t mind wetting his feet; so he waded in,
drawing the wagon after him. It was about up to his ankles all the way.
Lucy looked over the side of the wagon, and felt a little fear as she
saw the wheels half under water; but they went safely through.

Presently they began to descend a path which led them into the woods.
They heard the roaring of the water, which grew louder and louder as
they drew nigh, and then Rollo suddenly stopped and said,

"Why, father, it is raining here in the woods now."

Lucy listened, and they heard the drops of rain falling upon the ground
all around them; and yet, looking up, they saw that the sky was almost
perfectly clear. Presently they thought that this was only the drops
falling off from the leaves of the trees.

Rollo said he meant to see if it was so, and he ran out of the path, and
took hold of a slender tree with a large top of branches and leaves,
and, looking up to see if any drops would come down, he gave it a good
shake; and, true enough, down came a perfect shower of drops all into
his face and eyes. At first he was astonished at such an unexpected
shower-bath, but he concluded, on the whole, to laugh, and not cry about
it; and he came back wiping his face, and looking comically enough. All
the party laughed a little at his mishap, and then went on.

In a few minutes more, they came in sight of the foaming brook. The
water was very high; in some places, the banks were overflowed, and the
current swept along furiously, dashing against the rocks, and whirling
round the projecting points.

The children stopped, and gazed upon the scene a little while, and then
Rollo said he was going to sail his boats, which he had brought in his
pocket.

Just then Jonas saw a plank which was lying partly on the bank and
partly in the water, a little up the stream. It had been placed across
the brook some distance above, for a bridge; but the freshet had brought
it away, and it had drifted down to where it then was.

Jonas said he would find a place for Lucy to stand upon with it. So he
went and pushed off this plank, and let it float down to where the
children were standing; and then he drew it up upon the shore, and laid
it along, so that Lucy could stand upon it safely, and launch the
pea-pod boats.

These boats were soon all borne away rapidly down the stream, out of
sight; and then they threw in sticks and chips, and watched them as they
sailed away, and whirled around in the eddies, or