“Keep those fellows off!” cried Ben.
Four or five upper grade boys barred their way.
“We helped make this slide,” said Cupples indignantly, “and you can just believe we’re going to slide on it.”
“Nothing doing,” declared Ben. “You two fellows have joined with the juniors. That bars you out.”
“It does, eh?” Cupples tried to push by. “We’ll see about that! Come on, Cran.”
But the others were too many for them, and, in the end, Crandall and Cupples, protesting angrily and vowing vengeance, retreated to the ground.
“Wouldn’t they let you slide?” asked Lanny.
“No, but they can’t help themselves. We’ll wait until they’ve all coasted down,” said Cupples.
But it was soon evident that the enemy had other plans, for they timed their descents so that there always remained four or five fellows at the start. This effectually held Cupples and Crandall at bay, but it made the tobogganing pretty slow, since it was necessary to wait until one couple had started back from the meadow before the next couple started down.