ere?' she suggested.

Molly looked quite frightened at the thought; but Douglas rose to the
occasion, and he said triumphantly,--

'Yes, nurse would be in a pretty state then! Farmer Giles would rush
off for a fire-engine; we would throw up the windows, and then I'd get
out on the roof and make a speech. I'd remind nurse of all the nasty
things she has said and done to us since we were babies; how she has
said over and over again there never were such children in the world,
and that we nearly drove her mad; and then I'd say she'd be sorry now
when she was going to see us burnt before her eyes; and she would be
sobbing and crying, and so would Mrs. Giles and Sam and all the others!'

'But they might get ladders to take us down,' suggested Molly.

'There's only one ladder long enough. Sam would put that up, but the
flames underneath the floor would come out and burn the ladder in two;
and there's no fire-escape! They don't seem to have them in the
country. I should go on speaking as long as I could, and then I should
say we didn't wish to go down to our graves angry, so we would forgive
her, only we hoped the next children she had she would be kinder to.
And then I would say good-bye; and the roof would be cracking
underneath me; and nurse would scream and cry; and then I would take a
leap right into the middle of the fire; and there would be a kind of
explosion, and the house would fall in; and the next day there would be
five heaps of bones and black ashes! all that was left of us! and nurse
would sit down with a broken heart in the middle of us!'

Bobby and Billy had been listening to this awful story with their eyes
nearly starting out of their heads; and now both burst into sobs of
terror. 'We're going to be burnt! Nurse, nurse, let us out; we will
be good!'

They were hushed up in scorn by Douglas; but Molly soothed and
comforted them, assuring them it was only a make-up, and that the house
never would catch fire.

'And if it did catch fire I would get out safe,' said Betty solemnly;
'for I should climb out of the window and walk along the gutter,
holding on by the roof; and then I should climb down by the pear tree
over Uncle Harry's bedroom.'

'You couldn't do it,' said Douglas scoffingly; 'girls can't climb!'

'I could do it; I could do it now!'

'Then do it, do it; I dare you to do it!'

Betty's eyes sparkled; and Molly at once left the twins, and ran to the
window and put her head out.

'I