"Very well, race over once more," said Daddy Blake.

So Hal and Mab did, and this time, after some hard skating, Hal crossed the finish line a little ahead of his sister. Poor Mab tried not to look sad but she could not help it.

"You--you won the race, Hal," she said.

"Well, maybe I got started a little ahead of you," he replied kindly.

"Anyhow, I'm older and of course I'm stronger. Oughtn't I give her a head-start, Daddy?"

"I think it would be more fair, perhaps," said Daddy Blake with a smile. He was glad his children were so thoughtful.

"Then let's race again," suggested Hal.

"Oh, hurrah!" cried all the other children. "Another race! That's three!"

This time Hal let Mab start off a little ahead of him, when Mr. Blake called "Go!" This "head-start," as we used to call it when I was a boy, is called a "handicap" by the big folk, but you don't need to use that big word, unless you care to.

"Oh, Mab is going to win! Mab is going to win!" shouted the children.

And she did. She crossed the line ahead of Hal. And Oh! how glad she was.

"Now we've each won a race!" cried Hal, as he helped his sister take off her skates.

A few days after that Daddy Blake asked the children:

"How would you like to go on a winter picnic?"

"A winter pic-nic!" cried Hal. "What is that?"

"Why we'll take our skates, and a basket of lunch, and go over to the big lake. We'll have a long skate, and at noon we'll eat our lunch in a log cabin I know of on the sh.o.r.es of the lake. That will be our winter pic-nic."

"Oh, how fine!" cried Mab. "When may we go?"

"To-morrow," answered Daddy Blake.

"Oh, I'm sure something will happen!" cried Aunt Lolly.

And something did, but it was something nice, and soon you will know all about it.

CHAPTER X

CUTTING THE ICE

Hal and Mab Blake were awake very early the next morning. Mab jumped out of bed first and ran to the window.

"Is it raining?" asked Hal, from his room. He put one foot out from under the covers to see how cold it was--I mean he wanted to see how cold the air in his room was--not how cold his foot was; for that was warm, from having been asleep in bed with him all night.

"No, it isn't raining," said Mab, "but it looks as if it might snow."

"I hope it doesn't snow until we have our pic-nic on the ice,"

exclaimed Hal, as he jumped out of bed, and began to dress.

Mamma Blake was very busy cooking breakfast, and so was Aunt Lolly.

They had to get the meal and also put up the lunch for the printer pic-nic. A large basket was packed full of good things to eat. I just wish I had some of them now, I'm so hungry!

"Well, are you all ready?" asked Mr. Blake of the children, after breakfast.

"I am, Daddy," answered Hal, pulling on his red mittens, and swinging his skates by a strap over his shoulder. "I'm all ready."

"And so am I," replied Mab, as she tied her cap strings under her chin, so it would not blow away--I mean so the cap would not blow away, not Mab's chin; for that was made fast to her face, you see, and couldn't blow off, no matter how much wind whistled down the chimney.

"Well, then we'll start," said Daddy Blake. Just then there came a ring at the front door bell, and into the hall tramped Charlie and Mary Johnson, who lived next door to the Blake family. The visitors were warmly dressed, and Charlie had two pairs of skates slung over his shoulder by the straps.

"Oh, we're going on a pic-nic, Mary!" cried Mab, thinking perhaps her little girl friend had come to ask her to go skating.

"So are we!" exclaimed Charlie, and he smiled at Daddy Blake, who laughed heartily.

"Oh, how funny!" cried Hal. "Are you going to where we are going, I wonder?"

The Johnson children looked at Mr. Blake and giggled.

"Yes," he answered with a smile, "they are going to the same place we are, Hal and Mab. I invited them to go with us, as I thought you would like company. And I guess mamma put up lunch enough for all of us; didn't you?" he asked, turning toward his wife.

"Indeed I did!" cried Mamma Blake. "There's a fine lunch."

"Oh, how lovely of you to come with us!" cried Mab, as she put her arms around Mary.

"It's just dandy!" shouted Hal, clapping Charlie on the back. Then, as he saw that Charlie was carrying his sister Mary's skates, Hal took Mab's and put them on a strap with his own, saying:

"I'll carry them for you, Mab!"

"Thank you," she said, most politely. "You are very kind."

"Well, do you like my little surprise?" asked Daddy Blake as they started off toward the lake, to hold their winter pic-nic.

"Surely we do!" answered Hal. "It's fine that you asked Mary and Charlie to come with us."

It was quite cold out in the air, and, as Mab had said, it did look like snow. There were dull, gray clouds in the sky, and the sun did not shine. But the children were happy for all that. In a little while they reached the big frozen lake, and, putting on their skates they started to glide over the ice.

"We will skate about a mile, and then we will rest, and have a little skating race, perhaps, and afterward we can eat our lunch."

"And what will we do after that?" asked Charlie.

"Oh, skate some more," answered Daddy Blake. "That is if you want to."

The children had much fun on their skates.