Russ separated one foot from the other as far as he could, and then he shuffled along, not raising his feet. He found this the best way, and soon he was at the barn door, with Laddie behind him.
"Come on now, we'll start and walk on the snow, and we'll s'prise Daddy and Mother," cried Russ.
He did manage to glide over the snow, the broad, long barrel staves keeping him from sinking in the soft drifts. Laddie did not do quite so well, but he managed to get along.
The boys held long poles, which helped to keep them from falling over, and, at first, so uneven was the walking that they might have fallen if it had not been for the long staffs.
"I'll make snowshoes for all of us," said Russ, as he and Laddie went slowly around the corner of the barn. "Then we can play Indians, and go on a long walk and take our dinner and stay all day."
Together they walked around the barn. They were getting used to the barrel-stave snowshoes now, and really did quite well on them. Of course, now and then, one or the other's fastenings would become loose, and they would have to stop and tie them. Laddie got so he could do this for himself.
"It's like when your shoelace comes untied," he said. "Did the Indians' laces come untied, Russ?"
"I guess so. But now come on. We'll go to the house and get some bread and jam."
Russ and Laddie started out bravely enough, and they were half-way to the house when Russ said:
"Oh, let's see if we can get across that big drift!"