er and
shudder and push each other in. Oh! it'll be great fun--come along, all
of you, do."

And somehow she got them all to go--not that she had any difficulty in
persuading her own brother and sister; they were, as they would
themselves have expressed it, "up to anything"; but the three Freres
knew quite well that it was not the sort of play--especially for
Helena--that their Mother would have approved of. It was very muddy down
under the bridge, and the paddling about in cold fresh water, when one
is already overheated, is not a very wholesome thing to do. Nor were
they dressed for this sort of play.

But Freda and Hugh had got the upper hand of them. Helena could not bear
to be laughed at, and Willie was terribly afraid of being thought "soft"
by a real schoolboy like Hugh.

It was not so easy to get down by the bank without accidents, and before
they reached the "dressing-room," frocks and knickerbockers already told
a tale.

"Never mind," said Freda, "it'll brush off when it's dry, and even if it
doesn't quite, you can't be expected never to get the least bit dirty.
Now let's get off our shoes and stockings as quick as we can," and down
she plumped and began unbuttoning her own boots without further ado.

"I think I'd rather not wade," said Helena.

"Oh, what rubbish!" cried Freda. "In I'll go first and show you how
jolly it is," and in another moment, in she went, paddling about on the
firmer ground in the middle of the stream, after some very muddy slips
or slides to get there.

"It's all right once you get out here," she called back. "Awfully
jolly--as cold as ice; come along."

[Illustration: "_It was not so easy to get down by the bank._"]

And in a few minutes all six children were waddling about in the not
very clear water, for the stirred-up mud at the edge had quite spoiled
the look of things for the time being, and I am sure the waterfowl, and
the fish, and even the water-rats were extraordinarily frightened at the
strange things that were happening, poor dears!

All went well, or fairly well, for some time, though little Leigh's face
began to look very blue, and his teeth chattered, and but for his fear
of being thought a baby, I rather think he would have begun to cry.

Helena did not notice him for some time; she was feeling a little giddy
and queer herself, and found it not too easy to keep her skirts, short
as they were, out of the water, and herself on her feet. There were some
sharp