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Page 72
"All right," and Marjorie began to enter into the spirit of the
thing; "there can't be any danger, because Carter said the water
was low in the well."
"Yes, all the wells are low just now--it's such dry weather. But,
anyway, we won't go down as far as the water. Now listen: I'll get
in this bucket and start down. You pull the other one up, and when
you get it up here, pour out the water and get in yourself, and
then come on down. But don't let my bucket go all the way down,
because I don't want to go into the water. Put a stick through the
chain when I holler up for you to do so."
"All right; hop in, it will be lots of fun, and we'll surely get
cooled off."
So, while the bucket stood on the flat stones of the well-curb,
Molly stepped in and wound her thin little arms around the chain.
"Push me off," she said to Marjorie, "and hang on to the other
side of the chain so I won't go too fast."
"Yes, but who's going to push me off when I go down?"
"Oh, you can wriggle yourself off. Here, don't push me, I'll push
off myself and show you how."
Grasping the other chain and partly supporting herself by that
means, Molly, with her feet in the bucket, wriggled and pushed
until the bucket went off the edge of the curb and began to slide
down the well. The other bucket came up from under the water with
a splash, and as both girls held the upcoming chain, Molly did not
go down too fast.
"It's great!" she exclaimed, as she went slowly down. "It's
perfectly lovely! It's as cold as an ice-box and the stones are
all green and mossy. Look out now, Mops, I'm coming to the other
bucket."
The two buckets bumped together, and Molly grabbed at the other
one as it passed.
"Now, look out, Mopsy," she said, "I'm going to let go of this
other bucket and then I'll only have my own chain to hang on to,
so you manage it right and stick the stick through the chain when
I tell you to."
The plan worked pretty well, except that it was not easy for
Marjorie to keep the water-filled bucket back to balance Molly's
weight. It required all her strength to pull on the upcoming
chain, and she was glad, indeed, when Molly told her to push the
stick in.
A stout stick pushed through a link of chain held the windlass
firmly, and as Marjorie lifted the bucket full of water up on to
the curb, rash little Molly swung daringly deep in the well below.
"It's awfully queer," she called up, "and I don't like it very
much so low down. Gracious, Marjorie, you spilled that water all
over me!"
For Marjorie had thoughtlessly emptied the water from the bucket
back into the well instead of pouring it out on the ground, and
though Molly's bucket swung to one side of the well, yet the child
was pretty well splashed with the falling water.
But undaunted by trifles of that sort, Molly proceeded gayly to
give her orders. "Now, Midget," she went on, "if your bucket's
empty, set it near the edge, and get in and come on down."
Though not as absolutely reckless as Molly, Midget was daring
enough, and, placing the empty bucket on the very edge of the
curb, she put her feet in, and, standing on her toes with her
heels against the side of the bucket, she wound her arms about the
chain as Molly had done, and twisted about until the bucket fell
off the edge.
Had the girls been more nearly of equal weight, their plan would
have worked better; but as Marjorie was so much heavier than
Molly, the laws of gravitation claimed her, and she went swiftly
down.
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