kringla to remind me of Soedertelje," said Gerda, slipping one
of the cakes into her pocket; and then the three children went off to
the forward deck to watch the boat sail out into the ocean.

For fifty miles they sailed among wooded islands and rocky ledges, and
then entered the canal which connects the Baltic Sea with Lake Roxen. On
the way the boat stopped at two or three ports, and each tune the
children went ashore to buy a souvenir.

"Show me your treasures, and I will show you mine," Gerda said to Erik,
after the first stop.

The boy shook his head. "I bought something useful," he said, "and I
shall send it to my father;" but even with coaxing he would not tell what
it was, until they were all ready to show their treasures to Lieutenant
Ekman. So all three of the children agreed to keep their souvenirs a
secret, and had great fun slipping off alone to buy them.

All day and all night, and all the next day, the boat steamed across the
open lakes, glided noiselessly into the quiet canals, or climbed slowly
step by step up the locks.

Toward night of the second day Birger suddenly announced, "This is Lake
Viken, and it is the highest lake on the way between the two ends of the
canal route. The captain says that it is more than three hundred feet
above the level of the sea."

"Have we seen the prettiest part of the route?" asked Gerda.

"Far from it," was the answer. "The best part of the canal is still
before us, at Trollhaettan, although the next lake that we enter, Lake
Vener, is a lovely sheet of water. It is the largest lake in Sweden, and
I must visit one of the lighthouses."

"And I must call upon one of the trolls when we get to Trollhaettan," said
Gerda, shaking her head with an air of importance.

"I shall walk up the locks," said Birger.

"You mean that you will walk down the locks," Erik corrected him. "After
this the boat will go downstairs until we reach the Goeta River."

And when, on the last morning of the journey, they reached Trollhaettan,
with its famous waterfalls and rapids, the children went ashore and left
the boat to walk down the steep hillside by itself, while they ran along
beside the canal, or took little trips through the groves to get a better
view of the falls. Gerda peered under the trees and bushes for a glimpse
of the water witches, but she saw not one.

"And now for your treasures," said Lieutenant Ekman, when they were once
more on the boat and it was steaming down t