“I suppose all of you notice that it’s grown cloudy late to-day,” suggested Spider Sexton.
“Oh! I hope that doesn’t mean a heavy snowfall before we get started,” exclaimed Bluff. “If a foot of snow comes down on us, good-bye to our using the iceboats as we’ve been planning.” 64
“The weather reports at the post office say fair and cold ahead for this section,” announced Jack Stormways, at which there arose many faint cheers.
“Good boy, Jack!” cried Bobolink, patting the other’s back. “It was just like the thoughtful fellow you are to go down and read the prospect the weather sharps in Washington hold out for us.”
“You must thank Paul for that, then,” admitted the other, “for he told me about it. I rather expect Paul had the laugh on the rest of us to-night, boys.”
“Now you’re referring to that Jud Mabley business, Jack,” said Phil Towne.
“Well, when Paul let him off so easy every one of us believed he was wrong, and that the chances were ten to one Paul would have to fork over the dollar to pay for having that window pane put in,” continued Jack. “But you heard what happened?”
“Yes, seems that the age of miracles hasn’t passed yet,” admitted Bobolink. “I thought I was dreaming when Paul told me that Jud’s little brother came this morning with an envelope addressed to him, and handed it in without a word.”
“And when Paul opened it,” continued Jack, taking up the story in his turn, “he found a nice, new dollar bill enclosed, with a scrap of paper on 65 which Jud had scrawled these words: ‘Never would have paid only I couldn’t let you stand for my accident, and after you treated me so white, too. But this wipes it all out, remember. I’m no crawler!’”
“It tickled Paul a whole lot, let me remark,” Jud Elderkin explained. “I do half believe he thinks he can see a rift in the cloud, and that some of these days hopes to get a chance to drag Jud Mabley out of that ugly crowd.”