Red had called "Hullo!" pleasantly enough. And then Johnnie was sure he said something in an undertone to the others. Anyhow they all grinned. And one boy cried, "I didn't expect to see you down here. I thought you'd be swinging. Wouldn't you rather swing than swim?"
Johnnie Green gave a sickly smile.
"Why didn't you bring your lamb with you?" another inquired. "Doesn't he follow you any more?"
But Johnnie Green had ducked down where he couldn't hear and was swimming under water. When he came up everybody yelled at him. That is, everybody yelled except Red. He looked very innocent, as if he didn't know what the joke was.
Well, Johnnie Green had a good swim, anyhow. And the boys soon stopped teasing him. They had several swimming races, with a good deal of splashing mixed in. And there was so much fun that nobody noticed when Red crawled out upon the bank and slipped away behind the drooping willows that overhung the stream.
The boys saw him plainly enough a little while afterward. Fully dressed he stood on the bank and jeered at them. And they knew what that meant. It meant that he had tied plenty of knots in everybody's clothes.
All the boys except Johnnie Green yelled at him.
"We'll fix you when we catch you!" they cried.
As for Johnnie, he said never a word. In fact he didn't even look angry. On the contrary, he smiled. For he saw something that his friends had overlooked.
Some distance behind Red Johnnie saw the willows part. And a white face peered out.