sight of it; it looks jolly enough."

"And there's a bridge across it," said Maggie, speaking for the first
time, "a ducky little bridge. It would be fun to stand on it and throw
stones down to make the fishes jump."

Willie broke in at this.

"The fish aren't so silly," he said. "The water-hens would scatter away,
I daresay, if you threw stones. But Papa doesn't like us to startle
them, so it would be no good trying."

"Water-hens!" exclaimed the Kingley children all together. "What are
they like? Do let's go and look at them. We've never seen any."

"And most likely we won't see them now," said Helena. "They're very shy
creatures. And we mustn't startle them, as Willie says."

"Oh, bother!" said Freda; "it wouldn't hurt them for once. And who would
know? Anyway, let's go to the bridge."

And off she set again, though not quite so fast. Indeed, it would have
been impossible to race as she had done across the lawn, for the way to
the stream from where they were standing, lay across very high ground,
though there was a proper path, or road, leading to the bridge if they
had not come by the "cross-country" route.

It was very pretty when they got there, so wild and picturesque--you
could have imagined yourself miles and miles away from any house, in
some lonely stretch of country. Even the restless Kingley children were
struck by it, and stood still in admiration for about a quarter of a
minute.

"I say, it's awfully jolly here," said Hugh. "I wish we had a stream and
a bridge like this in our grounds."

But almost immediately he began fidgeting about again--leaning over,
till Helena felt sure he would tumble in, and twisting himself about to
see what there was to be seen below them.

"I know what _would_ be fun," said Freda suddenly.

"What?" exclaimed the others.

"Wading," she replied. "If we clamber down the side of the bank--it
isn't so very steep--we could get right under the bridge. There's a bit
of dry ground at each side of the water, isn't there, Hugh? We could
make that our dressing-room, or our bathing-van, whichever you like to
call it."

"But," interrupted Helena, "you couldn't undress; we've no
bathing-dresses, and----"

"How stupid you are!" interrupted Freda, in her turn. "We'd have to take
off our shoes and stockings, of course, and we can't do that on the
sloping bank; under the bridge is just the place. And we can pretend
it's the sea, and that we're going to bathe properly, and shiv