or, The Silver Skates 377

lated it for the benefit of all concerned, noticing meanwhile
that neither Raff nor his vroww looked very miserable, though
Raff was trembling, and the dame’s eyes were swimming with
tears.

You may believe the doctor heard every word of the story,
when, later in the evening, he came driving back with Hans.
“The three young gentlemen had been gone some time,”
Dame Brinker said; “but like enough, by hurrying, it would
be easy to find them coming out from the lecture, wherever
that was.”

“True,” said Raff, nodding his head: “the vroww always
hits upon the right thing. It would be well to see the young
English gentleman, mynheer, before he forgets all about
Thomas Higgs. It’s a slippery name, d’ ye see? One can’t
hold it safe a minute. It come upon me sudden and strong
as a pile-driver, and my boy writ it down. Ay, mynheer, Id
haste to talk with the English lad. He’s seen your son many
a time — only to think on’t!”

Dame Brinker, raising her hands eagerly, took up the thread
of the discourse.

“ Youll pick out the lad quick enough, mynheer, because
he’s in company with Master Peter van Holp; and his hair
curls all up over his forehead, like foreign folk’s; and, if you
hear him speak, he talks kind of big and fast, only it’s English ;
but that wouldn’t be any hinderance to your honor.”

The doctor had already lifted his hat to go. With a beam-
ing face, he muttered something about its being just like the
young scamp to give himself a rascally English name; called
Hans “ my son,” thereby making that young gentleman happy
as a lord; and left the cottage with very little ceremony, con-
sidering what a great meester he was.