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14 - Bobbsey Twins at Cloverbank by Laura Lee Hope · Bobbsey Twins at Cloverbank

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  Speaker 1: By Helen Kay. The Bobbsey Twins at Clover Bank by
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  Speaker 1: Laura Lee Hope Bert's Watermill. Nan Bobbsey was sure of
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  Speaker 1: one thing, and this was that she was going to
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  Speaker 1: hold with all her might to that rope attached to
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  Speaker 1: the hay fork. To let go now that the fork
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  Speaker 1: was out of the barn and over the open yard
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  Speaker 1: would mean a bad fall. So the girl clenched her
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  Speaker 1: fingers around the rope and set her teeth. It was
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  Speaker 1: a little scary, she said afterwards, to look down to
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  Speaker 1: the earth, though as a matter of fact it was
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  Speaker 1: not more than twenty feet below her. But that is
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  Speaker 1: quite a fall to take. However, NaN's danger was soon over.
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  Speaker 1: The horse backed so that the laden fork and the
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  Speaker 1: girl came back over the wagon load of hay, and
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  Speaker 1: then Zeke cried, you can let go, now you're all right.
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  Speaker 1: Nan could see this for herself. She saw that her
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  Speaker 1: feet dangled a little way above the big pile of
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  Speaker 1: hay on the wagon. She opened her fingers and dropped
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  Speaker 1: into the mass of sweet smelling grass with a sigh
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  Speaker 1: of relief. She's all right, not hurt a bit, reported Zeke,
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  Speaker 1: who began climbing up to Nan. As soon as he
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  Speaker 1: saw that she was safe. What made you catch hold
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  Speaker 1: of the fork in the barn, he asked? Oh, I
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  Speaker 1: don't know, answered the little girl, who was almost crying.
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  Speaker 1: I shouldn't have done it, I know, but I saw
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  Speaker 1: that the hay wasn't going to drop, and I'd seen
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  Speaker 1: you pull the short rope, so I thought I could
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  Speaker 1: do it. But it didn't work, and before I could
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  Speaker 1: let go, I found myself carried out of the barn.
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  Speaker 1: The hay fork prongs got jammed, exclaimed the manning charge
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  Speaker 1: of unloading the wagon. First time I've known that to happen. Bert,
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  Speaker 1: who had been out in a workshop which mister Watson
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  Speaker 1: had in one of the barns, saw from NaN's face
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  Speaker 1: that something had happened when he noticed her walking out
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  Speaker 1: of the barnyard, and when he learned what it was,
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  Speaker 1: he exclaimed, Jim, Andy, it's a good thing you held fast. Nan. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: I knew I must do that, she said, But what's that? Bert?
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  Speaker 1: She asked, for she saw that her brother had been
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  Speaker 1: making something, as he called it. It's going to be
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  Speaker 1: a water mill if I ever get it finished, he replied,
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  Speaker 1: You mean a mill to turn by water? Asked Nan. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: it's a sort of water wheel, explained Bert. But maybe
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  Speaker 1: I can make it so it will turn a fan
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  Speaker 1: or something like that. I'll put the wheels with paddles
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  Speaker 1: on down into the brook where there's a little waterfall,
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  Speaker 1: he went on. And then I can have a belt
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  Speaker 1: of cord that goes round a pulley wheel on the paddles,
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  Speaker 1: and up at the house I can make a fan
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  Speaker 1: with another pulley on it, and when the water turns
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  Speaker 1: the paddle and pulley, it will also turn the fan
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  Speaker 1: and we'll get a breeze on a hot day. Oh
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  Speaker 1: that'll be fine, cried Nan. It will if it works,
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  Speaker 1: replied Bert. More practically. I made one last year and
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  Speaker 1: it didn't work anyhow. This one is going to be better.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to try the paddle wheels now I've got
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  Speaker 1: that much done. Want to come and see it work, Yes,
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  Speaker 1: answered Nan eagerly. I do hope it works, Bert, So
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  Speaker 1: do I, he said. The brook ran down at the
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  Speaker 1: lower end of the kitchen garden of Clover Bank. Along
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  Speaker 1: the bank of this stream, the Bobbsey twins loved to play.
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  Speaker 1: The water was not deep enough except in a few
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  Speaker 1: places to make it venturesome play, and the children have
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  Speaker 1: been told to keep away from these spots. But we
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  Speaker 1: will have to go to one of the deep spots
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  Speaker 1: now to make this paddle wheel work and try my
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  Speaker 1: water mill. Bert said. The only place where the water
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  Speaker 1: tumbles over the rocks enough to turn the paddle is
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  Speaker 1: where it's deep. But we'll be careful. Yes, we'll be careful,
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  Speaker 1: agreed Nan. A mother won't mind our going there if
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  Speaker 1: it's to try your mill, for she likes to be cool,
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  Speaker 1: and maybe she will like your fan Bert maybe he assented,
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  Speaker 1: but I haven't got the fan part done yet, just
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  Speaker 1: the water mill paddle part. As Bert and Nan made
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  Speaker 1: their way to a little waterfall in the brook, they
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  Speaker 1: heard the shouts of Flossie and Fredday, who are gone
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  Speaker 1: so time before to sail toy boats. They're having a
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  Speaker 1: good time, remarked Nan. Sounds so, agreed her brother. But
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  Speaker 1: just then there was a shrill scream from Flossee, and
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  Speaker 1: Freddy's voice could be heard shouting, oh there he goes,
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  Speaker 1: now he's in. Bert and Nan looked at each other
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  Speaker 1: with alarm. They heard a splashing of water. One of
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  Speaker 1: them has fallen in, gasped Nan. Guided by the shouts
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  Speaker 1: of the smaller twins. The older ones soon reached the
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  Speaker 1: place where Freddy and Flossee had been playing. As they
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  Speaker 1: neared the spot, they heard laughter mingled with the shouts.
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  Speaker 1: I don't believe either one of them fell in, said Bert,
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  Speaker 1: as he slowed up a bit to wait for his sister.
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  Speaker 1: It sounded, so, she said, and we heard them say so.
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  Speaker 1: Wondering what had happened to cause the splashing, the two
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  Speaker 1: hurried on and pushed their way through the bushes that
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  Speaker 1: fringed the edge of the brook. Bert and Nan saw
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  Speaker 1: their brother and sister standing on the shore, but there
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  Speaker 1: was something in the water that excited them, for they
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  Speaker 1: were running up and down, poking long sticks into the brook.
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  Speaker 1: What's the matter? Called Nan? Did anybody fall in? Bert
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  Speaker 1: wanted to know. Just an old, big bullfrog was Freddy's
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  Speaker 1: unexpected answer. Oh, he was such a big, fat frog,
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  Speaker 1: added Flossie. Did you hear the splash he made? I
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  Speaker 1: should say we did, replied Nan. We thought maybe it
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  Speaker 1: was one of you, No, Freddy said, but I almost
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  Speaker 1: fell in trying to stop the frog from getting away.
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  Speaker 1: Did you catch him? What happened? Asked Bert? We almost
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  Speaker 1: caught him replied Freddy. We were sailing our boats and
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  Speaker 1: FLOSSI saw the frog. He was up on the bank
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  Speaker 1: asleep in the sun. And Freddy said for us to
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  Speaker 1: get between him and the water and drive him farther
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  Speaker 1: up on the bank, and then maybe we could catch him,
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  Speaker 1: added Flossie. So we tried to creep up so he
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't hear us. But he has good ears, I guess,
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  Speaker 1: for he woke up and began to hop toward the water.
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  Speaker 1: Frogs always do, that, explained Freddy, as if he knew
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  Speaker 1: all about such creatures. We tried to chase him back
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  Speaker 1: with sticks, but he just kept on jumping this way
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  Speaker 1: and that way, trying to get into the brook again.
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  Speaker 1: And then and then Freddy had to stop and laugh
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  Speaker 1: at the memory of what had happened. So Flossie finished
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  Speaker 1: the story by saying, the big frog hopped close to Freddy,
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  Speaker 1: and Freddy thought he could grab him, and he stooped over.
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  Speaker 1: Freddy did, and the frog hopped right between his legs,
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  Speaker 1: I mean between Freddy's legs and splashed into the brook.
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  Speaker 1: How he got away, yeah, said Freddy, still laughing. That's
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  Speaker 1: how he got away. And I fell over because I
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  Speaker 1: made such a quick grab for him. But I didn't
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  Speaker 1: hurt myself, he added, And I didn't get much, Moddy,
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  Speaker 1: only a little. I should say it was more than
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  Speaker 1: a little, laughed Nan. But I guess it won't matter
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  Speaker 1: on your old clothes. No, it won't matter any decided Freddy.
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  Speaker 1: After the frog got in, went Tom floss We tried
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  Speaker 1: to poke him out with long sticks, but he won't
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  Speaker 1: poke at all. I should think he wouldn't, chuckled Bert.
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  Speaker 1: He's glad to get away from you two. I guess
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  Speaker 1: he's deep down in the mud now laughing at you. Well,
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  Speaker 1: I almost had him, was what Freddy said. Then he
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  Speaker 1: saw the pieces of wood Bert had and asked, what's
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  Speaker 1: that a water wheel? Sort of? Bert admitted, I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to try and make a watermill to run a wooden fan.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going down to the waterfall to try it. Oh
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  Speaker 1: may we come, begged Flossie. You may if you will
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  Speaker 1: promise to sit down on the bank and not come
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  Speaker 1: near the edge, for it's deep there, insisted Bert. We'll
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  Speaker 1: fit down all the while, won't we, Flossy asked her
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  Speaker 1: small brother, and she nodded her head vigorously in answer, Well,
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  Speaker 1: I guess it will be all right to take them,
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  Speaker 1: decided Nan. A little later, the four Bobbsey twins were
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  Speaker 1: at the place where the brooks splashed noisily over a
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  Speaker 1: ledge of rocks, falling a distance of about two feet.
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  Speaker 1: It made a fine place to set up a water wheel,
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  Speaker 1: and Bert was soon fastening his in place so the
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  Speaker 1: falling s would turn. The paddles these worked. He intended
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  Speaker 1: connecting them by means of a string belt and pulleys
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  Speaker 1: to a fan set up some distance away, but he
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  Speaker 1: had yet to build the fan. Bert drove into the
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  Speaker 1: earth bank on one side of the little waterfall some
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  Speaker 1: pieces of wood to which he had intended fastening his
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  Speaker 1: watermill paddle. He had finished this and was about to
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  Speaker 1: set up the wooden wheel when Flossi gave a startled cry.
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  Speaker 1: Though he knew he had left his little sister sitting
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  Speaker 1: safely on the bank some distance away from the water,
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  Speaker 1: Bert felt that she might have gone too near the
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  Speaker 1: edge and might be sliding in look out. He cried,
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  Speaker 1: dropping the wheel and turning around. Before he knew it,
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  Speaker 1: he set one foot on a slippery place on the bank.
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  Speaker 1: The next instant, Bert felt himself sliding down toward the
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  Speaker 1: deep pool below the falls. Here I go, he shouted wildly.
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  Speaker 1: Bert could swim, still, he did not want to fall
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  Speaker 1: in if he could help it, and he clutched desperately
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  Speaker 1: at the grassy bank end of chapter fourteen.