e body out of the water. Oliver
thought that, as the dunghill was behind her, she could not see it. He
wished he could go, and put her in mind of it. He thought he would try
to cross in the tub, if he could so connect it with the window as that
it might be drawn back, in case of his being unable to pass the little
current that there was between the house and the ruins of the
yard-buildings--of which little remained.

"I'll go, too," said Roger.

"Either you will go, or I," said Oliver. "One must stay to manage the
rope, in case of the tub upsetting. You had better let me go, Roger,
because poor cow knows me."

Roger, however, chose to go. Oliver asked him whether he could milk a
cow; because some milk must be got for George, if possible. He said,
very gravely, that his poor little brother would die, he thought, if
they could not get milk for him.

Roger laughed at the doubt whether he could milk cows. He did it every
day of his life, when fishing and fowling, with his uncle, in the carr.
Oliver now guessed how it was that the milk of their good cow had
sometimes unaccountably run short. Ailwin had observed that this never
happened but when the Redfurns were in the neighbourhood; and she had
always insisted upon it that they had bewitched the cow. Oliver knew
that she would say so now. He said so much, and said it so seriously,
about the necessity of milk for little George, that he thought not even
a Redfurn could have the heart to drink up all the milk. He gave Roger
a brown pitcher for the milk, and helped, very cleverly, to fasten the
cord to the tub. They passed the cord through the back of a heavy
old-fashioned chair that stood in the room, lest any sudden pull should
throw Oliver out of the window; he then established himself on the
window-sill, above the water, to manage his line, and watch what Roger
would do.

Roger pulled very skilfully;--much more so, from his strength and from
practice, than Oliver could have done. He avoided logs of wood, trees,
and other heavy things that floated past; and this was nearly all he did
till the line had quite run out, so that he could not be carried any
further down. Then he began diligently working his way up towards the
cow. He had got half-way to his object, when he paused a moment, and
then changed his course--to Oliver's surprise; for the thing which
appeared to have attracted his attention was a small copper boiler.
Plenty of such things swept past