in hands the line goes almost across the pond. If you
once slip, you're likely to be stepped on."

Meg and Bobby promised to stay near the outside edges of the pond, and
Dave skated off with long, even steps that carried him away from them
swiftly.

"It looks so easy," sighed Meg, standing up on her skates and wobbling
a little. "I wish I could skate the way Dave can."

"Well, we have to practice," said Bobby sensibly. "Daddy says if you
keep at it, by and by you find you're a good skater. Come on, Meg,
let's take hold of hands."

Twaddles and Dot stood watching their brother and sister skate for a
few minutes, and wished that they, too, had skates. Then they wisely
decided to have as much fun as they could without.

"Smooth the snow down on this bank," suggested Twaddles, "and we can
play it's a toboggan slide. I wish we had brought the sled."

Dot helped him to smooth down the snow, and then they joined hands and
tried the first slide. It was rather rough in spots, but a good slide
for all of that, with a thrilling break at the end where they fell from
the bank down on to the ice.

"Let me slide, too?" asked Ruth Ellis, coming up to them after the
twins had been enjoying their slide for a few minutes.

Of course they were glad to have company, and in a short time a number
of the younger children who had no skates were enjoying the slide.
Some of the girls were afraid of the tumble at the end, but Dot, who
had always done everything Twaddles did, thought that was the best part
of the fun.

Meg and Bobby skated back to them now and then to see that they were
all right, and Bobby took off his skates once to try the slide while
Twaddles tried to use the skates. They were too large for him, and a
fall on the ice dulled his interest. He decided he would rather slide.

"They're going to have a big bonfire to-night," reported Bobby, on one
of his trips back to the twins. "Things to eat--oh, everything! I
wish Mother would let us stay up to skate."

"She won't, though," said Twaddles absently.

He was busy with a sled Marion Green had loaned him. Marion had tired
of playing with her sled, and Twaddles had exhausted all the thrill of
sliding down his slide on his feet. He wanted to play toboggan-riding,
and when Marion offered him her sled he accepted gratefully.

"You'd better not try that," said Bobby seriously, watching Twaddles
carefully drag the sled into the position he wanted. "Look out,
Twa