what can be done," said Mary.

"Do; 'cause you is so big," said the little girl.

"We'll see if my long arms won't do as well as Jim's," said Mary;
"only Jim would go in, perhaps, which I certainly shall not do." Then
she took Flo by the hand, and together they ran down to the margin of
the river.

There lay the treasure, a huge red inflated ball, just stopped in its
downward current by a short projecting stick. Jim could have got it
certainly, because he could have suspended himself over the stream
from a bough, and could have dislodged the ball, and have floated it
on to the bank.

"Lean over, Mary,--a great deal, and we'll hold you," said Flo, to
whom her ball was at this moment worth any effort. Mary did lean
over, and poked at it, and at last thought that she would trust
herself to the bough, as Jim would have done, and became more
and more venturous, and at last touched the ball, and then, at
last,--fell into the river! Immediately there was a scream and a
roar, and a splashing about of skirts and petticoats, and by the
time that Mrs. Fenwick was on the bank, Mary Lowther had extricated
herself, and had triumphantly brought out Flo's treasure with her.

"Mary, are you hurt?" said her friend.

"What should hurt me? Oh dear, oh dear! I never fell into a river
before. My darling Flo, don't be unhappy. It's such good fun. Only
you mustn't fall in yourself, till you're as big as I am." Flo was in
an agony of tears, not deigning to look at the rescued ball.

"You do not mean that your head has been under?" said Mrs. Fenwick.

"My face was, and I felt so odd. For about half a moment I had a
sound of Ophelia in my ears. Then I was laughing at myself for being
such a goose."

"You'd better come up and go to bed, dear; and I'll get you something
warm."

"I won't go to bed, and I won't have anything warm; but I will change
my clothes. What an adventure! What will Mr. Fenwick say?"

"What will Mr. Gilmore say?" To this Mary Lowther made no answer, but
went straight up to the house, and into her room, and changed her
clothes.

While she was there Fenwick and Gilmore both appeared at the open
window of the drawing-room in which Mrs. Fenwick was sitting. She had
known well enough that Harry Gilmore would not let the evening pass
without coming to the vicarage, and at one time had hoped to persuade
Mary Lowther to give her verdict on this very day. Both she and her
husband were painfully anxious that Harry might