Therefore the young leader of the defending party urged his followers to concentrate their attack upon the captain of the Belden School.
"Keep them off! we’ve _got_ to keep them off till Captain Gray gets here," panted Bobby.
"Hurrah! here they come!" yelled one of the smaller boys, suddenly.
Bobby shot a glance toward the Rockledge shore. Indeed, there they did come! With Captain Gray and the school flag at their head, the bulk of the Rockledge boys were coming across the snow-covered lake towards the island.
"Keep still! don’t wake them up!" begged Bobby, before anybody else could cheer. "If the Bedlamites don’t know they’re coming till they get here—why, all the better."
The appearance of reënforcements put pluck into Max Bender. He began to hurl snowballs with more precision and with more force. He became very active. Hi Letterblair’s crew of big boys charged only half heartedly.
The boys behind the ramparts almost smothered them before the attacking party got upon the island. They had chosen the easiest ascent, but only one of the attackers reached the snow-wall.
Instantly half a dozen hands reached for this plucky enemy, and it was Max who hauled him over into the fort and sat on him.
"Hurrah! we’ve got a prisoner!" yelled Howell Purdy, dancing up and down.
"What’ll we do with him, Bobby?" demanded Fred.
"Huh! _I_ captured him," grumbled Max. "I guess I’ll do what I please with him."
"While we’re fooling with that fellow, the others will get up here," declared Shiner.
"Come on! here they come!" shouted Bobby, who was ever on the watch.
The second charge of Hi and his cohorts was resultless to either party. And then, almost immediately, Captain Gray and the rest of the Rockledge boys came upon the Beldens.
Hi Letterblair ordered his party to face about, and brought up the smaller boys from the other side of the island. At once the garrison of the fort leaped upon the ramparts and drove down a withering fire upon the enemy.
Thus held between two fires, the Beldenites were driven back around the island, and out of shot from the fortress. Captain Gray ordered his army to spread out and hold them at bay.
They had dragged out from the shore thousands of snowballs. The Rockledge party had ammunition enough to last for hours, both in the fort and on the sleds.