"Why," said Rychie, "we are to have a grand skating match on the twentieth, on Meurouw[8] 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 the 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 sundry of 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 opinion broke forth again.
"The girls' pair are 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 a breath.
Katrinka looked at them with bewildered eyes.