s he watched the tramp take the last of
Ted's bread.

"No. Why did you think I was--because I have a wooden leg?"

The boy nodded.

"My leg was cut off on the railroad," went on the tramp. "But I get
along pretty well on this wooden peg. It's a good thing in a way, too,"
he added.

"How's that?" asked Tom.

"Well, you see havin' only one leg there isn't so much of me to get
hungry. It's just like having only one mouth instead of two. If you boys
had two mouths you'd have to have two slices of bread and jam instead of
one," went on the tramp, laughing. "It's the same way when you only have
one leg instead of two--you don't get so hungry."

"Are you hungry yet?" asked Tom, as he saw the tramp licking off with
his tongue some drops of jam that got on his fingers.

"I am," the man answered. "My one leg isn't quite full yet--I mean my
one good leg," he added. "You can't put anything--not even bread and jam
into this wooden peg," and he tapped it with his cane.

"Take my slice of bread," said Tom kindly. "I guess I can get some more
when I get home."

"Nora'll give you some same as she will me," said Teddy. "Go on and
eat--I like to watch you," he added to the tramp.

"Well, you don't like to watch me any more than I like to do it,"
laughed the ragged man, as he began on the second slice of bread and
jam.

[Illustration: JAN WENT THROUGH THE ICE INTO THE BLACK WATER.
_Page 111_]

He ate that all up, and then, when Teddy and Tom went in and told Nora
what had happened, the good-natured girl insisted on getting some hot
coffee and bread and meat for the hungry man.

"Jam and such like isn't anything near enough," she said, "even if he
has but one leg. I'll feed him proper."

Which she did, and the tramp with the "wooden peg," as he called it, was
very thankful. Before he left he cut some wood for Nora, and also
whittled out two little wooden swords for Ted and Tom.

"I'm glad we gave him our bread and jam; aren't you?" asked Ted of his
chum.

"Yep," was the answer. "I liked him, and it was fun to see him take big
bites."

A snowstorm came a few days later, and, for a time, the Curlytops
thought it might be the big one Grandpa Martin's hermit had spoken of.
But the snow soon changed to rain and then came a thaw, so that there
was not a bit of snow left on the ground, all being washed away.

"Oh, dear!" sighed Jan, as she looked out of the window. "This isn't
like winter at all! We can't have any fun!"