him as he wandered away. Then the end of the rope had become
tangled in a thick bush and the goat could not pull it loose. He was
held as tightly as if tied.

In front of him, but far enough away so the goat could not butt him with
his horns, which Nicknack tried to do, was a big, and not very
nice-looking, dog. This dog was barking fiercely at Nicknack, and the
goat could not make him go away.

"Oh, Mother! don't let the dog hurt our goat!" begged Janet.

"I'll drive him away," cried Ted, catching up a stone.

"No, you had better let me do it," said Mrs. Martin. She picked up a
stick and walked toward the dog, but he did not wait for her to get very
close. With a last howl and a bark at Nicknack, the dog ran away, jumped
into the lake and swam off toward shore. Then the rope was loosed and
Nicknack, who was badly frightened, was led back by Ted and Jan and
hitched to the wagon. He then gave them a fine ride. The dog was a stray
one, which had swum over from the mainland, Grandpa Martin said.

Ted and Janet took the lemonade and crackers with them in the goat-wagon
and had a nice little picnic in the woods.

"What can we do to-day?" asked Janet, as she and Teddy finished
breakfast in the tent one morning, and, after playing about on the beach
of the lake, wanted some other fun.

"Let's go swimming!" cried Teddy.

"And take Trouble with us," added his sister.

In their bathing suits and with Nora on the bank to watch them, the
children were soon splashing in the cool water. Ted could swim a little
bit, and Jan was just learning.

"Come on out where it's a little deeper," Ted urged his sister. "It
isn't up to your knees here, and you can't swim in such shallow water."

"I'm afraid to go out," she said.

"Afraid of what?"

"Big fish or a crab."

"Pooh! those little crabs won't bite you, and when we splash around we
scare away all the fish. They wouldn't bite you anyhow."

"Maybe a water snake would."

"No, it wouldn't," declared Ted. "Come on and see me swim."

So Jan waded out a little way with him. Ted was just taking a few
strokes, really swimming quite well for so small a boy, when, all at
once, he heard a cry from his sister.

"Oh, Ted! Ted!" she called. "Come on in, quick. A big fish is goin' to
bite you!"

Ted gave one look over his shoulder and saw something with a pointed
nose, long whiskers and two bright eyes swimming toward him.

"Oh!" yelled Ted, and he began running for shore as fast