The boys roared with laughter, and Hicksley’s temper rose to the boiling point.
“Own up now, which one of you did it,” he demanded fiercely.
“Whoever did it knew you pretty well, Tom Hicksley,” said Fred.
“What do you suppose the picture means?” inquired Mouser, as though he could not quite make it out.
“I think it means that the fellow who would take a dead mouse from a blind kitten is about as mean as they make them,” put in Sparrow.
“Mean enough to torment a poor old soldier, I shouldn’t wonder,” added Shiner, pouring oil on the flames.
“Are you going to tell me who did it?” snarled Hicksley once more, snatching back the valentine, which he now regretted having shown, and doubling up his fist.
“I would have done it if I’d thought of it,” Fred came back at him.
Hicksley sprang forward, followed by Bronson and Jinks.
The boys stood their ground and there was a wild mix-up. In a moment they were all down in the snow in a flying tangle of arms and legs.