THE FIRST SNOW
The whole school was in excitement. From all the rooms the boys and
girls were rushing out, not stopping for their hats or coats. Frightened
teachers, and the excited principal, were trying to quiet them. For
everyone felt sure the school building was going to fall, and all wanted
to get out as quickly as possible.
"Now, boys, you may go!" said Miss Williams, when the girls were out of
her room.
Some of the boys started, but Frank Haven, taking his place at the door,
cried:
"No, Miss Williams, you go first!"
She gave him a glance that showed how much she appreciated his
thoughtfulness for her, but she said quietly, though her lips trembled:
"No, Frank. I am like the captain of a ship. I will stay until the last.
But, oh, do hurry out!"
Hearing this two other boys made a rush.
"That won't do!" cried Bob sharply. "You'll all get in a jam on the
stairs."
"That's right!" exclaimed Sammy. "Form in line, as we always do at fire
drill!"
"Good!" cried Miss Williams. "Ready! In line! March!"
Her sharp command had a good effect, and the boys marched out in order.
Sammy and his two chums came last, and Miss Williams followed them. The
rumbling and shaking of the building still continued, and now dense
white clouds could be seen coming from the basement.
"She's on fire again!" cried Sammy, as he and his chums reached the yard
safely.
"And she'll burn up!" added Bob.
The school yard was filled with excited children, the teachers urging
them to get as far away from the building as they could.
"Is everyone out?" asked the principal. "Teachers, look at your
different classes and see!"
This was done quickly.
"Oh dear!" exclaimed Miss Watson, teacher of the kindergarten. "Oh
dear!"
"What is it?" someone asked.
"Johnnie Jones--he isn't here!"
At that instant, through a cloud of smoke in front of the window of the
kindergarten room a face could be seen. It was that of Johnnie Jones.
"He's in there!" gasped his teacher.
"I'll get him!" shouted the principal. "Get the children farther off!"
"Now, let me get him--please?" cried another voice, and Jed Burr, the
bully, who had apologized that morning, sprang forward and went back
again into the building which it was feared would fall at any moment.
"I can't let him do that!" murmured the principal. "I must go after both
of them."
But before he could do this Jed came out again, carrying fat little
Johnnie Jones in his arms.
"I got him all right!" shouted the former bully.
"You're a brave boy!" cried Mr. Tetlow.
Just then the janitor of the school came up out of the basement.
"It's all right!" he cried, through a white cloud of steam. "I have
fixed it! I'll tell you all how it happened."
"Is the earthquake over?" asked Sammy.
"It wasn't an earthquake," said Mr. Hobb, the janitor. "Come here, and
I'll tell you about it."
And while the frightened teachers and pupils are gathering back in their
rooms, the danger being over, I will take a few moments to tell my new
readers something about the boys and others who are to have parts in
this story, and also something about the previous books in this series.
To begin with, I think you already know my three heroes--Sammy Brown,
Bob Bouncer and Frank Haven. Though I have named him last in this case,
Frank was generally the leader in anything he and his two chums did. Bob
and Sammy thought there was no one in the world like Frank.
Sammy was rather more quiet, and his mother said more thoughtful, but if
this was so, it was only because Sammy was always thinking up something
to do. He was quite a reader, and liked stories of mystery, and buried
treasure. He was always sure that some day he would find a hidden store
of gold, or make some big discovery.
Bob Bouncer was a different sort of lad. He was full of fun, not to say
mischief, and when he was around one had better look out that he did not
find a funny note pinned to his coat-tail or else watch out that he did
not discover a stone dropped into his pocket. But, though Bob played
many jokes, they were not mean or cruel ones.
The three boys lived in the town of Fairview, on the shore of Rainbow
Lake, a large body of water, in the centre of which was an extensive
island.
The first book of this series was called "The Fairview Boys Afloat and
Ashore; Or, The Young Crusoes of Pine Island." In that I had the
pleasure of telling how the three chums went out on the lake in the
_Puff_, a sailboat owned by George Haven, Frank's brother. They did not
know much about boats, and the result was that the _Puff_ was wrecked
near Pine Island. The boys managed to get on this body of land, and
there they lived, until rescued, in real Robinson Crusoe style.
In the second book, called "The Fairview Boys on Eagle Mountain; Or,
Sammy Brown's Treasure Hunt," I related how the lads set off on a tour
of discovery. Sammy Brown had come across some curious papers in his
home attic, and was sure they told of hidden treasure. So the party set
off for Eagle Mountain, and what they did there, and how the treasure
hunt ended, you may read of in the book.
"The Fairview Boys and Their Rivals; Or, Bob Bouncer's Schooldays," is
the name of the third volume. In that you can find out all about the
many things Bob and his chums did; how they got the better of a mad
bull, how they had fun in the woods, and how it was that Jed Burr came
to be expelled. Then came the robbery of Mr. Haven's jewelry store, the
fire in the school, and the finding of the jewelry down in the well,
where the thief had thrown it.
And the fire, as I have related, was the cause of the school not being
opened on the regular day in the term. Which brings us down to the
present time.
"Was there a fire?" asked Mr. Tetlow, the principal.
"No, not exactly a fire," answered the janitor, "though the trouble was
caused by a fire."
"And there wasn't any earthquake?" asked Sammy. He was rather
disappointed, to tell the truth, that there had been nothing as big and
sensational as an earthquake.
"Nary an earthquake," went on Mr. Hobb, who was rather pale. "Indeed
everyone had been greatly alarmed."
"But the building shook!" declared Nellie Somers.
"It certainly did," agreed Miss Williams. "I thought surely it was going
to fall down."
"And I thought Jed was going to fall down with me," spoke up Johnnie
Jones. "He shook me up and down."
"I couldn't help it," said Jed, with blushing face. "You're so--so fat."
"I guess I am," sighed little Johnnie.
"Well, Jed, it was one of the bravest acts I have ever seen," declared
the principal, and Jed blushed with pleasure. It seemed that he wanted
to make up for his mean tricks in the past by showing that he could be a
hero when he desired.
"Now I'll tell you how it was," went on the janitor.
"Yes, do," urged Mr. Tetlow. "We don't want it to happen again."
By this time the excitement had quieted down. There was no more smoke,
and there was no smell of fire.
"I had started up the new heating boiler to try it," explained the
janitor. "We didn't exactly need steam on to-day, though it is a bit
cold, and it looks like snow. But I thought I'd try the new steam plant,
so I built a fire in the boiler.
"I left it going and went off to do some work in another part of the
school, and I guess I forgot about the steam. Anyhow, all at once I
heard the roar and the rumble, and I felt the building shake. I knew
right away what had happened, and I ran down cellar. I didn't even stop
to explain to anyone."
"Well, what did happen?" asked the principal.
"Why, the safety valve got stuck, and when the pressure got too heavy it
wouldn't let the steam escape. So the pipes, all through the school,
were filled and the pressure was so strong that they commenced to shake
and tremble. That made the building vibrate, and the boiler began to
rumble and roar, too.
"I was afraid it might blow up, so down I rushed and opened the safety
valve that was stuck shut. That let out the steam, and the pressure in
the pipes went down. And that's all."
"It was enough," said Miss Williams. "So that white cloud was steam, and
not smoke from a fire?"
"Yes, ma'am," answered the janitor, "it was only steam."
"Is the safety valve all right now?" asked Mr. Tetlow.
"Oh, yes, indeed!" exclaimed the janitor. "I fixed it. I should have
looked at it first, but it slipped my mind. I'm sorry."
"Well, it's all right, as long as no one is hurt," said the principal.
"And now, as we have had so much excitement, I hardly believe that you
children could do well with your lessons this morning. It is eleven
o'clock now, so I will dismiss you all until this afternoon. Come back
when you have had your dinners."
There were cries of delight at this, and the boys and girls hurried back
into their classrooms, after their hats and coats, for the weather
seemed to be getting colder.
Sammy and his two chums passed close to Jed Burr as they went in. Then
Sammy did a kind act.
"Will you shake hands, Jed?" he asked of the former bully. "That was a
fine thing you did."
Jed blushed.
"Aw, that was nothin'," he said. "There wasn't any danger."
"But you didn't know that," returned Frank. "I'd like to shake hands
with you, too."
"So would I," added Bob Bouncer. "I guess we'll all be friends now,
after this."
"I've turned over a new leaf," said Jed, when they had shaken hands with
him. "I'm not going to bother you fellows any more."
"That's good," spoke Sammy, for Jed had been a sore trial to them, and
to many other small lads of Fairview.
"And we'd be glad to have you around to our clubhouse whenever you want
to come," added Frank, kindly.
"Thanks," said Jed, gratefully.
After Bob Bouncer had discovered Mr. Haven's jewelry hidden in the well,
following the schoolhouse fire, the merchant had offered Bob a reward of
a hundred dollars. But Bob's father would not let him take it, so Mr.
Haven used the money in fitting up, in his barn, a fine clubroom and
gymnasium for Bob and his chums.
Talking over the accident to the steam boiler, and making merry that
they had had such a short morning session, the boys and girls hurried
along on their way home. Sammy and his chums walked together, and, every
now and then, Sammy would look up at the sky.
"What are you planning now?" asked Bob, giving Sammy a sly punch in the
ribs. "Studying how to make an airship?" and he winked at Frank.
"Aw, let me alone," begged Sammy. "Can't I look at the weather if I want
to?"
"Sure," agreed Bob. "But what makes you so serious about it?"
"I'm thinking it's going to snow," answered Sammy, "and I'm going to get
out my sled, when I go home, to be ready for it. I've got to get the
rust off the runners."
"Snow!" cried Frank. "It won't snow to-day."
But it did. Before school was out that afternoon the white flakes began
coming lazily down, and the children, looking from the windows, felt
merry at the prospect of a storm. Snow is so different from rain. Almost
everyone is happy and jolly when it snows, but miserable when it rains.
"Say, it's going to be a good storm all right!" cried Sammy, as he and
his chums came out of school when lessons were over for the day. "It's
three inches deep now, and falling fast."
"Yes, we'll have to get out our snow-shoes if it keeps on," laughed Bob,
as he slyly dropped some snow down Frank's neck.
"Ouch!" cried Frank, squirming about as he felt the coldness down his
spine. "I'll wash your face for that, Bob Bouncer!"
He raced down the street after his fun-loving chum, but before he
reached him he saw something that made him stop. This was the sight of
an elderly lady walking carefully along, just ahead of him, through the
snow. As Frank came up behind her he saw her fall heavily, and lay quite
still in a heap on the sidewalk.
"Here you go, fellows!" cried Frank, to Bob and Sammy. "We've got to
help her--come here!"