Page 124 - A Little Bush Maid

"This is the part that is best for me to tell," said Norah solemnly. "Then he
turned suddenly, so suddenly T hadn’t time to do more than yell a warning,

which he didn’t hear--and the next minute the side wheels of the pram went
over the edge of a hole, and the thing turned upside down upon poor old

Jimmy!"

"How lovely!" said Wally, kicking with delight. "Well, and what

happened?"

"Oh, Jim can tell you now," laughed Norah. "T wasn’t under the water!"

"T was!" said Jim. "The blessed old pram turned clean over and cast me

bodily into a hole. That was all T knew--until T tried to get out, and found
the pram had come, too, and was right on top of me--and do you think T

could move that blessed thing?"

"Well?"

"Tn came Norah," said Jim. "(T’ll take it out of you now, my girl!) She

realised at once what had happened and waded in from the bank and pulled
the old pram off her poor little brother! T came up, spluttering, to see Norah,
looking very white, just preparing to dive in after me!"

"You never saw such a drowned rat!" said Norah, taking up the tale.

"Soaked--and muddy--and very cross! And the first thing he did was to
abuse my poor old wheely-boat!"

"Well--wouldn’t you?" Jim laughed. "Had to abuse something! Anyhow, we
righted her and Norah waded farther in after the sticks, which had floated

peacefully away, and we pulled the wheely-boat ashore. Then we roared
laughing at each other. T certainly was a drowned rat, but Norah wasn’t
much better, as she’d slipped nearly into the hole herself, in pulling the

pram off me. But when we’d laughed, the first thought was--’How are we
going to dodge Mrs. Lister!’ Tt was a nasty problem!"

"What did you do?"