nd I suppose they didn't want it mended," said Oswald. He knows but
too well that grown-up people sometimes like to keep things far
different from what we would, and you catch it if you try to do
otherwise.

"I shouldn't have minded _that_," Dicky said, "because I could easily
have taken it all off again if they'd only said so. But the sillies went
and propped up a milk-pan against the window. They never took the
trouble to notice I had mended it. So the wretched thing pushed the
window open all by itself directly they propped it up, and it's tumbled
through into the moat, and they are most awfully waxy. All the men are
out in the fields, and they haven't any spare milk-pans. If I were a
farmer, I must say I wouldn't stick at an extra milk-pan or two.
Accidents must happen sometimes. I call it mean."

Dicky spoke in savage tones. But Oswald was not so unhappy, first
because it wasn't his fault, and next because he is a far-seeing boy.

"Never mind," he said, kindly. "Keep your tail up. We'll get the beastly
milk-pan out all right. Come on."

He rushed hastily to the garden and gave a low signifying whistle, which
the others know well enough to mean something extra being up.

And when they were all gathered round him he spoke.

"Fellow-countrymen," he said, "we're going to have a rousing good time."

"It's nothing naughty, is it," Daisy asked, "like the last time you had
that was rousingly good?"

Alice said "Shish," and Oswald pretended not to hear.

"A precious treasure," he said, "has inadvertently been laid low in the
moat by one of us."

"The rotten thing tumbled in by itself," Dicky said.

Oswald waved his hand and said, "Anyhow, it's there. It's our duty to
restore it to its sorrowing owners. I say, look here--we're going to
drag the moat."

Every one brightened up at this. It was our duty and it was interesting
too. This is very uncommon.

So we went out to where the orchard is, at the other side of the moat.
There were gooseberries and things on the bushes, but we did not take
any till we had asked if we might. Alice went and asked. Mrs. Pettigrew
said, "Law! I suppose so; you'd eat 'em anyhow, leave or no leave."

She little knows the honorable nature of the house of Bastable. But she
has much to learn.

The orchard slopes gently down to the dark waters of the moat. We sat
there in the sun and talked about dragging the moat, till Denny said,
"How _do_ you drag moats?"

And we were speechless