XXX
HOMEWARD BOUND
On Monday morning, bright and early, our boys bade farewell to their kind entertainers and started on their homeward journey.
Peter lingered a while at the lion-guarded door, for he and his sister had many parting words to say.
As Ben saw them bidding each other "good-bye," he could not help feeling that kisses as well as clocks were wonderfully alike everywhere. The English kiss that his sister Jennie gave when he left home had said the same thing to him that the Vrouw van Gend's Dutch kiss said to Peter. Ludwig had taken his share of the farewell in the most matter-of-fact manner possible, and though he loved his sister well, had winced a little at her making such a child of him as to put an extra kiss "for mother" upon his forehead.
He was already upon the canal with Carl and Jacob. Were they thinking about sisters or kisses? Not a bit of it. They were so happy to be on skates once more, so impatient to dart at once into the very heart of Broek, that they spun and wheeled about like crazy fellows, relieving themselves, meantime, by muttering something about "Peter and donder" not worth translating.
Even Lambert and Ben who had been waiting at the street-corner began to grow impatient.
The captain joined them at last; they were soon on the canal with the rest.
"Hurry up, Peter," growled Ludwig—"we're freezing by inches—there! I knew you'd be the last after all to get on your skates!"
"Did you?" said his brother looking up with an air of deep interest—"clever boy!"