marked. "It would be an awful loss for a poor man."

"Let's go up in the attic and see how high the pond is," Harry
suggested.

From the top of the house the boys could see across the high pond bank
into the water.

"My!" Bert exclaimed; "isn't it awful!"

"Yes, it is," Harry replied. "You see, all the streams from the
mountains wash into this pond, and in a big storm like this it gets
very dangerous."

"Why do they build houses in such dangerous places?" asked Bert.

"Oh, you see, that house of Burns' has stood there maybe one hundred
years--long before any dam was put in the pond to work the sawmill,"
said Harry.

"Oh, that's it--is it?" Bert replied. "I thought it was queer to put
houses right in line with a dam."

"See how strong the water is getting," went on Harry. "Look at that big
log floating down."

"It will be fun when it stops raining," remarked Bert. "We can sail
things almost anywhere."

"Yes, I've seen the pond come right up across the road down at Hopkins'
once," Harry told his cousins. "That was when it had rained a whole
week without stopping."

"Say," called Dinah from the foot of the stairs. "You boys up there
better get your boots on and look after that Frisky cow. John's gone
off somewhere, and dat calf am crying herself sick out in de barn.
Maybe she a-gettin' drownded."

It did not take long to get their boots and overcoats on and hurry out
to the barn.

"Sure enough, she is getting drownded!" exclaimed Harry, as they saw
the poor little calf standing in water up to her knees.

"Where is all the water coming from?" asked Bert.

"I don't know," Harry answered, "unless the tank upstairs has
overflowed."

The boys ran up the stairs and found, just as Harry thought, the tank
that supplied all the barns with water, and which also gave a supply
for the house to be used on the lawn, was flowing over.

"Is there any way of letting it out?" asked Bert, quite frightened.

"We can open all the faucets, besides dipping out pailfuls," said
Harry. "But I wish John would get back."

Harry ran to get the big water pail, while Bert turned on the faucet at
the outside of the barn, the one in the horse stable, another that
supplied water for the chickens and ducks, and the one John used for
carriage washing. Frisky, of course, had been moved to a dry corner and
now stopped crying.

Harry gathered all the large water pails he could carry, and hurried up
to the tank followed by Bert.

"I