ier landscape, where Montgomery did much of its picnicking.

A scout sent ahead the day before had chosen a stretch of ice where the
creek broadened serenely after its bewilderingly tumultuous course
through the gorge. There the ice was even and solid and the snow had
been scraped away. In the defile, sheltered by its high rocky banks,
bonfires were roaring. The party quickly divided itself into twos--why
is it that parties always effect that subdivision with any sort of
opportunity?--and the skaters were off.

Phil loved skating as she loved all sports that gave free play to her
strong young limbs. The hero of the Thanksgiving football game had
attached himself to her, but Phil, resenting his airs of proprietorship,
deserted him after one turn.

As her blood warmed, her spirits rose. The exercise and the keen air
sent her pulses bounding. It was among the realizations of her new inner
life that physical exercise stimulated her mental processes. To-day
lines, verses, couplets--her own or fragments of her reading--tumbled
madly over each other in her head. No one ranged the ice more swiftly or
daringly. She had put aside her coat and donned her sweater--not the old
relic of the basketball team, but a new one from her fall outfit, which
included also the prettiest of fur toques. The color was bright in her
cheeks and the light shone in her eyes as she moved up and down the
course with long, even strides or let herself fly at the boundaries, or
turned in graceful curves. Skating was almost as much fun as swimming,
and even better fun than paddling a canoe.

She kept free of companions for nearly an hour, taunting those who tried
to intercept her, and racing away from several cavaliers who combined in
an effort to corner her. Then having gained the heights of her
imaginings, she was ready to be a social being once more.

Charles Holton, who had viewed her flights with admiration as he helped
the timid and awkward tyros of the company, swung into step with her.

"It's wonderful how you do it? Please be kind to me a mere mortal!"

He caught her pace and they moved along together at ease. Her mood had
changed and she let him talk all he liked and as he liked. They had met
twice at parties since she had snubbed him at Amzi's the night of her
presentation, and he had made it plain that he admired her. He
contrasted advantageously with the young gentlemen of Montgomery. He was
less afraid of being polite, or his politeness