They looked about again, but, seeing no one, went on. Then, suddenly there came another ball, and Dorothy cried:

"There, that came out of a tree, for I saw it. Right over there," and she pointed.

"Then if it came out of a tree someone is up the tree!" declared Bert, "and I'm going to see who it is."

As he rushed forward a s...o...b..ll struck him full in the face.

CHAPTER XIX

SNAP IS GONE

Dorothy screamed, and turned back toward Nan when she saw Bert struck with the s...o...b..ll. But plucky Nan kept on.

"That must be Danny Rugg!" cried Bert's sister. "No one else around here would be as mean as that!"

Bert stopped a moment to brush the snow from his eyes, and then he rushed toward the tree.

"Who is it?" cried Harry.

"I don't know--but I'm going to find out," was Bert's answer. "Come along!"

The two boys hurried on, the girls lingering in the rear.

Again a s...o...b..ll flew out of the tree, but it struck no one, though coming near to Nan.

By this time Bert was close to the tree. It was a hemlock, and the branches were quite thick, but Bert got a glimpse of someone hiding among 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 do anything to you."

Still there was no answer.

"I'm going to do some s...o...b..lling on my own account," spoke Bert. "Here goes!"

He quickly made a hard ball, and, circling around the tree to find an opening 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 a snowslide down on us and then you s...o...b..ll 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 s...o...b..ll broke into pieces against the branches.

"Ha! Ha!" laughed Danny.

"Oh, there's plenty more snow," said Harry, "and you can't have an awful lot up there."

His answer was another s...o...b..ll, which struck him on the shoulder, doing no harm. Danny must have taken some snow-ammunition up the tree with him, and, in addition, there was a supply of the white flakes on the wide branches of the hemlock.

Bert and Harry both began throwing s...o...b..a.l.l.s up into the tree, but they were at a disadvantage, for their missiles broke to pieces against the trunk or branches. On the other hand Danny could wait his chance and hit them when they came within sight.

"This won't do!" exclaimed Bert, after a bit. "We've got to get him out of 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 and fall. Hey you, Danny Rugg!" cried Bert. "Come on down, and we'll give you 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, but I'm going to stay up here."

"Oh, are you?" asked Bert, as he thought of a new plan. "We'll see about that. Come here, Harry."

From the tree Danny looked down anxiously while Harry and Bert whispered together. 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 to be sharpened. I forgot about it on the way up the lake, and I was going to do it on the way back. There's a blacksmith shop in the big cove. But the hatchet is sharp enough to chop down this tree. We'll get it and give 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 what plan was afoot. The bully had been out for a walk when he saw Bert and the others coming up the hill. He quickly climbed the tree in order to throw s...o...b..a.l.l.s 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 one of 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 few s...o...b..a.l.l.s if he tries to throw any at you."

The tree trunk was not very thick, and the hatchet was fairly sharp. In a little while the tree began swaying.

"I say now, stop that!" cried Danny, trying to get a better hold in the branches.

"Better come down before you fall," suggested Bert, who had a pile of s...o...b..a.l.l.s ready.

The tree swayed more and more. Bert and Harry knew that even if Danny fell with it he could not get hurt in the soft drifts. So Harry kept on chopping.

The tree swayed more and more. There was a cracking sound. Then Danny cried: