry, Don, Jim and Vench stood around considering, the distressing fact was brought home to them that they had no sled.
“The seniors have got sleds,” remarked Vench. “And so have the second class men. I guess that the newer men are out of luck.”
Douglas approached them, excitement showing in his hurry. “You guys got a sled?” he hailed.
“No,” replied Jim. “Have you?”