h,
would not harm him seriously. He did get him into trouble one day,
however, in a way that Bert was long in forgetting.

The winter had come, and over in one corner of the playground was a
slide of unusual length and excellence, upon which the Garrison boys had
fine times every day before and after school. Coming up one morning
early, on purpose to enjoy this slide, Bert was greatly disappointed to
find it in possession of a crowd of roughs from the upper streets, who
clearly intended to keep it all to themselves so long as they pleased.
While Bert, standing at a safe distance, was watching the usurpers with
longing eyes, Shorty came up, and, taking in the situation, said:

"Let 'em alone, Bert; I know of another slide just as good, a couple of
squares off. Let's go over there."

"But, isn't it most school time?" objected Bert.

"Why, no," replied Shorty. "There's ten minutes yet. Come along." And
thus assured, Bert complied.

The slide was farther away than Shorty had said, but proved to be very
good when they did reach it, and they enjoyed it so much that the time
slipped away unheeded, until presently the town clock on the hill above
them boomed out ten, in notes of solemn warning.

"My sakes!" exclaimed Bert, in alarm. "There's ten o'clock. What will we
do?"

"Guess we'd better not go to school at all. Mr. Garrison will never miss
us," suggested Shorty.

"Do you mean to meech?" asked Bert, with some indignation.

"That's about it," was the reply. "What's the harm?"

"Why, you know it ain't right; I'm not going to do it if you are." And
Bert really meant what he said.

But, as luck would have it, on their way back to the school, what should
they meet but that spectacle, one of the most attractive of the winter's
sights in the eyes of a Halifax schoolboy, a fireman's sleigh drive.
Driving gaily along the street, between lines of spectators, came sleigh
after sleigh, drawn by four, six, or even eight carefully matched and
brightly decked horses, and filled to overflowing with the firemen and
their fair friends, while bands of music played merry tunes, to which
the horses seemed to step in time.

Bert and Shorty had of course to stop and see this fine sight, and it
chanced that when it was about one-half passed, one of the big eight
horse teams got tangled up with a passing sleigh, and a scene of
confusion ensued that took a good while to set right. When at length all
was straightened out, and the proce