"My!" said Louise as he stood beside her, panting a little. "I wish I could do those things."
He beamed. "They're easy. Hang on to my arm and I'll show you. Now, step out with me. One-two, one-two, one-two."
Her ankles bent over 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.
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.