A Little Bush Maid Part 20

"You don't seem to have minded it, either," said Norah.

"We were too busy laughing," Wally said. "You have to expect these things when you go in for a life on the ocean wave. The worst part of it came afterwards, when we went home. That was really unpleasant. I was staying at my aunt's in Toorak."

"Did you get into a row?"

"It was unpleasant," Wally repeated. "Aunts haven't much sympathy, you know. They don't like mess, and I was no end messy. We won't talk about it, I think, thank you." Wally rolled over on his back, produced an apple and bit into it solemnly.

"Let us respect his silence," said Jim.

"You had aunts too?" queried Wally, with his mouth full.

"Not exactly aunts," Jim said. "But we had an old Tartar of a housekeeper once, when we were small kids. She ruled us with a rod of iron for about six months, and Norah and I could hardly call our souls our own. Father used to be a good deal away and Mrs. Lister could do pretty well as she liked."

"I did abominate that woman," said Norah reflectively.

"I don't wonder," replied Jim. "You certainly were a downtrodden little nipper as ever was. D'you remember the time we went canoeing in the flood on your old p'rambulator?"

"Not likely to forget it."

"What was it?" Wally asked. "Tell us, Jim."

"Norah had a pram--like most kids," Jim began.

"Well, I like that," said Norah, in great indignation. "It was yours first!"

"Never said it wasn't," said Jim somewhat abashed by the laughter that ensued. "But that was ages ago. It was yours at this time, anyhow. But only the lower storey was left--just the floor of the pram on three wheels. Norah used to sit on this thing and push herself along with two sticks, like rowing on dry land."

"It was no end of fun," said Norah. "You _could_ go!"

"You could," grinned Jim. "I'll never forget the day I saw you start from the top of the hill near the house. The pram got a rate on of a mile a minute, and the sticks weren't needed. About half-way down it struck a root, and turned three double somersaults in the air. I don't know how many Norah turned--but when Dad and I got to the spot she was sitting on a thick mat of gra.s.s, laughing like one o'clock, and the pram was about half a mile away on the flat with its wheels in the air! We quite reckoned you were killed."

"Yes, and Dad made me promise not to go down that hill again," said Norah ruefully. "It was a horrid nuisance!"

"Well, there was a flood," said Jim. "Not very much of a one. We'd had a good bit of rain, and the water-hole in the home paddock overflowed and covered all the flat about two feet deep. At first it was a bit too deep for Norah and her wheeled boat, but when it went down a bit she set off voyaging. She did look a rum little figure, out in the middle of the water, pus.h.i.+ng herself along with her two sticks! Mrs. Lister didn't approve of it, but as Dad had given her leave, the housekeeper couldn't stop her."

At this point Norah was heard to murmur "Cat!"

"Just so!" said Jim. "Well, you know, I used to poke fun at Norah and this thing. But one day I had gone down to the water's edge, and she came up on it, poling herself through the water at a great rate, and it occurred to me it didn't look half bad fun. So I suggested a turn myself."

"You said, 'Here, kid, let's have that thing for a bit,'" said Norah firmly.

"Did I?" said Jim, with meekness.

"Yes, you did. So I kindly got off."

"Then?" asked Harry.

"He got on. I said, 'Jim, dear, pray be careful about the holes, and let me tell you where they are!'"

"I'm sure you did!" grinned Wally.

"And he said, 'If a kid like you can keep out of holes, I guess I can!'"

"I'm sure he did!" said Wally.

"Yes. So he set off. Now I had been over that flat so often in dry weather that I knew every bit of it. But Jim didn't. He went off as hard as he could, and got on very well for a little bit--"

"Am I telling this yarn, or are you?" inquired Jim, laughing.

"This is the part that is best for me to tell," said Norah solemnly.

"Then he turned suddenly, so suddenly I hadn't time to do more than yell a warning, which he didn't hear--and the next minute the side wheels of the pram went over the edge of a hole, and the thing turned upside down upon poor old Jimmy!"

"How lovely!" said Wally, kicking with delight. "Well, and what happened?"

"Oh, Jim can tell you now," laughed Norah. "I wasn't under the water!"

"I was!" said Jim. "The blessed old pram turned clean over and cast me bodily into a hole. That was all I knew--until I tried to get out, and found the pram had come, too, and was right on top of me--and do you think I could move that blessed thing?"

"Well?"

"In came Norah," said Jim. "(I'll take it out of you now, my girl!) She realised at once what had happened and waded in from the bank and pulled the old pram off her poor little brother! I came up, spluttering, to see Norah, looking very white, just preparing to dive in after me!"

"You never saw such a drowned rat!" said Norah, taking up the tale.

"Soaked--and muddy--and very cross! And the first thing he did was to abuse my poor old wheely-boat!"

"Well--wouldn't you?" Jim laughed. "Had to abuse something! Anyhow, we righted her and Norah waded farther in after the sticks, which had floated peacefully away, and we pulled the wheely-boat ash.o.r.e. Then we roared laughing at each other. I certainly was a drowned rat, but Norah wasn't much better, as she'd slipped nearly into the hole herself, in pulling the pram off me. But when we'd laughed, the first thought was--'How are we going to dodge Mrs. Lister!' It was a nasty problem!"

"What did you do?"

"Well, after consultation we got up near the house, planting the pram in some trees. We dodged through the shrubbery until we reached that old summer-house, and there I left Norah and scooted over to the stables, and borrowed an overcoat belonging to a boy we had working and a pair of his boots. Dad was away, or I might have gone straight to him. I put on the borrowed things over my wet togs (and very nice I looked!) and trotted off to the side of the house. No one seemed about, so I slipped into my room through the window and then into Norah's, and got a bundle of clothes, and back I scooted to the summer-house, left Norah's things there, and found a dressing-room for myself among some shrubs close by.

"Well, do you know, that old cat, Mrs. Lister, had seen us all the time?

She'd actually spotted us coming up the paddock, dripping, and had deliberately planted herself to see what we'd do. She knew all about my expedition after clothes; then she followed us to the shrubbery, and descended upon us like an avalanche, just as we got half-dressed!"

"'May I ask what you naughty little children are doing?' she said.

"Well, you know, that put my back up a bit--'cause I was nearly twelve, and Dad didn't make a little kid of me. However, I tried to keep civil, and tell her what had happened; but she told me to hold my tongue. She grabbed Norah by the shoulder, and called her all the names under the sun, and shook her. Then she said, 'You'll come to bed at once, miss!'

and caught hold of her wrist to drag her in.

"Now Norah had sprained her wrist not long before, and she had to be a bit careful of it. We all knew that. She didn't cry out when Mrs. Lister jerked her wrist, but I saw her turn white, and knew it was the bad one."

"So he chucked himself on top of old Mrs. Lister, and pounded her as hard as he could," put in Norah, "and she was so astonished she let me go. She turned her attention to Jim then, and gave him a terrible whack over the head that sent him flying. And just then we heard a voice that was so angry we hardly recognised it for Dad's, saying--

"'What is this all about?'"

"My word, we were glad to see Dad!" said Jim. "He came over and put his arm round Norah--poor little kid. Mrs. Lister had screwed her wrist till it was worse than ever it had been, and she was as white as a sheet. Dad helped her on with her clothes. All the time Mrs. Lister was pouring out a flood of eloquence against us, and was nearly black in the face with rage. Dad took no notice until Norah was dressed. Then he said, 'Come to me in the study in twenty minutes,' and he picked Norah up and carried her inside, where he dosed her, and fixed up her wrist. I put on my clothes and followed them.

"Norah and I never said anything until Mrs. Lister had told her story, which was a fine production, little truth, and three parts awful crams.

Then Dad asked for our side, and we just told him. He knew we never told lies, and he believed us, and we told him some other things Mrs. Lister used to do to us in the way of bullying and spite. I don't know that Dad needed them, because Norah's wrist spoke louder than fifty tales, and he didn't need any more evidence, though after all, she might have grabbed the bad wrist by mistake, and she had done far worse things on purpose.