pebbles among those that made the bed of the stream, and she had
never before tried walking barefoot out of doors, even on a smooth
surface, and therefore found it very difficult.

But when at last she happened to catch sight of her little brother, she
started violently and nearly lost her balance. "Go back at once, Leigh,"
she cried. "Look at him, Freda--he's all white and blue."

Freda was a kind-hearted girl, and she too was startled.

"I'll take him to the bank--he'll be all right when I've rubbed his
feet," she exclaimed, and she hurried forward. But for all her good
intentions she only made matters worse.

Instead of taking hold of the child to help him, she managed to push him
over--and in another second Leigh was floundering in the mud at the edge
of the little stream!

_Part 3_

[Illustration]

POOR Leigh! What an object he was!

At first the three Kingleys burst out laughing.

But when Helena and Willie turned upon them sharply, they quickly grew
serious, for they were far from unkind children, and the sight of their
little friend's real distress and fear made them anxious to help to put
things to right.

[Illustration]

"He's as white as a sheet," said Helena, who was almost in tears. "And
shivering so. Oh! Leigh dear, do you feel very bad?"

"N-no, don't cry, Nelly," said the little boy. "It's--it's my jacket and
knickerbockers I mind about."

Freda turned him round promptly.

"It's only on one side," she said; "and a lot of it will brush off the
jacket, at least, and after all, the knickerbockers can be washed. What
I mind about is you're shivering so. Sit down, young man--here's a nice
dry place, and I'll give your feet a good rub."

So she did, using for that purpose one of her brother Hugh's long rough
stockings, quite heedless of his grumbling. She was certainly a very
energetic girl. In a few minutes Leigh's feet were in a glow, and the
colour crept back to his face again, and he left off shivering.

"There now," she said, "you are all right again, or at least you will
be, when you've run home and got a clean jacket. After all, you're quite
dry underneath--the mud is thick and hasn't soaked through. Now, what
had we best do, Nelly?"

"Get him home as quick as possible some back way, so that we won't meet
anyone, I should say," said Hugh, as he drew on his stockings, very glad
to have recovered his property.

But just as he spoke, there came a well-known sound--well known