374 Hans Brinker

start I ‘felt stiff and strange on my feet. I was well out of it,
so long as I had no chance of winning.”

Peter looked rather distressed.

“We may hold different opinions there. ‘That part of the
business troubles me. It is too late to mend it now; but it
would be really a kindness to me if —”

The rest of Peter’s speech was uttered so confidentially
that I cannot record it. Enough to say, Hans soon started
back in dismay; and Peter, looking very much ashamed,
stammered out something to the effect that he would keep
them, since he won the race; but it was “all wrong.”

Here Van Mounen coughed, as if to remind Peter that
lecture-hour was approaching fast. At the same moment Ben
laid something upon the table.

“ Ah!” exclaimed Peter, “1 forgot my other errand. Your
sister ran off so quickly to-day that Madame van Gleck had
no opportunity to give her the case for her skates.”

« S-st!”? said Dame Brinker, shaking her head reproach-
fully at Gretel, “ she was a very rude girl, ’msure.” [Secretly
she was thinking that very few women had such a fine little
daughter. |

““'No, indeed!” laughed Peter: “she did exactly the right
thing, — ran home with her hard-won treasures: who would
not ? — Don’t let us detain you, Hans,” he continued, turning
as he spoke; but Hans, who was eagerly watching the father,
seemed to have forgotten their presence.

Meantime, Raff, lost in thought, was repeating under his
breath, “* Thomas Higgs, Thomas Higgs; ay, that ’s the name.
Alack! if I could but tell the place as well.”

The skate-case was elegantly made of crimson morocco,
ornamented with silver. Ifa fairy had breathed upon its tiny