Sarah and Shirley, by dint of much shaking and banging the bank against the shelf edge, succeeded in extracting ten cents and with this they purchased fresh young carrots, a delicacy much beloved by the pampered rabbits. They had fed the rabbits and were swinging in the porch swing, when they heard a cry from Winnie.
"For mercy's sake, where is the water coming from!" she shrieked. "Look at it, leaking down through the ceiling and dripping on my clean tablecloth—have the pipes sprung a leak?"
She dashed madly upstairs, Sarah and Shirley at her heels. The bath-tub was overflowing and the floor was a lake.
"Don't ever let me hear of you sailing boats again, as long as I live in this house!" Winnie scolded, as she rolled up her sleeves and pulled out the plug. "Sarah, go down and get me the mop—quick! It'll be a wonder if the plaster doesn't fall in the dining-room, it's that soaked!"
Dinner was delayed because of the catastrophe and when Doctor Hugh came in, hungry and tired, it was to find Winnie spreading a fresh cloth on the table and scolding Rosemary vigorously.
"The time to be helping me is before such a thing happens," announced Winnie, twitching the linen angrily. "Is that you, Hughie? Heaven alone knows when dinner will be ready to-night—I've been made to set the table twice over and the potatoes boiled dry while I was mopping up the bathroom."
In a few words she sketched the incident.
"Rosemary, can't you look after the children a little better, just till your aunt gets back?" asked the doctor wearily. "Where were you when they were letting the water run?"
"I was—out," said Rosemary lamely. "Just around," she added hastily, seeing a question forming on his lips.
"Well you'll have to stay in to-morrow," he said decisively. "Aunt Trudy will be home to-morrow night, and I want you to be with Sarah and Shirley till then. That isn't asking too much—one day. And we'll see if we can get along without any more accidents. No éclairs to-night, Winnie, for Shirley and Sarah."