girl
and once she makes an engagement--"

"Why, of course," Fred finished for him, "She'd be too pious to break
it just on account of a mere little blizzard or anything. Wonder how the
weather will be next Sunday?"

"I don't know and I don't care," said Ramsey. "You don't suppose I asked
her to go _again_, do you?"

"Why not?"

"Well, for one thing, you don't suppose I want her to think I'm a
perfect fool, do you?"

Fred mused a moment or two, looking at the fire. "What was the lecture?"
he asked, mildly.

"What lecture?"

"She seemed to me to be--"

"That wasn't lecturing; she was just--"

"Just what?"

"Well; she thinks war for the United States is coming closer and
closer--"

"But it isn't."

"Well, she thinks so, anyhow," said Ramsey, "and she's all broken up
about it. Of course she thinks we oughtn't to fight and she's trying to
get everybody else she can to keep working against it. She isn't goin'
home again next summer, she's goin' back to that settlement work in
Chicago and work there among those people against our goin' to war; and
here in college she wants to get everybody she can to talk against it,
and--"

"What did you say?" Fred asked, and himself supplied the reply:
"Nothin'. I started to, but--"

Ramsey got up. "Now look here! You know the 'frat' passed a rule that if
we broke any more furniture in this house with our scrappin' we'd both
be fined the cost of repairs and five dollars apiece. Well, I can afford
five dollars this month better than you can, and--"

"I take it back!" Fred interposed, hastily. "But you just listen to me;
you look out--letting her think you're on her side like that."

"I don't--"

"You _don't?_"

Ramsey looked dogged. "I'm not goin' around always arguin' about
everything when arguin' would just hurt people's feelings about
something they're all excited about, and wouldn't do a bit o' good
in the world--and you know yourself just _talk_ hardly ever settles
anything--so I don't--"

"Aha!" Fred cried. "I thought so! Now you listen to me--"

"I won't. I--"

But at this moment they were interrupted. Someone slyly opened the door,
and a snowball deftly thrown from without caught Ramsey upon the back
of the neck and head, where it flattened and displayed itself as an
ornamental star. Shouting fiercely, both boys sprang up, ran to the
door, were caught there in a barrage of snowballs, ducked through it in
spite of all damage, charged upon a dozen besweat