"Quite, quite sure."
"I believe Willis has been forbidden to go to the clay pits, and he certainly told me he had promised to remain at home evenings whilst his father was away."
"Do you think Mr. Willis can have returned?" Dora suggested.
"No. I wonder— Oh, what is that?" Shriek upon shriek from the direction of the clay pits fell upon their startled ears. Gilbert strained his eyes to see what was happening, but it was Dora who was the first to grasp the situation.
"Oh, one of them is gone!" she cried. "He has fallen into the water, I do believe! Oh, how horrible! He will be drowned!"
Gilbert's face was ashen, for he knew that the water in the clay pits was fearfully deep. Seizing his crutches, he swung himself over the gate, and hastened across the meadow, Dora following. The shrieks continued, mingled with cries of "Help! help!" from the solitary figure standing helplessly on the brink of the pit where the two boys had been fishing side by side but a few minutes before.
"That's Hope!" Gilbert exclaimed presently. They had come at a great rate, and by this time had nearly reached the scene of the accident. "Then it's Willis who's fallen in! See! he's clinging to the rushes! If he can hold on a little longer we may be able to save him. What is Hope thinking of, that he isn't doing anything to help him." Then, raising his voice, he shouted, "Hold on, Willis, I'm coming!"
Poor Gerald, who had slipped on the slimy bank above the pit, had, in falling, fortunately managed to grasp some of the rushes which grew around the edge of the pit, and so was enabled to keep his head and shoulders above the water. When Dora and Gilbert appeared in sight he was despairing of being rescued, for Hope, instead of coming to his assistance, was standing calling for help, afraid to stretch out a hand to the aid of his companion, lest he should share his fate.
"Oh, Mickle, save me!" Gerald cried imploringly. "Oh, I shall be drowned! I can't hold on much longer!"
This piteous appeal was too much for Dora. Never pausing to consider if she was acting wisely or not, she ran past Gilbert, and reaching the pit knelt down on the bank, and extended a hand to the terrified boy. He grasped it at once, and the next moment there was a splash, and the little girl was in the water too.