“What are you holding in your skirt?” he asked when she gave him her free hand and they were ready to cross the brook.
“It’s a surprise,” Meg said mysteriously. “I want to surprise Dot and Twaddles. You’ll never be able to guess what it is, either, Jud.”
And just as she said that, her foot slipped.
CHAPTER XVI
THE NEW CAT
Meg could not fall flat, for Jud had hold of her hand, but she did drop her carefully held skirt. There was a splash, a startled “Meow!” and a shriek from Meg.
“Don’t let it drown!” she cried. “Jud, catch it, quick!”
If Meg had planned to surprise the twins, she could not have managed better. They couldn’t quite see what was going on, but they knew that something had happened.