room where the baby was.

While they were all engaged in this way, they heard sounds of
voices shouting and calling out near the river, and ran to the
window to see what it was. They saw far out, on the other side of
the water, near the edge of the meadow, five or six men and a
woman, and the gardener was making signs and calling out to them.

"O!" said nurse, "you may be sure that is the poor mother of the
baby."

"Let us run out and hold up the baby, to show her it is safe!"
cried Charlotte. "Come quick! O, how happy she will be!"

Nurse wrapped up the baby in a warm shawl, and out they went.
Helen carried the cat, and little Robert came bustling after them
with the cradle, shouting as loud as he could, "They're all safe!
here they are! look here!"

When the gardener saw them coming, he ran and caught up little
Charlotte in his arms, and nurse gave her the baby, and she held it
up as high as she could. The poor woman, who was indeed the mother,
saw it directly, and seemed hardly able to bear so much joy, for
her husband who was by her, threw his arm round her as if to
prevent her falling down. She clasped her hands together--then held
them out towards her child--then raised them upwards.

Mary and Willie could not sit still any longer, they both jumped
up, and began to clap their hands and dance for joy.

"Did she come to the house to bring away her baby?" asked Mary.

Yes; she walked about two miles off, to a part of the river where
there was a stone bridge; it was impossible to get across
nearer, so she came in about an hour.

"But did she see that puss was there?" said Willie.

O, yes; I forgot to tell you that after she had a little
recovered of the first joy of seeing her child safe, nurse held
up Helen with puss in her arms, and Robert climbed up on the
stump of a tree, and held up the cradle as high as he could.

"And then what did they do when the mother came?" said Mary.

She kissed her baby, and cried over it, and held it a long time
in her arms; and her husband, who came also, told them that the
flood had risen so suddenly that it had carried away part of the
wall of their cottage, and swept away everything they had, while
he and his wife were trying to save their stack of wood; and that
when they turned round, at the sound of the rushing water, they
found that the cradle was gone; and then they forgot every thing
else, and ran with several of their neighbors by the side of the
river; but n