ould give them to her? She went to bed a little
despondent, thinking to herself that as soon as she was clear of one
secret another seemed ready to interfere with her happiness. But she
was soon asleep, and woke up to find the sun shining in at her
windows, and Aunt Prissy starting the fire with a shovelful of coals
from the kitchen hearth. And what were those shining silver-like
objects swinging from the bed-post?

"Skates! My skates!" she exclaimed, sitting up in bed. "Oh, Aunt
Prissy! I did want them so to-day."

"They are your birthday present from your father and mother," said
Aunt Prissy, coming to the side of the bed, and leaning over to kiss
her little niece. "Eleven years old to-day! And you had forgotten all
about it!"

"Why, so I am! Why, so I did!" said Faith. "Well, I like secrets that
end this way. May I go skating right away, Aunt Prissy?"

"Breakfast first!" laughed Aunt Prissy, and was out of the room before
Faith had noticed that lying across the foot of her bed was a dress of
pretty plaided blue and brown wool. A slip of paper was pinned to it:
"For Faith to wear skating," she read.

"Lovely! Lovely!" exclaimed Faith, as she hastened to dress in front
of the blazing fire.

"Why, here are new stockings, too," she said, as she discovered a pair
of warm knit brown and blue stockings.

She came running into the dining-room, skates in hand, to be met by
her uncle and little cousins with birthday greetings. Donald had at
last finished the bow and arrows that he had promised her weeks
before, and now gave them to her; Hugh had made a "quiver," a little
case to hold the arrows, such as the Indians use, of birch bark, and
little Philip had a dish filled with molasses candy, which he had
helped to make.

It was a beautiful morning for Faith, and the broiled chicken and hot
corn cake gave the breakfast an added sense of festivity.

Soon after breakfast Mr. Scott, Donald and Faith were ready to start
for the lake. Donald took his sled along. "So we can draw Cousin Faith
home, if she gets tired," he explained, with quite an air of being
older and stronger than his cousin.

Aunt Prissy watched them start off, thinking to herself that Faith had
never looked so pretty as she did in the fur coat and cap, with her
skates swinging from her arm, the bright steel catching the rays of
sunlight.

They crossed the road, and went down the field to the shore. The hard
crust gave Faith and Donald a fine coast dow