92 Hans Brinker

found that they had the better of him and would capture his
ship, he blew it up, and himself too, rather than yield to the
enemy.”

“© Wasn’t that Van Tromp?”

“ Oh, no! Van Tromp was another brave fellow. They ’ve
a monument to him down at Delftshaven,—the place where
the Pilgrims took ship for America.”

“© Well, what about Van Tromp? He was a great Dutch
admiral, wasn’t he?”

“Yes; he was in more than thirty sea-fights. He beat the
Spanish fleet and an English one, and then fastened a broom
to his masthead to show that he had swept the English from
the sea. Takes the Dutch to beat, my boy!”

“ Hold up!” cried Ben. Broom or no broom, the Eng-
lish conquered him at last. I remember all about it now. He
was killed somewhere on the Dutch coast in an engagement in
which the British fleet was victorious. Too bad!” he added
maliciously, “ wasn’t it?”

«“ Ahem! where are we?” exclaimed Lambert, changing the
subject. “Halloo! the others are way ahead of us— all but
Jacob. Whew! how fat he is! He’ll break down before we ’re
half-way.”

Ben, of course, enjoyed skating beside Lambert, who, though
a stanch Hollander, had been educated near London, and could
speak English as fluently as Dutch; but he was not sorry
when Captain van Holt called out, —

“ Skates off! There’s the museum!”

It was open; and there was no charge on that day for ad-
mission. In they went, shuffling, as boys will when they have
a chance, just to hear the sound of their shoes on the polished
floor.