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A TRAMP THROUGH THE SNOW
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grumbled Buster Beggs. "What are we going to do?"

"Say, that puts me in mind of a story," came quickly from Shadow. "Once two boys were out skating and——"

"For the sake of the mummies of Egypt, let up on the story-telling, Shadow!" burst out Phil. "Don't you realize what this loss means to us? It's bad enough to lose the hamper and clothing, but what are we to do in this snowstorm, with night coming on, and so far from Oak Hall without skates?"

"Humph! I guess we'll have to walk," grumbled the story-teller of the school. "But that will take time, and if this storm keeps up——"

"We'll be snowed under!" finished Chip Macklin. "Well, no use in staying here," came from two of the students.

"That is just what I say," said Dave. "Those skate marks lead down the river and that is the way we want to go. By following them we'll be getting nearer to the Hall and at the same time closer to the fellows who took our things."

"We'll never catch those fellows," grumbled Ben. "They can skate five times as fast as we can walk."

"Never mind, we'll go after 'em anyway," replied Gus. "And if we catch 'em——" He did