in the summer time
during the hot weather. The boys arranged to take turns in shifts
with regard to keeping the building clean, and thus far the scheme
had worked very well; for the town did not care to go to the extra
expense of hiring a custodian.

Besides this, a high fence was ordered to be built around the entire
grounds, for most other towns had their athletic fields enclosed. It
would keep the rowdy element from disturbing the players when any
game was in progress; and, as a small admission fee might often be
asked, having one or two gates through which admission to the grounds
could be obtained would facilitate matters greatly.

But this was not all. Scranton had awakened to the fact that Nature
had been rather unkind to her young people, in that there was no
large lake, or even so much as a small river close by her borders.
When the boys and girls of the town felt inclined to skate after a
sharp freeze along about New Year's Day, they had to walk all the way
out to Hobson's mill-pond, situated between half and two-thirds of a
mile away. This was not so bad for some of the sturdy chaps, but
there were others who disliked taking such long tramps, especially
after violent exercising for hours, it might be, on the ice.

So, after mature deliberation, and receiving valuable suggestions
from Mr. Leonard, as well as others who had seen similar things
successfully carried out in various places, it had been arranged to
flood the field after winter had fully set in. Then, during the time
of severe weather, the young folks would have a splendid sheet of ice
right at their doors, a comfortable retreat into which they could go
to warm up, or to put on and remove their skates.

Here various games were expected to be indulged in, as the weather
permitted; and already a fine hockey Seven had been organized, under
the leadership of Hugh Morgan, with a promise of many exciting games
against rival teams.

The high board fence was being erected, but would hardly be completed
before Spring; still, it gave an air of business to the grounds, and
the boys had already begun to congratulate themselves over the great
stride forward Scranton had taken in the way of catering to her
rising population.

Of course, there were those in the town--you can always find a few in
every community--who seriously objected to so much "good money being
wasted," as they termed it, on such trivial things, when Scranton
really needed an up-to-d