"Miss Flora called me in to have me tell her what the matter was, and she kept talking to me ever since," pleaded Sim.
"Don't scold him, Buckland. It was my fault; but I did not know anything was wrong," interposed Flora.
"I'm not scolding him; but he should look out for the raft when I leave her in his care."
"Well, I did look out for it. It didn't run away from me, and here it is."
"If it didn't run away from you, it ran away with you."
"No, it didn't; here it is just as you left it."
"But the raft has come down stream more than half a mile since I left it."
"Hookie! What's that?" asked Sim, opening his eyes.
"Didn't you know the raft had broken loose, and travelled down stream half a mile or more?" I asked, filled with astonishment.
"I didn't know anything at all about it," protested Sim, vigorously.