he
wall, and break to pieces.

"Let us cut them in two," said Oliver; "we can handle them better so."

Before they got through the fourth course, they were glad to cut all
their materials into pieces of one foot square.

"How high are the walls now?" said Rollo, as they stopped to look at the
appearance of the last course.

"Between five and six feet," said Oliver. "The foundation is at least a
foot and a half high, and we have laid four courses."

Oliver, Rollo, and Nathan went to work together, then, stopping up all
the chinks in the wall, inside and out, with soft snow.

When this was well done, Oliver took the hoe, and with the sharp edge
shaved down all around on both sides, making the walls look even and
true.

"Well," said Rollo, "that is the best snow fort I ever saw. Jonas does
know how to do things, doesn't he, Oliver? But I don't see how we are to
get a roof on."

"I don't care about a roof," said Oliver. "We don't want to play in it
only in pleasant weather."

"I'll tell you what we might do," said Rollo. "We could make a partition
through the middle, and put a roof over half of it."

"So we can," said Oliver. "We'll do that this afternoon. It's time to go
to dinner now."

The boys then gathered all the tools, &c., and laid them together, as
Jonas had taught them to do, when they finished work, and then started
for home.

"Halloo, Franco," said Rollo, "are you here still?" They had been so busy
at work, they had taken no notice of him. But Franco had watched their
operations, and now went running on in the path before the boys, wagging
his tail, as if he had as much pleasure as they, in contemplating the
result of their morning's labor.

When Jonas came home to dinner, at noon, the boys were impatient to tell
him what they had done.

But Jonas was too much engaged in some work about the new barn to listen
to their story then. He told them, however, that he would go down about
sunset, and look at their work, and hear the account, in the evening, of
the experiment in doing work like workmen.

After dinner, Oliver was excused from many of his regular duties, on
account of the visit of Rollo and Nathan; and the three boys hastened
to return to their fort. They were so intent on finishing it, that they
lost all interest in playing with Franco, or each other.

"What shall we call our fort?" said Oliver, as they walked along.

"We don't want any name, do we?" said Rollo.

"O, yes," said Oliv