Randy shook herself and sat upright, laughing. “I did hear you,” she said, “only I didn’t think to answer. I guess I was dreaming.”
“Well, don’t dream in the daytime!” said Prue; “I’ve sent lots and lots of pretty boats down the stream, and I kept telling you to look, and now I don’t believe you’ve seen one of them.”
“Oh, yes, I have,” said Randy, “only I was so busy thinking that I didn’t say anything about them. Come, we’ll sail a few boats together, and then I guess we’d better go home.”
Prue was delighted, and to reward Randy for agreeing to play with her, she hunted with all her might for finer pieces of bark and choicer bits of moss, and gay indeed was the little fleet with its red-capped crew and passengers. Prue wandered off to find even finer mosses, and Randy was trying to capture a big water-spider for a passenger for a piece of birch bark, when Prue came rushing down the path, crying, “Look, Randy! Look! Here’s old Mr. Plimpkins to sail in one of our boats.”
In her surprise Randy let the water-spider escape, and, turning about, saw Prue quite alone, running toward her, laughing and holding out something which she had in her hand.
“Prue Weston! what do you mean?” said Randy.
Old Mr. Plimpkins was a farmer who lived at the outskirts of the town, but Prue had seen him at church, and she thought him the funniest man she had ever seen.
He was nearly as broad as he was tall. Winter and summer, he habitually wore very broad-brimmed hats, and he walked with a comical waddle, because his legs were completely bowed. As if to attract attention to these members, they were always encased in light, snuff-colored trousers, while about his neck, hot weather or cold, was always wrapped an immense red plaid cotton handkerchief.
As Prue came along, she handed out to Randy the object which she called Mr. Plimpkins, and, sure enough, clutched tightly in the little hot hand, was a bit of twig on which two stems bowed together until they nearly touched. On it, for a broad-brimmed hat, she had stuck a round green leaf.
“Oh, I think it must be naughty to laugh about him, even if he is funny,” said Randy.