"No, we'll only go a mile or so," said Bert. "Want to come, Nan and
Dorothy?"
The girls did, and so, also, did Flossie and Freddie, but their mother would not allow this. So Freddie got out his engine and played fireman, while his little sister put her walking and talking doll through her performance. Snap, the trick dog, with many barks, raced off with Bert and the older children.
The Ice Bird sailed well that day, skimming over the frozen lake at a fast pace, and the children greatly enjoyed the sport. Snap sat on with the others, looking as though he liked it as well as anyone.
They sailed up the lake for some distance and then got out to look for a cave which Bert had heard was a short distance from shore. They did not find it at once, but while they were climbing up a little hill, thinking the cave might be somewhere near it, Harry was suddenly startled to receive a snowball on his ear.
"Ouch!" he cried. "Who threw that?"
They all stopped and looked around. No one was in sight.
"Maybe it fell off a tree," suggested Nan.
"It came too hard for that," declared Harry. "It was thrown."
They looked about again, but, seeing no one, went on. Then, suddenly there came another ball, and Dorothy cried:
"There, that came out of a tree, for I saw it. Right over there," and she pointed.