“I thought you came here to torment freshmen!” Bert mildly ventured.
“Well, yes, come to think of it, soph life would hardly be worth living if it wasn’t for you freshies. But I’ll take pity on you and overlook the wide difference in our stations and condescend to race with you on skies this afternoon, or this morning, or any other old time. I’ve a pair in my room. The fellow who took them up there thought they needed pruning by the time he got them through the doorway, and stacked them up against the wall.”
There are few more attractive winter sports than a run into the country on Norwegian skies, especially if the snow is in good condition for the sport, and there are hills for swift descent.
Ready and Dashleigh made a ski-ing trip that afternoon which yielded sport, pleasure, and healthful exercise.
“I thought likely you had something up your sleeve when you challenged me this morning,” Dashleigh chattered, as they were on their homeward way. “I thought if you were with me, though, it would be hard for you to duplicate any such trick as you sophs played on Starbright the other day. Say, that was too bad, billing him as the ‘Giant of the Wheel,’ when he made his bicycle trip to Guilford!”
“A freshman has no right to presume to criticize a sophomore,” said Ready.
But Ready was not like most of the sophomores. He was so different from the other members of his class that, in spite of the fact that he was an inveterate practical joker, so far as the freshmen were concerned, the harassed freshmen liked him surprisingly well. In their eyes he stood among the sophomores pretty much as Frank Merriwell stood among the seniors, though the two were as unlike as is imaginable.
There was only one incident on the trip that seemed worthy of an afterthought, and it was after-events that caused it to be remembered. Not far from the suburbs, as they were ski-ing slowly in, being somewhat tired, a slightly built young man, with a handsome face and dark eyes, approached them and asked about the ice-hockey game which was to be played on Lake Whitney soon.
“Oh, that’s the match Merriwell is getting up!” said Ready.
Then he gave the desired information, and the fellows on skies continued on their way.