he fury of the storm the Grammar
School boys quickly discovered that they had taken a huge task upon
themselves. After more than ten minutes of laborious shoveling all three
paused, as by common consent, and looked at the work accomplished. They
had gone barely a dozen feet, and under foot, all the way back to the
cabin door, the snow was still some two feet deep.

The distance from the door to the spring being some ninety feet, it was
plain that more than an hour would be needed for digging the way to the
spring.

"What's the use of all this trouble?" shouted Greg. "We can melt snow,
anyway."

"Snow water doesn't taste very good," objected Dave Darrin.

"Besides, we don't want to admit ourselves stumped by a little snow,"
urged Dick. "Come on, fellows; we can make it if we have grit and
industry enough. Here goes!"

With that Dick Prescott began to shovel harder than ever, so the two
chums added their efforts. Truth to tell, however, ere they had gone
another six feet through the big drifts, their backs were aching. They
could have progressed more rapidly, but for the fact that the wind blew
much of the snow back into the trench they were cutting through the
great banks of white stuff.

"Are we going to make it?" asked Dave dubiously at last.

"We've got to," Dick retorted.

"The other fellows ought to come out and help us," proposed Greg.

"That's not a very bad idea, either," Dick agreed, as he started
shoveling once more. "Greg, go back and tell them what we want."

Prescott and Darrin went on shoveling, manfully, until Tom, Dan and
Harry came wallowing along over what there was of a path and took the
shovels.

After that, with twenty minute shifts, the work went along more rapidly,
though once in a while one of the shovelers had to go back over the
path, digging out where more snow had blown in.

Hen Dutcher was not asked to share in this strenuous work. He had enough
to do in the cabin, and this outdoor performance was no work, anyway,
for a whiner.

"Get the axe and some of the buckets," called Dick finally, as he, at
the head of a shift, reached and located the spring. The water was, of
course, covered with a thick armor of ice. Greg moved into position with
the axe, striking fast and hard. Dave and Tom, with the snow shovels,
moved back over the opened way, keeping it clear in defiance of the
gale. As soon as Greg had the ice chopped away sufficiently, Dick, Dan
and Harry began to carry water.