282 
THE SNOW 
before he went away, “nor to Queenie, nor to my 
son Percy when he comes home. Not a word !” 
I smiled at Mr. Hayden then, for already I knew 
the surprise Mr. Percy had planned to give his 
father at Christmas. 
“Not a word to anybody!” and Mr. Hayden 
blew out of the door with a great puff of snow. 
I was glad when I heard the bells ringing and 
saw the sleigh turn in at the Six Spruces bringing 
Little Joseph back from school. His cheeks were 
red, and he was full of gaiety. 
“Our vacation has begun,” he cried. “Just 
think: vacation, snow and Christmas!” Little 
Joseph was happy. 
Then we looked across the circle and saw 
Queenie Perth trudging through the snow. At 
first, it seemed impossible it could be she. We 
wondered how it happened that Miss Wiseman had 
let her come out in such deep snow. Long before 
Joseph reached her, we heard her laughing. 
“I slipped out to feel the snow for myself,” she 
said. “Auntie was whispering secrets about Christ- 
mas that I could not hear.” 
She was well bundled up, and as eager to playj 
in the snow as Joseph. They pelted each other 
with snowballs, and at length they decided to build 
a great snow man and to stand him by the spruces. 
Fortunately, Timothy showed them the way he used 
to make one when he was a boy. Otherwise, they 
