ll directions, hurled by white goblins,
who came rioting out of their beds. The battle raged in several rooms,
all down the upper hall, and even surged at intervals into the nursery,
when some hard-pressed warrior took refuge there. No one seemed to
mind this explosion in the least; no one forbade it, or even looked
surprised. Nursey went on hanging up towels, and Mrs. Bhaer laid out
clean clothes, as calmly as if the most perfect order reigned. Nay,
she even chased one daring boy out of the room, and fired after him the
pillow he had slyly thrown at her.

"Won't they hurt 'em?" asked Nat, who lay laughing with all his might.

"Oh dear, no! We always allow one pillow-fight Saturday night. The cases
are changed to-morrow; and it gets up a glow after the boys' baths; so
I rather like it myself," said Mrs. Bhaer, busy again among her dozen
pairs of socks.

"What a very nice school this is!" observed Nat, in a burst of
admiration.

"It's an odd one," laughed Mrs. Bhaer, "but you see we don't believe
in making children miserable by too many rules, and too much study. I
forbade night-gown parties at first; but, bless you, it was of no use.
I could no more keep those boys in their beds than so many jacks in the
box. So I made an agreement with them: I was to allow a fifteen-minute
pillow-fight every Saturday night; and they promised to go properly to
bed every other night. I tried it, and it worked well. If they don't
keep their word, no frolic; if they do, I just turn the glasses round,
put the lamps in safe places, and let them rampage as much as they
like."

"It's a beautiful plan," said Nat, feeling that he should like to join
in the fray, but not venturing to propose it the first night. So he lay
enjoying the spectacle, which certainly was a lively one.

Tommy Bangs led the assailing party, and Demi defended his own room with
a dogged courage fine to see, collecting pillows behind him as fast as
they were thrown, till the besiegers were out of ammunition, when they
would charge upon him in a body, and recover their arms. A few slight
accidents occurred, but nobody minded, and gave and took sounding
thwacks with perfect good humor, while pillows flew like big snowflakes,
till Mrs. Bhaer looked at her watch, and called out:

"Time is up, boys. Into bed, every man jack, or pay the forfeit!"

"What is the forfeit?" asked Nat, sitting up in his eagerness to know
what happened to those wretches who disobeyed this most