or, The Silver Skates 35

“ Well, you don’t any of you know a single thing about it :
they have n’t a sign of a bell on them; they — ”

“Oh, oh!” and the chorus of conflicting opinion broke
forth again.

“The girls’ pair are to have bells,” interposed Hilda, quietly ;
“but there is to be another pair for the boys, with an arrow
engraved upon the sides.”

“© There! I told you so!” cried nearly all the youngsters in
a breath.

Katrinka looked at them with bewildered eyes.

“© Who is to try?” she asked.

“All of us,’ answered Rychie. “It will be such fun!
And you must, too, Katrinka. But it’s school-time now: we
will talk it all over at noon. Oh, you will join, of course.”

Katrinka, without replying, made a graceful pirouette, and
— laughing out a coquettish, “ Don’t you hear the last bell ?
Catch me!” —darted off toward the schoolhouse, standing
half a mile away on the canal.

All started pell-mell at this challenge; but they tried in
vain to catch the bright-eyed, laughing creature, who, with
golden hair streaming in the sunlight, cast back many a spark-
ling glance of triumph as she floated onward.

Beautiful Katrinka! Flushed with youth and health, all life
and mirth and emotion, what wonder thine image, ever float-
ing in advance, sped through one boy’s dreams that night !
What wonder that it seemed his darkest hour, when, years
afterward, thy presence floated away from him forever!