But somehow, as they were idly jerking the ladder up and down, an accident happened. Something snapped at the top, and with a little cracking sound, the whole ladder broke loose from its fastenings and fell to the ground.
"Oh, Midget!" cried Molly, aghast, "whatever shall we do now? We can't get down, and we'll have to stay here until somebody happens to come by this way."
"That may not be for several days," said Midget, cheerfully. "Carter never hardly comes down into this meadow. Pooh, Molly, we can get down some way."
"Yes; but how?" insisted Molly, who realized the situation more truly than Marjorie.
"Oh, I don't know," responded Midge, carelessly. "We might go down in the dumb-waiter."
"No; your uncle said, positively, we must never go down on that. It isn't strong enough to hold even one of us at a time."
"I guess I could jump."
"I guess you couldn't! You'd sprain your ankles and break your collar bones."
"Oh, pshaw, Molly, there must be some way down. Let's ask Stella. She can always think of something."
"No; don't tell Stella. She can't think of any way, and it would scare her to pieces. I tell you, Mops, there ISN'T any way down. It's too high to jump and we can't climb. We could climb UP the tree, but not DOWN."