snow was used, and nearly
every boy had his face washed.

"Get back there!" roared Danny Rugg, who was close to the flag, but as
he spoke two boys shoved him down on his face in the snow, and the next
moment Bert and another boy of the invading party had the flag and was
carrying it away in triumph.

"The fort has fallen!" screamed Nan, and clapped her hands.

"Hurrah!" shouted Freddie. "The--the forters are beaten, aren't they?"

"Yes, Freddie."

A cheer was given for those who had captured the fort. Then some of the
boys began to dance on the top of the walls, and down they came, one
after another, until the fort was in ruins, and the great contest came
to an end.

"It was just splendid!" said Nan to Bert, on the way home. "Just like a
real battle."

"Only the band didn't play," put in Freddie disappointedly. "Real
soldiers have a band. They don't play fish-horns."

"Oh, Freddie!" cried Flossie. "They weren't fish-horns. They were
Christmas horns."

"It's all the same. I like a band, with a big, fat bass-drum."

"We'll have the band next time--just for your benefit, Freddie," said
Bert.

He was tired out and glad to rest when they got home. More than this,
some of the snow had gotten down his back, so he had to dry himself by
sitting with his back to the sitting-room heater.

"Danny Rugg was terribly angry that we captured the fort," said he. "He
is looking for the boys who threw him on his face."

"It served him right," answered Nan, remembering the trouble over the
broken show window.

The second fall of snow was followed by steady cold weather and it was
not long before the greater part of Lake Metoka was frozen over. As soon
as this happened nearly all of the boys and girls took to skating, so
that sledding and snowballing were, for the time being, forgotten.

Both Nan and Bert had new skates, given to them the Christmas before,
and each was impatient to go on the ice, but Mrs. Bobbsey held them back
until she thought it would be safe.

"You must not go too far from shore," said she. "I understand the ice in
the middle of the lake, and at the lower end, is not as firm as it might
be."

Freddie and Flossie wanted to watch the skating, and Nan took them to
their father's lumber yard. Here was a small office directly on the lake
front, where they could see much that was going on and still be under
the care of an old workman around the yards.

Nan could not skate very well, but Bert could get