e worth to venture out. Why, you can't see
ten feet away; and we'd be going around in a circle until the cold got
us in the end."

"Hold on, fellows, don't jump at conclusions so fast," Paul warned
them. "I'd be the last one to advise going out into the woods with the
storm keeping up. But Tolly Tip told me the snow stopped hours ago.
What we see whirling around is only swept by the wind, for it's as dry
as powder you know. And even the wind seems to be dying down now, and
is blowing in spasms."

"Paul, you're right, as you nearly always are," Jack affirmed, after
he had pressed his nose against the cold glass of the little window.
"And say! will you believe me when I say that I can see a small patch
of blue sky up yonder--big enough to make a Dutchmen's pair of
breeches?"

"Hurrah! that settles the old blizzard then!" cried Sandy Griggs. "You
all remember, don't you, the old saying, 'between eleven and two
it'll tell you what it's going to do?' I've seen it work out lots of
times."

"Yes," retorted Jud, "and fail as often in the bargain. That's one of
the exploded signs. When they come out right you believe in 'em, and
when they miss, why you just forget all about it, and go on hoping.
But in this case I reckon the old storm must have blown itself about
out, and we can look for a week of cold, clear weather now."

"We'll wait until after lunch," said Paul, in his decided fashion that
the boys knew so well; "then, if things brighten up, we'll see what we
can do. Those fellows must be suffering, more or less, and it's our
duty to help them, no matter whether they bother to thank us or not."

"Scouts don't want thanks when they do their duty," said Phil Towns,
grandly. "But I suppose you'll hardly pick me out as one of the rescue
party, Paul?"

"I'd rather have the hardiest fellows along with me, Phil," replied
the scout-master, kindly; "though I'm glad to know you feel willing to
serve. It counts just as much to _want_ to go, as to be allowed to be
one of the number."

Bobolink especially showed great delight over the possibility of their
setting out to relieve the enemy in distress. A dozen times he went to
the door and passed out, under the plea that they might as well have
plenty of wood in the cabin; but on every occasion upon his return he
would report the progress of the clearing skies.

"Have the sun shining right away now, boys," he finally announced,
with a beaming face. "And the wind's letting up, m