arden."

"The freshet? Will there be a freshet, do you think?"

"Yes, if it rains this afternoon as fast as it does now, I think the
brook will be quite, high towards night."

Rollo was much pleased to hear this. He told Lucy, after dinner, that
the brook looked magnificently in a freshet; that the banks were
brimming full, and the water poured along in a great torrent, foaming
and dashing against the logs and rocks.

"Then, besides, Lucy," said he, "we can carry down our little boats and
set them a sailing. How they will whirl and plunge along down the
stream!"

Lucy liked the idea of seeing the freshet, too, very much; though she
said she was afraid it would be too wet for her to go. Rollo told her
never to fear, for his father would contrive some way to get her down
there safely, and they both went to the back entry door again, looking
out, and wishing now that it would rain faster and faster, as they did
before dinner that it would cease to rain.

"But," said Lucy, "what if it should not stop raining at all, to-night?"

"O, it will," said Rollo, "I know it will. Besides, if it should not, we
can go down to-morrow morning, you know, and then there will be a
bigger freshet. O how full the brook will be by to-morrow morning!"

And Rollo clapped his hands, and capered with delight.

"Yes," said Lucy, soberly, "but I must go home to-night."

"Must you?" said Rollo. "So you must. I did not think of that."

"But I think," continued he, "that it will certainly clear up to-night.
I will go and ask father if he does not think so too."

They both went together back into the parlor to ask the question.

"I cannot tell, my children, whether it will or not. I see no
indications, one way or the other. I think you had better forget all
about it, and go to doing something else; for if you spend all the
afternoon in watching the sky, and trying to guess whether it will clear
up or not, you cannot enjoy yourselves, and may be sadly disappointed at
last."

"Why, we cannot help thinking of it, father."

"You cannot, if you stand there at the back door, doing nothing else;
but, if you engage in some other employment, you will soon forget all
about it."

"What do you think we had better do?" said Lucy.

"I think you had better go up and put your room and your desk all in
order, Rollo; Lucy can help you."

"But, father, I have put it in order a great many times, and it always
gets out of order again very soon, and I c