swer.

Meanwhile, though Mary and Harry had put on their skates, they took no
part in this talk and stood about on the ice as if they hardly knew what
to do.

"Will you join in the race?" asked Lola of Mary. "We three girls against
the boys."

"I don't believe I can skate well enough to race," Mary answered, and
her brother joined in with:

"You see we never had much chance to skate, and about all we can do is
to move along in a straight line." He laughed good-naturedly over his
own lack of skill.

"Oh, that's all right!" cried Ted, in jolly fashion. "We won't have any
race then--that is, until after you two get more used to your skates."

"Oh, don't let us stop you from having fun!" exclaimed Mary.

"We can have just as much fun not racing. I don't care much for it,
anyhow, do you, Jan?" said Lola.

"No, indeed!" answered the Curlytop girl. Thus did they try to make Mary
and Harry feel happier, and they succeeded.

"I tell you what we can do," suggested Tom Taylor. "Ted and I can show
you a few easy tricks on skates, Harry, and Jan and Lola can do the same
with Mary."

"That will be fine!" exclaimed Harry. "Then, when we know more about it,
we can have a race."

So it was decided, and then and there began lessons for the two poor
children whom Uncle Toby had brought to Crystal Lake so they might have
a good time over the holidays. Harry and Mary were quick to learn, and
though it would be some time before they could beat any of the other
four children in a race, they did very well for beginners.

"See if you can do this!" cried Ted, after having shown Harry how to
"grind the bar" backward, a trick Harry soon learned.

"Watch me!" cried Ted, as he began doing what he called a grapevine
twist. To do it he darted farther out from shore than any of them had
yet gone, and just as he was dong some fancy skating there was a loud
booming, cracking sound that sent a shiver all through the ice on which
the others were standing.

"Oh, come! Come back!" cried Jan to her brother. "The ice is going to
break! We'll fall in!"

"That's right!" yelled Tom. "Come on back, Ted!"

Ted needed no urging, but skated as fast as he could toward shore,
whither the others were fleeing as fast as they could strike out on
their skates. They reached land safely, and, to their surprise, no big
cracks or holes appeared in the ice. It seemed as solid as ever.

"I wonder what made that?" asked Janet, whose heart was beating fast.