Now, in Holland very young children wear a thin, padded cushion around their heads, surmounted with a framework of whalebone and ribbon, to protect them in case of a fall; and it is the dividing line between babyhood and childhood when they leave it off. Voost had arrived at this dignity several years before; consequently Jacob’s insult was rather to great for endurance. “Look out what you say!” he squeaked. “Lucky for you when you can leave off YOUR pads--you’re padded all over!” “Ha! ha!” roared all the boys except Master Dobbs, who could not understand. “Ha! ha!”--and the good-natured Jacob laughed more than any. “It ish my fat--yaw--he say I bees pad mit fat!” he explained to Ben. So a vote was passed unanimously in favor of allowing the now popular Voost to join the party, if his parents would consent. “Good night!” sang out the happy youngster, skating homeward with all his might. “Good night!” “We can stop at Haarlem, Jacob, and show your cousin the big organ,” said Peter van Holp eagerly, “and at Leyden, too, where there’s no end to the sights; and spend a day and night at the Hague, for my married sister, who lives there, will be delighted to see us; and the next morning we can start for home.” “All right!” responded Jacob, who was not much of a talker. Ludwig had been regarding his brother with enthusiastic admiration. “Hurrah for you, Pete! It takes you to make plans! Mother’ll be as full of it as we are when we tell her we can take her love direct to sister Van Gend. My, but it’s cold,” he added. “Cold enough to take a fellow’s head off his shoulders. We’d better go home.” “What if it is cold, old Tender-skin?” cried Carl, who was busily practicing a step he called the “double edge.” “Great skating we should have by this time, if it was as warm as it was last December. Don’t you know that if it wasn’t an extra cold winter, and an early one into the bargain, we couldn’t go?” “I know it’s an extra cold night anyhow,” said Ludwig. “Whew! I’m going home!” Peter van Holp took out a bulgy gold watch and, holding it toward the moonlight as well as his benumbed fingers would permit, called out, “Halloo! It’s nearly eight o’clock! Saint Nicholas is about by this time, and I, for one, want to see the little ones stare. Good night!” “Good night!” cried one and all, and off they started, shouting, singing, and laughing as they flew along. Where were Gretel and Hans? Ah, how suddenly joy sometimes comes to an end! They had skated about an hour, keeping aloof from the others, quite contented with each other, and Gretel had exclaimed, “Ah, Hans, how beautiful! How fine! To think that we both have skates! I tell you, the stork brought us good luck!”--when they heard something! It was a scream--a very faint scream! No one else upon the canal observed it, but Hans knew its meaning too well. Gretel saw him turn white in the moonlight as he busily tore off his skates.