forming
over the surface of the water in the barrel. Tom Reade slipped from his
bunk, drawing on shoes and trousers, and quickly placed a few more logs
over the embers. A few minutes after that it was warm enough for the
rest to slip out of their bunks and dress hurriedly--all except Hen
Dutcher.

Greg soon busied himself, tea-kettle in hand, with thawing the ice
around the bottoms of the sliding shutters.

"No tracks at the cook shack," announced young Holmes. "And say,
fellows, it has stopped snowing."

"Well, for once in my life," smiled Dick, "I think I've seen enough
snow. I just wonder how the folks in Gridley are getting through it."

"Oh, they must have the streets broken, after a fashion, and some sort
of paths on the main sidewalks," responded Tom Reade judicially.

All were now at the windows, looking out over the scene. At only two of
the windows, however, could a level view be obtained; the two others
were completely blocked by piled up snow. The rest of the windows could
be used for observation purposes when the Grammar School lads placed
boxes on which to stand.

"The snow looks soft yet," declared Dave.

"It is soft; you can see that in the way that the wind catches it up in
flurries," Dick argued.

"Then we can't get far in it to-day," decided Tom Reade. "We can't
travel far over the snow until we have a cold spell for twenty-four
hours that will freeze the top of the snow into a hard crust."

"When that crust comes we just will travel," muttered Dave.

"Getting tired of camp?" grinned Dalzell.

"No, Danny Grin; but you forget something."

"What?"

"We've got a duty to perform. As soon as we can get where there's a
telephone, we've got to send word to the Gridley folks that Mr. Fits is
in these parts."

"But Mr. Fits isn't here," Greg objected.

"That's so," Darrin admitted slowly. "And yet the rascal must be
somewhere around, for he couldn't get far in such a blizzard as we've
been going through."

"What I'm even more anxious about than Mr. Fits is telephoning the news
to the home folks that we're all safe here, and as snug and comfortable
as can be," Dick interposed. "Whee! But our folks must be worried about
us. They'll never let us go camping again in winter."

"Oh, I don't know about that," argued Dave. "If we only prove to them
that we can weather such a time as this, without sickness or disaster,
they'll be ready to believe that we can take care of ourselves anywhere
on ea