on a tray was taken out to the boy in the
automobile and a juicy bone was sent to Skyrocket.

"This is jolly good fun!" declared Tom, who had not traveled about as
much as had the Curlytops.

"Wait until we get out to Crystal Lake!" exclaimed Ted. "Then we'll have
more fun. I hope school won't be very hard," he added in a whisper to
his playmate.

"Oh, teachers aren't very strict around the holidays," answered Tom.

The meal was almost over when Lola, glancing out of the window, uttered
an exclamation and cried:

"It's snowing!"

Surely enough, a flurry of the white crystals was falling.

Uncle Toby looked a bit anxious.

"I don't want to hurry you children," he said. "But as soon as you have
finished we'd better be on our way. We don't want to be stuck in the
snow."

And as they went out to get in the automobile again the air was thick
with the white flakes.

CHAPTER VII

IN THE STORM

Seeing the Curlytops and their playmates coming from the restaurant with
Uncle Toby, the boy who had been watching the automobile got out,
followed by Skyrocket.

"Well, I see you didn't let any one take the car," said Uncle Toby with
a smile, as he paid the boy, giving him more money than the lad had
asked for.

"Oh, no! They couldn't take this car while I was in it," was the reply.
"Though I guess your dog would make a fuss, too, if anybody tried it.
Two or three men just sort of stepped up to look at the car, and
Firecracker growled."

"Firecracker?" exclaimed Ted, with a laugh.

"Yes. Isn't that the name you called your dog?" asked the boy.

"No; it's Skyrocket," answered Jan.

"Well, I knew it had something to do with fireworks," laughed the ragged
lad.

"But this is too much money," he said to Uncle Toby.

"That's all right, I guess you've earned it," was the reply. "Sitting in
a car doing nothing isn't much fun."

The snow flakes kept on sifting down, swirling faster and faster as the
automobile started off, the children calling their good-byes to the boy
who had watched the car. They had left him much better off than when
they first met him, for he had had a good meal and earned some money.

"Sit tight now, everybody!" ordered Uncle Toby, as they left the busier
part of the village where they had stopped for a meal, and drew near the
open country. "Sit tight, for I'm going to drive faster, and I don't
want you falling off the seats."

"What you goin' to drive fast for?" Trouble wanted to k