own."

"Gee! listen to that, will you?" exclaimed Andy. "Fatty says he holds
himself down! And this morning I saw him storing away three helpings of
sausages and about 'steen dozen buckwheat cakes."

"Nothing of the kind! I didn't have a bit more than you had," growled
Hendry. He broke off suddenly. "Hello! what's up now?"

"Hi! Hi! What's the meaning o' this?" cried a voice from around one end
of the big barn, and a man, dressed in overalls and a heavy cap and
carrying a broom, appeared.

"Hello there, Bob Nixon!" cried Jack. "What's wrong?"

"There'll be a whole lot wrong if you fellows keep on throwing those
snowballs much farther," answered Bob Nixon, who was a chauffeur for the
Hall and who did all sorts of odd jobs in the winter time.

"Did we hit you?" questioned Phil Franklin.

"You sure did--on the back and on my hand," answered Nixon.

"We didn't know anybody was around on that side of the barn," announced
Andy.

"I don't suppose you did. But never mind me. What I want to know is, do
you fellows intend to smash all the glass in those hotbed frames out
yonder?"

"Great salt mackerel!" ejaculated Fred. "I forgot those hotbed frames
were there."

"Why, the glass is out of 'em, anyway, isn't it?" questioned Gif.

"It was out. But they've been setting some of 'em in again, getting ready
for some early stuff. You've sent those snowballs up to within ten or
fifteen feet of where the frames are located."

"Gosh! it's a good thing you told us of this," burst out Fatty Hendry.
"We might have had a nice lot of glassware to pay for."

"Not you, Fatty," grinned Andy. "You never even hit the top of the barn.
If you break any glass it will be in some of those basement windows."

"Come on up to the other end of the barn," suggested Gif. "Then the
snowballs will fly right out into the open field and do no harm."

"Well, I don't care where you throw 'em as long as you don't get into
mischief," answered Bob Nixon, and disappeared into the barn.

After that the cadets continued to throw over the structure for some
time. But then they gradually lost interest, and as the short winter day
was coming rapidly to an end some hurried into the Hall to do a little
extra school work before the bell should ring for supper.

"Well, what next?" questioned Fred Rover, when he and his three cousins
and Gif, Phil and Spouter found themselves left alone.

"I've got a great scheme for to-night if you fellows will help,"
anno