it
knowing that she dare not let him fall.

"Keep quiet, Norman," she exclaimed, "it is very naughty of you! You
will make me let you drop, though I should be very sorry to do so."

Norman looked wickedly in her face, and only hit her harder.

As he was flourishing his stick, he knocked off her hat--she caught it,
however, but in doing so she very nearly let him drop into the water.
Still, though she begged and begged him to be quiet, he continued
beating her, till after considerable exertions she reached dry ground in
safety, and gladly put him down.

"Now, Norman," she exclaimed, "what do you deserve?"

"I do not care what I deserve, but I know that you had better not slap
my face, for mamma was angry with you when you did so before, and papa
says he won't allow anybody to beat me but himself, so just go and get
the carriage as you said you would. You must not leave it there,
somebody will run away with it, and I shall have to walk all the way
home."

"Very well, do you stay where you are, and I will go and bring it
across," said Fanny.

Norman agreed to stop, and Fanny went back carefully making her way over
the stepping-stones. She found the task of dragging the carriage across
without stepping into the water much greater than she had expected.
Norman shouted to her to make haste.

"I am doing my best, and cannot go faster," she answered.

"If you are not quicker I will stay here no longer," answered Norman.

Without stopping to see whether she did move faster, off he ran.

At that moment poor Fanny's foot slipped, and before she could regain
her balance, down she fell into the stream. In doing so she hurt her
arm, and wet her clothes almost all over. Norman, instead of coming to
help her, laughed heartily at her misfortune, and scampered away crying
out, "It served you light, you should have come faster when I told you."

Poor Fanny felt very much inclined to cry with vexation, but knowing
that that would do no good, she managed to scramble up again, and as her
feet were wet, she stepped on through the water, and soon got the
carriage to the other side of the stream. As Norman did not come back
to her, she ran after him, dragging it on.

"Norman! Norman!" she cried out, but instead of coming back, he made
his way towards the cottage.

She had nearly overtaken him just as they had got close to it, when the
door opened, and an old man appeared, followed by a little fair-haired
child, much you