“Isn’t it funny,” giggled Laura to Billie, “how many more of the girls turn out when they know the boys are going to be there?”
“It’s sad but true,” admitted Billie, with an answering chuckle. “After that first heavy snowfall when we said something about an all-girls’ sledding party, they didn’t seem awfully anxious about it. Said it was too early in the season and they hated dragging sleds up the hill.”
“Now I suppose they will expect the boys to do the dragging,” laughed Vi.
When they had climbed almost to the top of the hill that made such a fine toboggan they heard the sound of boys’ voices.
“Goodness, they must have started before breakfast,” said Connie Danvers, who was puffing with the effort to get her plump little body and her heavy sled up the steep incline. “Say, give me a lift, will you, Billie? This hill is so slippery.”
“You mean that you’re getting too fat,” said Laura wickedly, as she reached over and grabbed Connie’s line. “I told you you were eating too much candy.”
Billie reached the top of the hill first and with dancing eyes she looked down at the long, steep, ice-covered incline. The slight thaw of the day before had been the one thing needed to perfect the sledding. For the surface of the snow had melted, then frozen over again, forming a solid coat of ice.
As she took this all in gleefully, the first of the boys emerged from the trees at the foot of the hill and an impish impulse seized her.
With a shout of warning she pulled up her sled, flung herself upon it, gave a little push, and was off! Down the hill she hurtled at a terrific rate of speed, the glaze of ice forming almost no resistance to her flight.
Taken by surprise, the boys had no more than time to get out of the way before she literally dropped among them.