lained to Laddie.

In a little while, with his brother's help, Russ had made four of the
barrel-stave snowshoes--a pair for himself and a pair for Laddie.

"Now all we have to do," said Russ, "is to tie 'em on and walk out on
the snow. We won't sink down in, as we do with our regular feet, and we
can go as fast as anything."

"Won't we fall?" asked Laddie.

"We'll hold on to the poles. That's what I got 'em for," said Russ.

In a short time he and his brother had fastened the barrel staves to
their shoes, winding and tying the cords and ropes, and even some old
straps around and around. Their feet looked very queer--almost like
those of some clown in the circus. But Laddie and Russ did not mind
that. They wanted to walk on the home-made snowshoes.

"Come on!" called Russ, as he shuffled across the barn floor toward the
door, from which led a big stretch of deep, white snow. "Come on,
Laddie!"

"I--I can't seem to walk," the little fellow said. "I keep stepping on
my feet all the while."

This was very true. As he took one step he would put the other snowshoe
down on the one he had moved last, and then he could not raise the
underneath foot.

"Spread your legs apart and sort of slide along," said Russ. "Then you
won't step on your own feet. Do it this way."

Russ separated one foot from the other as far as he could, and then he
shuffled along, not raising his feet. He found this the best way, and
soon he was at the barn door, with Laddie behind him.

"Come on now, we'll start and walk on the snow, and we'll s'prise Daddy
and Mother," cried Russ.

He did manage to glide over the snow, the broad, long barrel staves
keeping him from sinking in the soft drifts. Laddie did not do quite so
well, but he managed to get along.

The boys held long poles, which helped to keep them from falling over,
and, at first, so uneven was the walking that they might have fallen if
it had not been for the long staffs.

"I'll make snowshoes for all of us," said Russ, as he and Laddie went
slowly around the corner of the barn. "Then we can play Indians, and go
on a long walk and take our dinner and stay all day."

Together they walked around the barn. They were getting used to the
barrel-stave snowshoes now, and really did quite well on them. Of
course, now and then, one or the other's fastenings would become loose,
and they would have to stop and tie them. Laddie got so he could do this
for himself.

"It's like when your sh