c fields enclosed. It
would keep the rowdy element from disturbing the players when any
game was in progress; and, as a small admission fee might often be
asked, having one or two gates through which admission to the grounds
could be obtained would facilitate matters greatly.

But this was not all. Scranton had awakened to the fact that nature
had been rather unkind to her young people, in that there was no large
lake, or even so much as a small river close by her borders. When the
boys and girls of the town felt inclined to skate after a sharp freeze
along about New Year's Day, they had to walk all the way out to
Hobson's mill-pond, situated between half and two-thirds of a mile away.
This was not so bad for some of the sturdy chaps, but there were others
who disliked taking such long tramps, especially after violent
exercising for hours, it might be, on the ice.

So, after mature deliberation, and receiving valuable suggestions from
Mr. Leonard, as well as others who had seen similar things successfully
carried out in various places, it had been arranged to flood the field
after winter had fully set in. Then, during the time of severe weather,
the young folks would have a splendid sheet of ice right at their doors,
a comfortable retreat into which they could go to warm up, or to put
on and remove their skates.

Here various games were expected to be indulged in, as the weather
permitted; and already a fine hockey Seven had been organized, under
the leadership of Hugh Morgan, with a promise of many exciting games
against rival teams.

The high board fence was being erected, but would hardly be completed
before Spring; still, it gave an air of business to the grounds, and
the boys had already begun to congratulate themselves over the great
stride forward Scranton had taken in the way of catering to her rising
population.

Of course, there were those in the town---you can always find a few in
every community---who seriously objected to so much "good money being
wasted," as they termed it, on such trivial things, when Scranton
really needed an up-to-date library building in place of the poor
apology for one that had to serve.

These people, doubtless from worthy motives, though they were
short-sighted in their opposition, lost no opportunity for running down
the entire enterprise. The person who, perhaps, had more influence
than any of the others, and was more vehement in deriding the "foolish
expenditure of