my little Master Alfy taking his old nurse
in a tub! What would your parients say, on the Continong?"

"Well, it must be, you see, Mansy dear, so please come on!"

"Well, if we do turn over, I'll save you, Master Alfy. So now I'll try
again."

And once more leaning on the umbrella, she put one foot into the tub,
and not caring for its plumping down into the water, this time she
quickly brought the other foot after the first.

"Capital! capital!" cried Alfy. "There, you see, we have not gone
over!"

No, they had not gone over; but he soon found they were not going at
all! The tub was just aground, and would not move without being pushed
off.

So Alfy endeavoured to edge off the clumsy craft with the ladles, and
called on Mansy to help with the indispensable bulgy umbrella. The
moon was now shining, and albeit it was with a wan and watery gleam,
yet it enabled them to see their course a little more clearly.

After strenuous efforts, the large, round tub was gradually got off the
ground, and actually floated. "Hurrah!" shouted the brave little Alfy.
"Now for Island House!"

But try as he would he could not make the heavily laden craft float
towards the house. His paddles were too small, or he had not power
enough to make the best use of them, and slowly the current bore him
away.

Then he called on Mansy to help, but, good woman, she no more knew how
to paddle a tub properly than to fly to the moon! Their efforts
perhaps slightly retarded the progress of the strange craft, but could
not alter its course.

"I'll try the rope," cried Alfy in desperation. "Madge! Jane!" he
shouted, "look out!"

He threw the rope, but, of course, it fell far short of the house. A
moment's reflection would have shown him that it could not possibly
reach the window where stood his sisters and the servant maid.

They saw the difficulty now, and screamed aloud, while Mansy
endeavoured to shout back reassuring answers.

"It's no use," said Alfy, crouching down in the tub, "we are floating
away. We cannot get to the house. What shall we do now?"

CHAPTER II.

TO THE LABURNUM TREE.

"What shall we do now?"

It was Mansy who echoed Alfy's cry. "Can't we stop it somehow, Master
Alfy?" she added. "Tie it with the rope to the top of some tree or
something. Look there, could we not catch the line on there?" and she
pointed to the shrubby top of a big bush or tree. Alfy could not
exactly see what it was, but