The next day dawned cloudy and grey, with a faint mildness in the air, indicating a thaw. Mabel went to school, Fred and Jamie amused themselves in the back parlor until they were tired and then flattened their noses against the window, trying to see how many drops of melted snow fell from the porch roof. "I want a snow man," wailed Jamie, suddenly remembering what papa said about the snow long ago. "Well, you can't have it," said Fred, with great decision, who generally opposed anything on principle. "Yes, we can. We can go out and make one," persisted Jamie. "Jack Frost'll bite your fingers." "No he won't." "He will--" "He won't eever--" "He will, 'cos mamma said so," said naughty Fred. Jamie's little face clouded and the lip began to quiver; then a sudden thought striking him, he jumped up, beaming with delight, and cried, as he ran towards the hall: "Mamma said Jack Frost couldn't find me when I had my overcoat and wed mittens on, and my wed cap." "You can't reach your coat an' you've lost your mittens," insisted Fred, with perseverance worthy a better cause. "O, yes I can. I can 'tep on my high chair," dragging it after him. "I can get my things on first," said Fred who suddenly decided in favor of the snow man, and hurriedly suiting the action to the word, rushed to get his coat which hung under Jamie's, just as Jamie reached his little hands up to get his. Fred gave a tremendous flirt and pull at his coat which overbalanced his little brother and down came the high chair and Jamie plump upon the luckless Fred, whose angry squeals and kicks, mingled with Jamie's loud shrieks of terror made a commotion that brought Anna, the housekeeper, to the rescue. "What _is_ the matter?" as she plucked Jamie from the general _debris_. "Fred pulled me down--" "Jamie jumped on me," said both at once as soon as they could get their breath. "An', I aint lost my wed mittens, an' my little white leg is broke off," cried Jamie suddenly, spying the oft-mended leg of the high-chair, which in this _melee_, had completely severed company with the rest of the chair, and now mutely appealed for help to be put on again. "There, there, papa can mend it all right again. Don't cry, little man. Now Fred, you must stop crying and play nice with Jamie and not quarrel so much. There! I hear mamma's bell; I must go see what she wants. Run away and be quiet, for mamma can't stand a _bit_ of noise to-day," and Anna left them again to their own devices. Jamie carefully laid the little white leg away in his box of playthings, and then both children went back to the window to watch the drops again. "I see one, two, three, seven, four, ten--" slowly counted Jamie as the crystal drops fell.