" said the former bully, and then with a
meaning look at Dave he retired. He knew Dave had brought out the book
merely in order that the other lads would not ask embarrassing
questions.

"That is a great book," said Roger, looking it over. "Say, it must be
fine to travel in the land of perpetual snow."

"Providing you can keep warm," added Phil.

"Talking about keeping warm, puts me in mind of a story," began Shadow
Hamilton. "Now, if you'll listen I'll tell it, otherwise I won't."

"How much to listen?" asked Luke Watson, meekly.

"Nothing--this is free, gratis, for nothing."

"I mean, what are you going to pay us for listening, Shadow?"

"Oh, you go to Jericho!" growled the story-teller of the school. "Well,
this is about two men who hired a room in a hotel. It was in the
summer-time and the room was very hot. They opened the window on the
court, but it didn't let in enough air. In the middle of the night one
of the men got up in the dark. 'What you doing?' asked the other man.
'Looking for another window to open,' says the man who was up. Pretty
soon he touched a glass and found what he thought was a window opening
sideways. 'There, that's fine!' he said. 'It's pretty breezy--guess I'll
pull up the cover a little,' said the other man, and then both slept
well until morning. When they got up they found that the one fellow had
opened the door to an old bookcase in a corner."

"Very breezy story," was Roger's comment.

"Quite a refined air about it," remarked Ben.

"How did opening the bookcase make the room cooler?" demanded Dave,
innocently.

"Why, it didn't. The man thought----"

"But you said he was cooler. He even pulled up the cover on the bed!"

"Certainly. He got the impression----"

"Who?"

"The man. He thought----"

"How could he think if he was asleep, Shadow?"

"I didn't say he thought in his sleep. I said----"

"Well, he went to bed anyhow, didn't he?"

"Of course. But when he opened the bookcase door----"

"Oh, I see, it was a refrigerator in disguise. Why didn't you tell us
that before,--how the block of ice fell out on the man's left front toe
and injured his spine so he couldn't sing any more?" finished Dave, and
then a laugh arose, in the midst of which Shadow made a playful pass as
if to box Dave's ear.

"The next time I have a good story like that to tell I'll keep it to
myself," he grumbled.

To change the subject, some of the boys asked Luke Watson to give them a
song.