CHAPTER XIX
SNAP IS GONE
Dorothy screamed, and turned back toward Nan when she saw Bert struckwith the snowball. But plucky Nan kept on.
"That must be Danny Rugg!" cried Bert's sister. "No one else around herewould be as mean as that!"
Bert stopped a moment to brush the snow from his eyes, and then herushed toward the tree.
"Who is it?" cried Harry.
"I don't know--but I'm going to find out," was Bert's answer. "Comealong!"
The two boys hurried on, the girls lingering in the rear.
Again a snowball flew out of the tree, but it struck no one, thoughcoming near to Nan.
By this time Bert was close to the tree. It was a hemlock, and thebranches were quite thick, but Bert got a glimpse of someone hidingamong them.
"Come down out of that!" Bert cried. "I see you!"
There was no answer.
"What do you mean by hitting us?" asked Harry angrily. "We didn't doanything to you."
Still there was no answer.
"I'm going to do some snowballing on my own account," spoke Bert. "Heregoes!"
He quickly made a hard ball, and, circling around the tree to find anopening in the branches, he saw the figure of the boy more plainly.
"Danny Rugg!" cried Bert. "So it's you; is it? First you start asnowslide down on us and then you snowball us. This has got to stop.Take that!"
Bert threw, but though his aim was good, Danny, for it was the bully,managed to climb up higher in the tree, and the snowball broke intopieces against the branches.
"Ha! Ha!" laughed Danny.
"Oh, there's plenty more snow," said Harry, "and you can't have an awfullot up there."
His answer was another snowball, which struck him on the shoulder, doingno harm. Danny must have taken some snow-ammunition up the tree withhim, and, in addition, there was a supply of the white flakes on thewide branches of the hemlock.
Bert and Harry both began throwing snowballs up into the tree, but theywere at a disadvantage, for their missiles broke to pieces against thetrunk or branches. On the other hand Danny could wait his chance and hitthem when they came within sight.
"This won't do!" exclaimed Bert, after a bit. "We've got to get him outof that tree."
"How can we?" asked Harry. "Climb up it, and pull him down?"
"Oh, don't do that!" cried Nan. "You might get hurt."
"Yes, that would be risky," admitted Bert. "One of us might slip andfall. Hey you, Danny Rugg!" cried Bert. "Come on down, and we'll giveyou a fair show. Only one of us will tackle you at a time."
"Huh! Think I'm coming down?" asked Danny. "I'm not afraid of you, butI'm going to stay up here."
"Oh, are you?" asked Bert, as he thought of a new plan. "We'll see aboutthat. Come here, Harry."
From the tree Danny looked down anxiously while Harry and Bert whisperedtogether. The girls had walked off to one side.
"How are you going to get him down?" asked Harry.
"Cut the tree," answered Bert. "It's only a small one."
"But we can't even cut that down with our knives."
"I know. But on the ice-boat is that hatchet father gave me to take tobe sharpened. I forgot about it on the way up the lake, and I was goingto do it on the way back. There's a blacksmith shop in the big cove. Butthe hatchet is sharp enough to chop down this tree. We'll get it andgive Danny a good scare."
"That's what we will. You stay here and I'll run down and get it."
Harry started off on a run, and Danny, still up the tree, wondered whatplan was afoot. The bully had been out for a walk when he saw Bert andthe others coming up the hill. He quickly climbed the tree in order tothrow snowballs at them.
When Harry came back with the hatchet Bert once more called to Danny.
"Are you coming down and fight fair? I give you my promise that only oneof us will tackle you at a time. You can have your choice."
"I'm not coming down!" cried Danny.
"Chop away, Harry!" called Bert. "I guess I can pepper him with a fewsnowballs if he tries to throw any at you."
The tree trunk was not very thick, and the hatchet was fairly sharp. Ina little while the tree began swaying.
"I say now, stop that!" cried Danny, trying to get a better hold in thebranches.
"Better come down before you fall," suggested Bert, who had a pile ofsnowballs ready.
The tree swayed more and more. Bert and Harry knew that even if Dannyfell with it he could not get hurt in the soft drifts. So Harry kept onchopping.
The tree swayed more and more. There was a cracking sound. Then Dannycried:
"Don't chop any more--I'm coming down!"
"Get ready, Harry!" called Bert. "We'll give him some of the same kindof a thing he gave us!"
In another instant Danny jumped, and as the swaying tree sprang back,when relieved of his weight, Bert and Harry leaped forward to pelt thebully with snowballs.
Danny tried to fight back, but he was no match for the two of them, andsoon he began to look like a snow image, so well was he plastered withwhite flakes.
"Give it to him!" cried Bert, whose face still stung where Danny hadstruck him with a snowball.
"That's what I will," agreed Harry, whose ear was quite sore.
For a time Danny said nothing, but tried to block off the rain ofsnowballs, throwing some of his own back. Then, as he was almostoverwhelmed by the ones Harry and Bert threw, the bully cried:
"Stop! Stop! I've had enough! I won't bother you any more!"
Danny was soon out of sight, running off in the direction of hisfather's lumber tract, and soon Bert and the others went back to theice-boat.
They stopped at the blacksmith shop to have the hatchet sharpened, andreached home after a little sail on the _Ice Bird_.
"Did anything happen this time?" asked Freddie, as he greeted them onthe return to Snow Lodge.
"Not much," replied Bert. "We just had a snow fight; that's all."
The skating and ice-boating lasted for some time, and the girls and boyshad lots of fun. Nights were spent in popping corn, telling stories,roasting apples, and once, in the big sled, they all went to anentertainment in a nearby school hall.
It was on returning from this, in the evening, that Dinah met them atthe door, asking:
"Did yo' all take dat dog Snap wif yo?"
"Take Snap? No," said Mr. Bobbsey.
"Isn't he here?"
The children began to look alarmed.
"He was here," said Dinah, "but I can't find him now, nohow. He suah ammissin'."