yet," retorted the kangaroo, taking wonderful leaps.
"Look out! Pretty soon I'll jump on you and smash you!"

"No, you won't, neither!" cries the hunter, growing very red and taking
fresh aim.

Bang!

Unlucky shot! The kangaroo was on him in an instant.

"Now, sir," growls the kangaroo, butting the overthrown hunter with his
head, "what's the next part of this game? Who beats?"

"I do!" gasped Fandy. "Get off me."

This was too much for the dead animals under the bed. They began to
laugh.

Cora laughed as heartily as any, and so did half a dozen big boys and
girls who by this time had assembled in the open doorway.

"Stop laughin'," shouted Fandy, still struggling under the kangaroo,
"an' all you under the bed come out. Don't you know when all the animals
'cept one is killed, that's the end of the game? Let's play somethin'
else."

"Where'd you get that?" he added, as soon as he was a free man,--partly
to change the subject, and partly because a boy whom he knew suddenly
appeared eating a piece of molasses candy.

"Down stairs. We've been making loads of it," was the muffled reply.

A hint was enough. It is hardly necessary to say that in a twinkling,
lion, tiger, wild cat, wolf, elephant, and hunter and kangaroo had
joined the crowd in the kitchen, and were feasting ecstatically upon
caramels and molasses sticks.

"Whatever shall I do, Mr. George, sir," said the distressed Lydia, "to
stop the eating? They'll be sick, sir, every mother's child of them, if
they keep on."

"Tell them to wash their hands and faces and come to the parlor. We'll
have the picture-gallery game now," said Mr. Reed.

Accordingly, scouts were sent through the house to bring the company
together. Meantime, Sailor Jack, in his best clothes, was hard at work
clearing the decks for action, as he said.

All were in the parlor and seated, at last. That is, all excepting Uncle
George and eight or ten, who hardly could be missed from such a roomful.
Jack had arranged the chairs in several long rows, facing the great
sliding-doors that separated the parlor from the back sitting-room; and
on these were seated subdued and expectant boys and girls, all gazing at
the closed doors, while the youngest of the guests sat on the floor in
front of the chairs, half-frightened, half-delighted at the prospect of
"seeing something."

By this time the feathery snow-storm had ceased, and a flood of
afternoon sunlight was pouring into the large room.