The Washington weekly post., 1899-12-26
A MERRY CHRISTMAS!

mirth. The idea of sending snow to the
South and expecting it to stay there was
delightful.
His father has oceans of money" said
ill Bill "Say, we don't tell him that
snow melts and then wait until his folks
write up and ask him what he means by
sending a lot of damp cars down there
with nothing in 'em. OF course the
water'n all run out"
This somewhat mean scheme appealed
to all the boys who did not see its mean
side, and so when Rod came out again
they told him he could count on their aid.
So he wrote to his brother: Dear
Frederick: l have decided to send down
to Tuscapoosa Ohis was the name of the
town in which he lived) a train load of
the beautiful thing called snow of which
/ wrote in my last, so that you will re-
ceive II by Christmas, You have no idea
how nice IL is, and you will find you never
knew what fun was before. I inclose in
struetions how TO make a sled and l am
sure that Jefferson Calhoun will be able
to make them easily. Fancy getting on
one at the top of a hill and just sliding
by your own weight TO the bottoml And
you can have bully fights. We played
CiNiI wall uSilib bdlAo VI Tic SHOW IOf
bullets and cannon balls, j was captain
of the Confederates and Cousin Frank
was captain of the Union men. After my
side won three days running, Uncle Thad-
deus said it would be good plan for me
| TO change over to the Union side. or we'd
be reversing history. He's no end of fun
and like him immensely. I haven't told
him about my idea of shipping snow. as
| I'm afraid he'd think it was going to be
too expensive. They have no idea how
rich father is. Next week l expect to
get the snow off. When you receive 1t
have the men distribute IL as evenly as
| possible or else the sled runners will sink
into Il and you won't make as much
speed. Be careful not to throw the snow
balls too hard, for they can hurt like
sixty. You can spread little of the snow
en- the sidewalk and then run and slide
on it the way We used to on our ball.
room floor. only after it has been smooth
ed down a little you can go twenty or
thirty feet. And / bet you'll tumble over
when you first try il on. l did and / was
at the head of about ten of the fellows
and the way they piled on me was eau
ton. No more now until / write to tell
you that I've shipped it. p. S.-goun
have the merriest Christmas you ever
heard Of
Frank Parsons and VIII Bill managed
the affair and they bribed the train hands
not to tell Rod that the snow would melt
The day before he shipped IL there was
big snowfall, which made the work of
loading much easier. Roderick and all
the boys helped the workmen, and by
nightfall there were fifty cars full of nice,
clean, packed-down snow.
And then Rod decided to go with the
train. Il want to see the fun myself"
he said. "Ill come back again in a week
or two, after the Christmas holidays"
The boys were sorry to have him go and
several felt like telling him of the trick
at the last moment, but they knew the
other boys would make it hot for them
il they did, so they refrained.
1t was bitter cold when the train pull
ed out of LOudonyille, which is the name
OF the LoudOn Hill station. Roderick,
well bundled up, climbed into the cab
with the engineer and waved a farewell
to the boys Thanks. awfuliy. boys, for
your help said he.
The engineer muttered something about
it's being really too bad. WHATS too
bad?" asked Rod. but the engineer said
he was talking 10 the fireman. At the
last moment, Frank was seized with re-
morse and would have blurted out the Sc
cret TO Roderick, but VIII BIZ stuffed his
handkerchief into his mounth and tum-
bled him over into a drift, and when he
picked himself up the train was moving
swiftly away.
Now, 1t happened that the terrible cold
wave that spread over the country and
did so much damage was just beginning
Won NAV remember the orange cron
throughout the South was ruined and peo-
pie saw ice who had neve- seen II before.
So that instead OF losing all the snow
when the train entered the South not a
bit OF 1t rad melted. even when the train
pulled up at the Tuseapoosa platform the
day before Christmas. Fortune certainly