the water had a good clear sweep down the hill the boats
went along splendidly, and the little folks had a very fine time of it
indeed.

"Don't fall in," called Nan. "Freddie, look out for that deep hole in
the gutter, where the tree fell down in the big flood."

But for once Freddie managed to save himself, while Flossie took no
risk at all, but walked past that part of the "river" without guiding
her "steamboat."

Presently the water in the "river" became weaker and weaker, until only
the smallest stream made its way along.

"We can't sail boats in mud," declared Freddie with some impatience.
"Let's go back and see what they're doing at the well."

Now the big pump had been removed and the man was going down in the
bucket again.

"We lost lots of things in there," remarked Tom Mason. "I bet they'll
bring up some queer stuff."

It took a few minutes for the other man to send the lanterns down after
his companion and then remove the top platform so as to give all the
air and light possible to the bottom of the well.

"Now the man in the well can see stars in the sky," said Harry to the
other boys.

"But there are no stars in the sky," Bert contradicted, looking up at
the clear blue sky of the fine summer day.

"Oh! yes there are," laughed the man at the well, "lots of them too,
but you can only see them in the dark, and it's good and dark down in
that deep well."

This seemed very strange, but of course it was true; and the well
cleaner told them if they didn't believe it, just to look up a chimney
some day, and they would see the same strange thing.

At a signal from the man in the well the other raised the first bucket
of stuff and dumped it on the ground.

"Hurrah! Our football!" exclaimed Harry, yanking out from the muddy
things the big black rubber ball lost the year before.

"And our baseball," called Tom Mason, as another ball was extracted
from the pile.

"Peter Burns' dinner pail," laughed Harry, rescuing that article from
the heap.

"And somebody's old shoe!" put in Bert, but he didn't bother pulling
that out of the mud.

"Oh, there's Nellie Prentice's rubber doll!" exclaimed Harry. "August
and Ned were playing ball with it and let it fly in the well."

Harry wiped the mud off the doll and brought it over to Nan.

"I'm sure Nellie will be glad to get this back," said Nan, "for it's a
good doll, and she probably never had one since she lost it."

The doll was not injured by its long i