The stranger laughed, pulled a face which, as far as ugliness went, was
hardly an improvement on the one Nature had already bestowed upon him,
and then pointed mockingly at the remains of the masterpiece.

His triumph, however, was short-lived. Jack Vance, as he left the
house, had caught up a double handful of snow, which he had been
pressing into a hard ball as he ran down the path, determining in his
own, mind to be the first to open fire on the snow man. Without a
moment's hesitation he flung the missile at the intruder's head, and, to
the intense delight of his companions, it struck the latter fairly on
the mouth, causing him to lose his precarious foothold on the wall and
fall back into the road.

It needed no further warning to inform the Birchites that the
Philistines were upon them, and every one set to work to lay in a stock
of snowballs as fast as hands could make them. "Look out!" cried
Kennedy. Young Noaks's face rose once more above the top of the wall,
and the next moment a big stone, the size of hen's egg, whizzed past
Diggory's head, and struck the garden door with a sounding bang.

"Oh, the cad!" cried Acton; "let's go for him."

The whole garrison combined in making a vigorous sortie into the road;
but it was only to find the enemy in full retreat, and a few dropping
shots at long range ended the skirmish.

"I say, Vance," exclaimed Diggory, "who are they? Who are these
fellows?"