Schnurri was beginning to get restless, too, and by jumping about, threatened to upset the washtub. It rocked violently to and fro. The water by that time was so deep that the children could not possibly climb out again, and seized by a sudden panic, they began to shriek with all their might: "We are drowning, we are drowning! Mamma! Mamma! Battist! Trine! We are drowning!"
Finally, instead of words, they just frantically screeched and yelled. Schnurri barked and growled from sympathy, while Philomele revealed her true character, and began to bite and scratch, while meowing loudly. Philomele refused to go into the water, neither would she stay in the tub. Instead, she went on crazily and scratched the children whenever she could. But when the faithful Schnurri saw that no assistance was coming in answer to their cries, he jumped into the water with a big leap. He swam towards the door, gave himself a shake and ran away. But the children yelled worse than ever now, for Schnurri had nearly upset the tub in jumping out.
Dora had long ago run down to her hole in the hedge to see what was the cause of the pitiful cries.
The laundry stood close to the hedge, but she could see nothing but a funnel through which water flowed into the laundry. But she heard their cries about drowning and turning about, she ran upstairs again.
"Aunt Ninette," she cried breathlessly, "two children are drowning over there. Don't you hear them, don't you hear them?"
The aunt had heard the yells, despite her tightly barred windows.
"Oh, gracious, what does it mean?" cried the affrighted aunt. "Of course, I heard the awful noise, but who is drowning, I wonder? Mrs. Kurd! Mrs. Kurd! Mrs. Kurd!" Meanwhile, the soaked dog ran in big leaps towards the coachhouse, where Battist was cutting bean poles. Schnurri rushed up to him, pulled his trousers, barked violently, then tried to pull Battist along again, howling incessantly.
"Something is up," said Battist, and putting one of the poles on his shoulder, he said to himself, "One can never tell what may be useful."
Herewith, he followed Schnurri, who gaily preceded him to the washhouse. By that time, the mother, the governess, Paula, Rolf and Hun, and at last Trine had assembled, as the awful noise had penetrated into every nook and corner of the house and garden. Battist at once held his long pole out over the floods towards the tub.
"Take hold of it tight and don't let it go!" he called to the children, and after drawing the whole ark towards him, he lifted the inmates onto dry land.