"Isn't it nice?" laughed Rose, as she splashed about.
"Lots of fun," said Russ. Then, as he looked toward the far end of Captain Ben's flooded yard, Russ uttered a cry of surprise. "Look, Rose!" he called. "On that board floating down!"
"Oh, it's a cat!" cried Rose.
"And some kittens!" added Russ. "She's taking them for a ride!"
Surely enough, floating down the flooded yard on a board was a mother cat and four kittens. But they did not seem to be riding for pleasure, or having a good time. As the board boat slowly turned around and around, coming nearer and nearer to Russ and Rose, the mother cried as though asking the children to come and rescue her and her little family. The little kittens also cried.
"Oh, Russ!" exclaimed Rose. "The poor things! Can't we get 'em and take 'em in?"
"I guess so," Russ answered. "They're floating down this way. If I had a long stick I could poke 'em nearer to us."
"Here's a clothes stick," said Rose, taking one from the back porch. Then she and Russ waded farther out and waited for the mother cat and her kittens to come within reach.
