promise of the sky clearing, Georgie's patience
gave way.

'What can we do to-day?' he asked, dismally, as he traced the course of
the drops on the window-panes with a damp finger. 'I'm tired of this
rain. Why can't it stop now?'

'It won't stop just to please you,' said Alan, who was examining the
quality of the water in his aquarium.

Georgie turned round angrily, but Marjorie came to the rescue hastily.

'The rain is nothing. We can amuse ourselves just as well in the house.
Can't we go over to Aunt Betty's, and play with Estelle, Miss Leigh?'

Georgie gave a bound of delight towards the door, and even Miss Leigh
smiled, and got up quickly.

'A capital idea!' she said, rolling up her work. 'Go and put on your
macintoshes, and we will run over as quickly as we can. We shall not get
wet enough to hurt us.'

Alan, however, was not pleased. He wanted to change the water of his
aquarium, and required Marjorie to help him. They had already put fresh
water into two compartments, but the third was to have some of the rain,
which they were collecting especially for the purpose. The small frogs,
sticklebacks, and mud-lampreys were already enjoying themselves, and
Alan was determined that the tadpoles and newts should be as happy. The
newts were specially disliked by Georgie, and now, to make matters
worse, Alan placed two of them on the floor. He intended to make them
run races, regardless of the effect of their wet bodies on the carpet.

'They don't do any harm,' he asserted, when Miss Leigh objected; 'not a
bit of it. Water never hurts anything.'

'It is very unpleasant to have them on the floor, to say the least,'
returned the governess. 'And you know Georgie does not like them.'

'Then he needn't, the baby,' retorted Alan, with a withering glance at
his brother.

'I don't mind frogs half so much,' explained Georgie, with a look of
disgust at the newts struggling in Alan's grasp.

'What a little silly you are,' said Alan, placing the creatures on the
ground, and a tiny red worm in front of them. 'What's the matter with
you? Are you afraid they will bite?'

'It's those dreadful legs! And the nasty way they eat.'

'Come, we must go,' said Miss Leigh, with some irritation. 'Come along,
Georgie. Marjorie, just see that you and he are well wrapped up, and
have goloshes on. The paths will be like rivers.'

But Alan, who had moved to allow the governess to leave the room,
objected strongly to Marjorie going with