in the garret or the kitchen; knocked down
three pails and a scrubbing brush every time I went down stairs, nearly
drowned Poddles in hot soapsuds, splashed myself all over with whitewash
trying to "do" the kitchen ceiling (on my own account, when nobody was
by), until I looked as if I had been out in a snowstorm, and watering
the windows outside with the long hosepipe, until every one of them was
dripping _inside_ like a waterfall.

Now, Neighbor Nelly and Jimmy had been looking out of their parlor
window, and advising me which were the best parts of our windows to play
on, when, all of a sudden, Nelly said:

"Why, Tom, it doesn't half clean the panes to do them that way; they
ought to be washed with soap and hot water. Suppose we try it? Only
think!" she went on, "how much your aunties would be obliged to us if we
were to find out a new way to make windows clean, ever so much better
than the old one!"

"Splendid!" said I and Jimmy together. "Come, let's try it right away!"

With that, Nelly and Jimmy came into our house, and into the front
basement; Aunt Elsie and Aunt Ruth were both up stairs; so we had the
two lower stories all to ourselves.

As Nelly was afraid of spoiling her frock, I dived into the cook's
dresser drawer, where she keeps her own table covers and clean dish
cloths, and fished out a great big brown roller-towel, which we pinned
round her neck, making her look in front as if she was tied up in a
potato sack, with only her head left out. Then Jimmy and I took off our
nice jackets, rolled up our shirt sleeves, lugged in three big yellow
dishes full of hot water, spilling plenty on the way, found a long bar
of brown soap, and helped ourselves to three more of Bridget's clean
towels; and then we all three began scrubbing away at the windows!

Such fun as we had! We put on the greatest lot of soap, and paid away
with both hands, so as to make them good and _clean_, laughing and
talking all the time; and when we thought the water had been used
enough, or, rather when it was nearly all spilt, we took up our yellow
bowls and marched into the kitchen for more.

Our boiler, you must know, is a tin affair, like a large soup kettle
without the handle, and has a faucet in front to draw the water off. We
put it on the middle of the range, and keep it always full and boiling;
and now, instead of filling our dishes right away, we began playing the
kitchen was a steamboat, and the water heater the boiler, jus