“What race?” asked Katrinka, laughing. “Don’t all talk at once, please, I can’t understand.” Everyone panted and looked at Rychie Korbes, who was their acknowledged spokeswoman. “Why,” said Rychie, “we are to have a grand skating match on the twentieth, on Mevrouw van Gleck’s birthday. It’s all Hilda’s work. They are going to give a splendid prize to the best skater.” “Yes,” chimed in half a dozen voices, “a beautiful pair of silver skates--perfectly magnificent--with, oh! such straps and silver bells and buckles!” “WHO said they had bells?” put in a small voice of the boy with the big name. “I say so, Master Voost,” replied Rychie. “So they have”; “No, I’m sure they haven’t”; “OH, how can you say so?”; “It’s an arrow”; “And Mynheer van Korbes told MY mother they had bells”--came from the excited group, but Mynheer Voostenwalbert Schimmelpenninck essayed to settle the matter with a decisive “Well, you don’t any of you know a single thing about it; they haven’t a sign of a bell on them, they--” “Oh! oh!” and the chorus of conflicting opinions broke forth again. “The girls’ pair is to have bells,” interposed Hilda quietly, “but there is to be another pair for the boys with an arrow engraved upon the sides.” “THERE! I told you so!” cried nearly all the youngsters in one breath. Katrinka looked at them with bewildered eyes. “Who is to try?” she asked. “All of us,” answered Rychie. “It will be such fun! And you must, too, Katrinka. But it’s schooltime now, we will talk it all over at noon. Oh! you will join, of course.” Katrinka, without replying, made a graceful pirouette and laughing out a coquettish, “Don’t you hear the last bell? Catch me!” darted off toward the schoolhouse standing half a mile away on the canal. All started, pell-mell, at this challenge, but they tried in vain to catch the bright-eyed, laughing creature who, with golden hair streaming in the sunlight, cast back many a sparkling glance of triumph as she floated onward. Beautiful Katrinka! Flushed with youth and health, all life and mirth and motion, what wonder thine image, ever floating in advance, sped through one boy’s dreams that night! What wonder that it seemed his darkest hour when, years afterward, thy presence floated away from him forever. Hans and Gretel Find a Friend At noon our young friends poured forth from the schoolhouse, intent upon having an hour’s practice upon the canal. They had skated but a few moments when Carl Schummel said mockingly to Hilda, “There’s a pretty pair just coming upon the ice! The little ragpickers! Their skates must have been a present from the king direct.” “They are patient creatures,” said Hilda gently. “It must have been hard to learn to skate upon such queer affairs. They are very poor peasants, you see. The boy has probably made the skates himself.” Carl was somewhat abashed.