st week."

"Ay," said the farmer from Dave's punt; "and we might all have been
drowned. It's a sore piece of business; but it shows a man what his
neighbours are, and I won't murmur, only say as you do, it might have
been worse."

"And thank God for sparing all our lives!" said the squire, taking off
his hat.

"Amen!" said Farmer Tallington, and for a time there was nothing heard
but a sob from Mrs Tallington and the splashing of the poles.

But two boys could not keep silence long with the sun shining and the
place around wearing so novel a guise; and Dick soon burst out with:

"Look, Tom; look at the teal!"

He pointed to a flock forming quite a patch upon the water some hundreds
of yards away.

"Ay," said the squire; "it's good for the wild-fowl, but bad for us.
The sooner the place is drained now, neighbour, the better, eh?"

"Ay, squire, you're right; but how are we to get rid of all this
watter?"

"Ah, we must see," said the squire; and Dave and John Warren exchanged
glances and shook their heads. "The sooner the draining works are
commenced the better."

"Toft Fen wean't niver be drained, mester," said Dave in a low voice, as
he rested his pole in the punt and stood there looking as if he believed
himself to be a prophet.

"Oh, you think so, do you, Dave?" said the squire quietly. "I daresay
hundreds of years ago, before the sea-wall was made, some men said that
no farming could be done in the fen, but the sea has been kept out for
all these years."

"Ay, but it's come through at last in its natural way, mester," said
John Warren.

"Yes, John," said the squire: "but we men who think how to live, make
nature work for us, and don't work for nature. So we're going to turn
the sea off the land again, and drain the fresh water off as well, so as
to turn this wild waste into fertile land. Do you hear, Dick?"

"Yes, father, I hear," said the lad; and he looked at Dave and John
Warren, in whose boat he was, and read incredulity there; and as he
gazed over the inundated fen, and thought of fishing, and shooting, and
boating there, he felt himself thoroughly on the fen-men's side, while,
feeling ashamed of this, he bent over the boat side, scooped up some
water in his hand and drank, but only to exclaim, "Ugh!"

"Ah! what does it taste like, Dick?" said the squire.

"Half salt, father."

"Then it is the sea broke in," said the squire. "Ahoy! all right!" he
shouted, standing up and waving his ca