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Page 28
In her anxiety to get the daisies wet, Dot had climbed to the top
of the rail, and when Meg shouted at her so suddenly she was
startled. She tried to catch the rail, missed it, and tumbled into
the water.
Dear, dear, there was a hubbub, you may be sure. Luckily the boat
was in very shallow water and a man sitting on the wharf jumped in
and had Dot in his arms almost as soon as she splashed. He was Mr.
Harley and he easily walked ashore. The water was only as high as
his waist.
"You're not drowned," he kept telling Dot, who was sadly
frightened and crying bitterly. "You're only wet, Sister."
"Take her up to Mrs. Clayton's," ordered Captain Jenks. "We were
headed for there, and she always has a big fire on account of the
ironing. She'll know what to do."
Apparently Mr. Harley knew where Mrs. Clayton lived, for he strode
away with Dot in his arms. Captain Jenks, Meg and Bobby and
Twaddles had to run to keep up with him. He stopped before a
whitewashed cottage with a woman ironing in the large front room.
"Can you dry this baby off and give her something hot to drink?"
asked Captain Jenks, and Mrs. Clayton held out her arms for Dot.
The little girl was indignant at being called "baby" but her teeth
were chattering from cold and fright, and the hot cocoa Mrs.
Clayton presently gave her tasted very good. She went off to sleep
after that, wrapped in a warm blanket, and woke to find her
clothes dry and ironed.
Mrs. Clayton was a stout, comfortable, jolly kind of woman who did
washing and ironing for the Summer people on the various islands
and in the shore towns that bordered Sunset Lake. She promised to
have Mother Blossom's clothes ready a week from that day, and the
children trotted back to the boat, Dot none the worse for her
experience. They knew no one at home would be worried, though Dot
had slept two hours, because they were not expected back till the
afternoon boat.
"We had cocoa and jelly sandwiches while you were asleep,"
Twaddles informed his sister. "And Mrs. Clayton has a ship carved
out of a piece of bone!"
At the wharf they found Mr. Harley and Chris Smith, the boathouse
man, and Captain Jenks, all very glad to see them and glad that
Dot's ducking had not been worse. The captain had several other
passengers to another island on this trip.
"I'll be over in a day or two," said Mr. Harley, as the children
boarded The Sarah. "Might as well look around the place once in a
while."
Father Blossom was waiting on their wharf when they reached Apple
Tree Island, and his first question was whether they had found
some one to do the washing to save Mother Blossom from attempting
too much.
"Yes, and she's already started," cried Bobby eagerly. "She washed
and ironed Dot!"
CHAPTER XII
SUNNY SUMMER DAYS
"Washed and ironed Dot!" repeated Father Blossom. "Why, what
happened to Dot?"
The four little Blossoms explained, and then they had to tell the
story again to Mother Blossom when they went up to the bungalow.
Father and Mother Blossom were so glad and so grateful that the
accident had turned out so fortunately, when it might easily have
had serious consequences, that they scolded no one. Dot was sure
that she would not climb up on the rail of The Sarah another time,
and Father and Mother Blossom knew she would be careful.
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