"That's it," agreed Jasniff. "Confound him, I'd like to wring his neck!"
"I suppose they had their feast on the quiet," grumbled Poole. "We were foolish that we did not watch them more closely."
The three went to bed and in the morning set to work to clean up the dormitory. Then they had to go downstairs, to be interviewed by Job Haskers, who gave them some extra lessons to learn, as a punishment. He would listen to no explanation from them, happening to be in a thoroughly bad humor himself.
The next few days proved unusually cold, and then came a snowstorm which covered the ground to the depth of several inches. The students got as much fun out of the downfall as possible, snowballing each other with great glee. They also took shots at Pop Swingly and Horsehair while the pair were engaged in cleaning off the walks.
"Hi! hi! stop that!" roared Swingly, as a snowball from Ben took him in the back. Then one from Roger knocked off his hat. At the same time Dave, rushing by, threw some loose snow down Jackson Lemond's back.
"Whow!" spluttered the driver, dropping his broom and working at his neck. "Who did that? Birr! it's as cold as a cake o' ice!" And he began to shiver and dance around.
"This weather will surely make ice," said Sam, and he was right, for that night several inches of ice formed on the river, and this made all the students look forward eagerly to the time when there would be skating.
Frank Bond had quite recovered from the shock he had received at the hands of Plum and his cohorts. But he was still the pale, delicate, and nervous boy as of old and shrank from contact with the more boisterous students. He appreciated what Dave and his chums had done for him and did his best to give the bully of the Hall a wide berth. He was a studious lad, and soon a warm friendship sprang up between him and Polly Vane and they often studied their lessons together, Polly giving the younger lad all the assistance he could.
During those days Dave looked eagerly for letters from the Wadsworths, Caspar Potts, and his Uncle Dunston. The letters came and were full of kind words and best wishes, yet the communication from his uncle filled him with anxiety. In part this letter read as follows:
"Strange as it may appear, I have not yet received a line from your father or your sister Laura. I cannot imagine where they can be that they do not send word of some kind. If they had received even one letter from me concerning you, I feel sure your father would not lose a moment in answering. I have sent to a dozen places for information, but all in vain."