"And my man can be the man that owns it, out for a walk in his garden," chimed in Molly, who had been too much absorbed in her work to speak before.
"Nice weather for gardening," said Joe with a wink, as he started after the shovels.
Work is a cure for many sorrows, and Charlotte felt her heart grow lighter as she helped Joe cut great blocks of snow and pile them symmetrically. Betty, who had wandered over to see Charlotte, proved a most efficient helper, and Frank and Bert, driving by almost hidden under the branches of a stately Christmas tree, shouted their greetings and came back later to join in the work.
Both boys and girls worked hard, and the result was a snow hut large enough to shelter a good-sized family of Esquimaux. An arched doorway gave entrance to the interior, which was divided into two rooms. It had taken a large amount of snow to build it, and really much skill, for the day was growing warmer and it was almost impossible to make the structure firm enough to stand.
"There," said Charlotte, as she stuck a tiny American flag just over the entrance, "I consider that the finishing touch. Now if you boys will come over this afternoon and freeze it it will probably last for some time."
"What a short morning!" exclaimed Betty as the church clock struck twelve. "I'm as warm as toast and as hungry as a bear."
"Come in and help me get out the lunch Melina left for us," begged Charlotte, "and then we can rest till the boys come over this afternoon."
The boys left in a cloud of snowballs, but Joe found a chance to say softly to Charlotte as he passed her, "Feeling better, Charlotte? You look it."
"Run along and don't be foolish," answered Charlotte disdainfully.
"Goodness! Melina must have thought she was going to feed an army," laughed Betty, as Charlotte brought out sandwiches, cookies, brown bread and a plate heaped with the cunning apple turnovers for which Melina was famous. "Doesn't everything look good?"