t, Mansy
would not hear of it. Poor Mansy! her ideas of dignity had been sadly
disturbed this evening. "Me pulled up in a washin' tub?" she
exclaimed. "The idea! the very idea of such a thing! And I know you'd
let me fall!"

"If we did, it wouldn't hurt you," said Alfy, "because the tub would
float, you know. Come on, Mansy, it's the only way I can see!"

She suffered herself to be persuaded by Alfy, and to yield to the logic
of circumstances. So she fastened the piece of clothes-line that was
left in the tub firmly through its two handles, and Alfy, with the
girls, went downstairs, and, standing on chairs and hassocks, managed
to push the table close up to the window, through which they expected
Mansy to enter. Then a chair was placed upon it, so that she could
creep in with comparative ease.

The next thing was more difficult. It was to haul up the tub a little
way with Mansy in it. By tying a piece of thin kite string to the end
of the rope, they were able easily to pull up the rope from Mansy, and
then they turned it round the bed-post, and all four pulled hard
together. Mansy herself helped very much by pushing the paddles
against the window ledge; and presently they felt that the tub was
slowly moving.

"Hurrah!" cried Alfy, "we shall do it!"

"Oh! it's off the water, and swinging about; do be careful!" cried
Mansy.

"Steady it against the wall," cried Alfy. "Pull away, Jane; pull,
Edie; now, all together!"

And so with pulling and shouting, and with Mansy also doing her best to
help, for she was thoroughly determined to enter the house this time,
if possible, they raised the tub.

But just as she was preparing to creep in the window--either the
children relaxed their efforts, or they were not aware of the necessity
of holding the rope very tight when not pulling--suddenly, down went
the tub, splash!

"Oh! oh! oh!" cried Mansy, "I shall be drowned."

The children rushed to the window terror-stricken. But they soon
found, to their great relief, that Mansy was more frightened than hurt,
and in fact was not hurt at all, though much splashed with water.

"Oh, I thought the rockety thing was going down," she cried; "it went
down pretty far."

"But it's all right, Mansy," said Alfy cheerfully; "and now, we'll try
again, and keep tight hold this time!"

Mansy was very frightened, but eventually she did try, and all working
away for the same object, she did at last manage to clamber in on the