Ice had already formed on Pine Lake, but just before Christmas it began to snow and blow heavily, so that skating was out of the question. This put something of a damper on the lads and they went around feeling somewhat blue.
Christmas morning dawned bright and fair. The ground was covered with over a foot of snow, and the merry jingle of sleighbells filled the air.
As may be surmised the Westmore boys were up early. There were many presents to be given and received, and it was a time of great surprises and not a little joy.
What pleased Joe most of all was the new watch he received. It was decidedly better than the first watch had been, and so was the chain better than the other.
“Just what I wanted!” he declared. “It tops all the presents—not but what I like them, too,” he added, hastily.
Harry had slipped off without the others noticing. Now he came back, his face aglow with enthusiasm.
“Oh, Joe, what do you think?” he cried. “The wind has swept Pine Lake as clean as a whistle.”
“If that’s the case, Harry, we can go skating this morning instead of waiting until after dinner. But how do you know the ice on the lake is clear?”
“Didn’t I just come from there?” Harry held up a shining pair of nickel-plated skates. “Couldn’t resist trying ’em, you know. Say, it was just all right of Uncle Maurice to give each of us a pair, wasn’t it?”
“It certainly was,” returned Joe. “But I rather think I love that double-barreled shotgun a little better. I am fairly aching to give it a trial on a bird or a rabbit, or something larger.”