and exercise, and her brown
hair had escaped in little curling strands about her ears.

Teddy, looking up at her, thought that she looked like the picture of a
girl on a magazine cover that he had seen not so very long before.

"All right," he said, doing a fancy step on the ice that almost landed
him on his nose. "Shall we take partners? Yes we shall. Billie, will you
be mine?"

The rest of the girls giggled--all but Rose, who had taken a great
liking to handsome Teddy and did not at all fancy the way he always
singled out Billie, "the little cat"--and Billie made a face at Teddy.

"I'll think about it," she teased, then drew the boys and girls around
her while she outlined the course of the race. "Now," she said, "we'll
skate straight ahead till we come to where the lake takes that sudden
bend. Then we'll double, and whoever passes the big maple tree first
will win. Who's going in this race?"

It seemed that nearly everybody wanted to--everybody who could get a
partner, that is--and in a minute or two a score of merry young figures
were flying over the ice in a gallant effort to make the turn and get
back to the old maple first.

It was a pretty scene, at least Caroline Brant thought so. But Rose
Belser, sitting close beside her, scraping her skates along the ice
until she made two ugly little ridges in it, did not agree with her.

There was Billie, taking the center of the stage again as usual, and
there was Caroline looking after her with a smile. Well, Caroline could
smile. She had never been the most popular girl at Three Towers,
although most of the girls did like her, at that. Billie wasn't taking
_her_ place. And she dug still more viciously at the ice.

"Better not do that," said Caroline, bringing her eyes back from the
flying figures and looking at the ugly ridges Rose had made. "Somebody's
apt to tumble over them and get hurt."

"I wish they would," said Rose savagely, then added with a mean little
smile that suddenly reminded Caroline of Amanda Peabody: "I suppose
Billie would like to fall so that Teddy Jordon would have a chance to
pick her up."

"Rose, stop saying such things!" Caroline said. But further speech was
prevented when a girl's voice hailed them excitedly. They turned to see
Nellie Bane running toward them at full speed.

"Girls, the most awful thing has happened!" she panted when she came
within speaking distance. "Miss Race was coming home from town a few
minutes ago, and sudde