bang.

So Jill was left alone to work as best she might. The next night when
dusk approached she laid the supper and set the cauldron boiling.

"Abracadabra," and in swirled the Witch again, and the window shut
after her with a bang!

The elastic bags were full and distended as the old Witch flopped them
on to the floor.

"They are all full of water," said she.

"Where did you get it from?" ventured Jill.

"Aha, I stole it!" said the old Witch, with a wicked grin. "When the
people weren't looking, I stole it! A bag here, and a bag there. Some
nice little thunderstorms I got too. They won't like it when they wake
up to-morrow and find their wells dried up, and their grass withering.
Ha! ha! ha!" and the old Witch ground her teeth together more
maliciously than ever.

"Now, come along, pick up those bags and follow me," she cried, when
she had finished eating her supper. So Jill picked up the bags.

"Lift up the floor
And open door,"

shouted the old Witch, tapping the floor with her broomstick. Once
more they went down the dark steps into the vault. Jill untied the
sacks and emptied them into the different casks according to the
Witch's directions, and as each cask was filled a lid slid on of
itself. There was a terrible noise while the thunder-storm cask was
being filled, and the old Witch had to mutter spells all the time to
prevent it from running over.

When the bags were empty and the casks full, the old Witch went into
the next vault and made Jill pick up and add some more bags to the
number that she already had.

Then they went back to the kitchen again. At the top of the steps the
Witch called out:

"Shut down the floor
And close the door,"

and the floor closed up again.

"I am going out now," said the old Witch as before. "I shall not be
back till to-morrow at dusk. I shall lock the door so you cannot get
out. Clean the place and have supper ready for me when I come back."
She took her broomstick and bound on it the double number of elastic
bags, perched her cat at the other end, mounted it astride, and with an
"Abracadabra," she was gone.

The next night at dusk she returned again with the bags full of water.

"Ha! ha! I stole it," said she to Jill. "A bag here, and a bag there.
They won't like it when they wake up to-morrow and find they have no
water to wash in and precious little water to drink." She ground her
iron teeth together and laughed again.

As befo