or, The Silver Skates 115

Each boy looked into five blank faces. Then something
like a smile passed around the circle; but it got sadly knotted
up when it reached Carl.

“That wouldn’t do,” he said crossly. “I know some
people here, rich ones too; but father would flog me soundly
if I borrowed a cent from any one. He has ‘an HONEST
MAN NEED NOT BORROW,’ written over the gateway of his
summer-house.”

‘“‘Humph!” responded Peter, not particularly admiring the
sentiment just at that moment.

The boys grew desperately hungry at once.

“It wash my fault,” said Jacob in a penitent tone to Ben.
“J say first, ¢ Petter all de boys put zair pursh into Van Holt’s
monish,’ ”

“¢ Nonsense, Jacob! you did it all for the best.”

Ben said this in such a sprightly tone that the two Van
Holps and Carl felt sure he had proposed a plan that would
relieve the party at once.

“ What, what? Tell us, Van Mounen,” they cried.

“ He says it is not Jacob’s fault that the money is lost; that
he did it for the best, when he proposed that Van Holp should
put all of our money into his purse.” —

“Is that all?” said Ludwig, dismally. “He need not have
made such a fuss in just saying ¢hat. How much money
have we lost?”

“ Don’t you remember?” said Peter. ‘We each put in
exactly ten guilders. The purse had sixty guilders in it. I am
the stupidest fellow in the world. Little Schimmelpenninck
would have made you a better captain. I could pommel myself
for bringing such a disappointment upon you.”

“Do it, then!” growled Carl. “ Pooh!” he added, “ we all