Sir Toady nodded with fierce willingness. He scented the battle from afar.
"Ten yards then, twenty snowballs made before you begin, and then go as you please. But no rushing in, before first volley!"
"And no holding the balls under the drip of the kitchen roof!" said Hugh John, who had suffered from certain Toady Lionish practices which personally he scorned.
"Well, then," said I, "out you go in your jerseys for one hot half-hour. But no standing about, mind!"
Sweetheart and Maid Margaret looked exceedingly wistful.
"Of course," I said, "Sweetheart will want to go on with her knitting, but if she likes, the Maid can watch them from the window."
"Oo-oh!" said Maid Margaret, "I should like to go too!"
"And I should not mind going either," admitted Sweetheart, "just to see that they did not hurt the Maid. They are such rough boys!"
So it was arranged, as I had known it would be from the first. The snow was still falling, but the wind had gone down. There was to be no standing still, and afterward they were to change immediately for dinner. These were the conditions of permitted civil strife.
"Please, is rolling in the snow permitted?" said Hugh John, to whom this was a condition of importance.