So he looked out for the nearest object to which he could throw the rope. Now, on the little lawn grew a rather tall laburnum tree. "If," thought Alfy, "I could fasten my rope round that, I could soon pull the tub up to it." After considering a few minutes he took the tin in which the tongue had been brought, and fastened it firmly to the end of the rope.
"This will make it easier to throw," he said, "and the tin will be more likely to become entangled in the branches or twist round them."
His plan was successful. After three or four ineffectual efforts the tin was caught firmly in the branches, and he commenced to haul the tub quite close to the tree.
Then another difficulty presented itself. How should the tin be disentangled? He soon found that it could not be done from his position in the tub, for he could not reach it in any way; so he whipped out his knife ready to cut the rope.
"Why, bless the boy! where are we?"
Mansy was wide awake now. In his efforts to reach the tin he had shaken the tub a good deal and aroused her.
"Oh, Mansy, I hoped you would have slept till I got you up to the house!" he said.
"Me asleep in a washin' tub! think of that! Well, I was that dead tired I could have slep' anywheres, I do believe. But however did you get here, Master Alfy?"
"Worked along by the hedge, Mansy."
"You are a brave, clever boy, Alfy! And I do believe there's Miss Edith at the window with a light."