Really no one in Scranton was sorry.  They had held the last match there on the new rink, and could not expect to have a monopoly of these happenings all through the season.  Besides, they had a splendid lake over at Belleville, which would be considerable of an attraction to the young people of Scranton, whom fortune had not treated so kindly, since they had formerly been compelled to trudge several miles to Hobson’s mill-pond when they wished to skate, swim, or fish; though now, of course, they had the newly flooded area in the baseball park for diversion.

A great many went over to Belleville in every manner of vehicle.  Sleighs were in great demand, but, besides these, cars could be seen by dozens on the highroad leading to the rival town, situated some ten miles away.

It must needs be something over which they had no control that could keep any Scranton High boy or girl away from Belleville that Saturday morning.  The very atmosphere seemed to be charged with electricity, and was calling them to hasten away, to join the throngs already pouring forth, bent on giving encouragement to those gallant young athletes representing their school, who had as yet not tasted of defeat on the ice that season.

The lake just outside of Belleville was quite extensive, and could not be insulted with the name of “pond,” for it ran at least a mile in length, and half that in width.

While the ice was no longer as smooth as had earlier been, the case, still it seemed in fair condition.  Besides, the Belleville boys had managed to flood that section to be given over as a rink; and ordinary skaters were warned to keep off, so that it might not be all “cut up” with sharp runners before the match was started.

The Belleville team looked dangerous.  They were, of course, pretty much the same fellows whom Scranton High had met the preceding summer on the baseball diamond; some of them had also taken part in the athletic tournament late in the Fall, accounts of which events will be found duly chronicled in earlier volumes of this series.

When all the preliminaries had been settled good-naturedly, the rival teams lined up to hear the last instructions of the referee.  This party was the same gentleman who had officiated with such satisfaction in the game with Keyport on the preceding Saturday.

Here is the list of players, and the positions they occupied, Scranton having kept the identical Seven with which the last game had been so cleverly won, though many people were of the opinion they had a much more difficult proposition before them in the Belleville boys: