“I—­I fell down in a puddle,” said the little boy.  “But I couldn’t help it, Mother.  Oh, Harry, I’m glad you’ve come!” Freddie went on.  “We can slide down hill——­ Oh, no, we can’t either,” he said quickly.  “All the snow is melted.  But Bert made a hill in our back yard and when it snows again we’ll have lots of fun on it.  Did Uncle Daniel and Aunt Sarah come?”

“Yes, we’re here,” said Aunt Sarah herself, coming to the door.  “Oh, but mercy, child!  What happened?”

“Fell in a mud puddle,” answered Freddie.  “Where’s Uncle Dan?”

“In there, talking to daddy,” replied Mrs. Bobbsey.  “But don’t stand here talking, Freddie.  Cousin Harry will excuse you until you change your clothes.”

“Of course,” answered Harry.  “Where’s Bert?” he asked of Nan.

“Coming along with Charley Mason.  They’re just down the street.  I hurried on with Freddie.”

“I guess I’ll go to meet him,” said Harry.  “I’ll see you when I come back, Freddie, and be sure you’re good and dry.”

“I will,” promised the little chap, as his mother led him upstairs.  “How long can Cousin Harry stay, Mother?” Freddie asked.

“Oh, about a week I guess.”

“I hope he can stay until there’s more snow.”

Uncle Daniel, with Aunt Sarah and Harry, had come from Meadow Brook to pay a visit in Lakeport, just as Cousin Dorothy had come from the seashore some time before.

A little later, when Freddie had on dry clothes, he and Bert, with Harry and Charley, went out in the barn to play.  Nan had to go to the store for her mother.

Freddie’s hope that snow would come soon was not to be gratified—­at least right away.  The weather remained warm for nearly a week, and what little snow was left melted.  Bert and Charley had no chance to show Harry how they could walk on the barrel-stave shoes.  But Harry noticed how they were made, and said when he went back to Meadow Brook he was going to make a pair for himself.

Then one night the weather suddenly turned cold.  It was a cold “snap,” as Mr. Bobbsey said, and certainly there was “snap” to it, for the cold made the boards of the house crack and snap like a toy pistol.

“My, but it’s cold!” exclaimed Nan, as she came down to breakfast.

“Just what we want!” cried Bert.  “Eh, Harry?”

“Sure.  This will make skating all right.  Do you think the lake will be frozen over?”

“We can soon find out,” Bert said.  “I’ll telephone down to dad’s office and ask.  One of the men can look out of the window and tell.  If it is frozen we’ll take our skates down and have some fun.”

“I didn’t bring any skates,” Harry said.

“I’ve some extra pairs,” said Bert “I guess one of ’em will fit you.”

He called up his father’s bookkeeper on the telephone, and word came back over the wire that Lake Metoka was frozen solidly, and that already some boys were out on it, gliding along.