XXII. THE RED LION BECOMES DANGEROUS 156 XXIII. BEFORE THE COURT 169 XXIV. THE BELEAGUERED CITIES 173 XXV. LEYDEN 180 XXVI. THE PALACE AND THE WOOD 187 XXVII. THE MERCHANT PRINCE, AND THE SISTER-PRINCESS 190 XXVIII. THROUGH THE HAUGE 204 XXIX. A DAY OF REST 212 XXX. HOMEWARD BOUND 216 XXXI. BOYS AND GIRLS 220 XXXII. THE CRISIS 227 XXXIII. GRETEL AND HILDA 234 XXXIV. THE AWAKENING 241 XXXV. BONES AND TONGUES 245 XXXVI. A NEW ALARM 249 XXXVII. THE FATHER'S RETURN 254 XXXVIII. THE THOUSAND GUILDERS 259 XXXIX. GLIMPSES 265 XL. LOOKING FOR WORK 269 XLI. THE FAIRY GODMOTHER 275 XLII. THE MYSTERIOUS WATCH 281 XLIII. A DISCOVERY 290 XLIV. THE RACE 299 XLV. JOY IN THE COTTAGE 316 XLVI. MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF THOMAS HIGGS 325 XLVII. BROAD SUNSHINE 328 XLVIII. CONCLUSION 334 ILLUSTRATIONS Gretel on her stilts _Frontispiece_ Hans was clever at carving in wood _Facing p._ 30 The door slowly opened " 70 The ice seemed fairly alive " 136 There was a movement upon the bed " 242 "Good-night," they cried " 280 Skating slowly the boys and girls moved forward " 314 [Illustration: _Gretel on her stilts_ (_See page 29_)] HANS BRINKER Or, The Silver Skates I HANS AND GRETEL On a bright December morning long ago, two thinly clad children were kneeling upon the bank of a frozen canal in Holland. The sun had not yet appeared, but the gray sky was parted near the horizon, and its edges shone crimson with the coming day. Most of the good Hollanders were enjoying a placid morning nap; even Mynheer von Stoppelnoze, that worthy old Dutchman, was still slumbering "in beautiful repose." Now and then some peasant woman, poising a well filled basket upon her head, came skimming over the glassy surface of the canal; or a lusty boy, skating to his day's work in the town, cast a good-natured grimace toward the shivering pair as he flew along.