or, The Silver Skates 383

XLVII
BROAD SUNSHINE

NE snowy day in January, Laurens Boekman went with
his father to pay his respects to the Brinker family.

Raff was resting after the labors of the day. Gretel, having

filled and lighted his pipe, was brushing every speck of ash from

the hearth. The dame was spinning; and Hans, perched upon

a stool by the window, was diligently studying his lessons.

A peaceful, happy household, whose main excitement during

the past week had been the looking forward to this possible
visit from Thomas Higgs.

As soon as the grand presentation was over, Dame Brinker

insisted upon giving her guests some hot tea. “ It was enough

”?

to freeze any one,” she said, “to be out in such crazy, bluster-
ing weather.” While they were talking with her husband, she
whispered to Gretel that the young gentleman’s eyes and her
boy’s were certainly as much alike as four beans, to say
nothing of a way they both had of looking as if they were
stupid, and yet knew as much as a body’s grandfather.

Gretel was disappointed. She had looked forward to a
tragic scene, such as Annie Bouman had often described to
her from story-books; and here was the gentleman who came
so near being a murderer, who for ten years had been wander-
ing over the face of the earth, who had believed himself
deserted and scorned by his father, the very young gentleman