er until they touched the ice, and her breath came in
quick, nervous gasps. Nevertheless, she followed bravely over a scant
ten feet of the rink.

"Isn't that easy?"

She nodded with an assurance which she was far from feeling. "My skate
strap hurts. The right one. Loosen it, John."

He knelt to make the necessary alteration. As he stood up, one of his
lady's feet started off on an unauthorized expedition, and she grabbed
him by the arm with a fervency which nearly proved disastrous.

"Don't start again just yet," she begged. "I'm tired."

As they stood there, a pounding, scurrying figure in black, Red Brown,
sped past at top speed. Silvey followed closely, noted the situation,
and slowed up.

"Leave her in the skating house and come on," he called. "Red's got it
and we're having heaps of fun."

Skinny Mosher and Perry Alford came, both in pursuit of the fleet-footed
Brown. Sid DuPree, puffing audibly, stopped just out of reach, glad of
any pretext to halt long enough to catch his breath.

"Let's see her skate," he sneered, knowing that Louise dared not release
her escort for pursuit. "You're a fine teacher, you are. Don't you wish
you were with us?"

John's eyes followed him longingly as he skated off. The temptation of
Silvey's invitation was great, and with any other maiden, would have
proved fatal. But the lure of the rosy dream for the future was still
strong. He freed himself gently from her grasp, and was two yards away
before she realized what he had done.

"There," he said with satisfaction. "I knew you could stand up. Now,
skate to me."

"Aw-w-w, Johnny, come on back. I'm going to fall!"

"No you're not," said John decisively. "Try and you'll see."

Louise essayed one ineffectual stroke and stood helpless. "I t-think
you're just horrid," she whimpered.

He grew a trifle impatient. "You'll never learn that way." Why were
girls always so afraid to try things, anyway?

She made another halting attempt, reached forward to catch him, and felt
herself slipping, then straightened up, leaned too far backwards, and
her feet shot suddenly out from under her. Pupil and teacher crashed to
the ice. John was the first to recover himself, although the unexpected
fall had been a severe one. He stooped over his lady in spite of
strangely shaky knees, and found her sobbing, partly from nervous shock
and partly from mortification.

"Hurt, Louise?" She sat up angrily and dug her mittened hands into her
eyes.