It was only a nightmare, but the boys could not doze again after it.

It was just as the sun was rising clear and beautiful that the boys came
out from the barn, and as they caught sight of each other's blackened
faces in the dazzling light, they each gave way to a roar of laughter.
"Well, we all seem to be in the same boat," said Kent, making for the
pump and filling the pails one after the other. "Here's a pail apiece;
that ought to do it for us." Then he went to one of the wheel baskets
and brought back a crash towel and a generous piece of soap. "Now lay
to on yourselves, boys, and then we will see what we can scare up for
breakfast. I suppose there's no getting into the house, so we'll have
to depend on ourselves." But here Kent noticed how particularly quiet
Old Tilly was.

"What's up, lad?" he said, as he plunged his face down into one of the
dripping pails, and then after scrubbing and sputtering for a while he
reached out blindly for a, towel, which one of the others tossed into
his hands. When his eyes were free, he drew a long breath, saying,
"Water fixes a fellow all right." But as he did this he noticed
something that made him exclaim sharply. It was the sight of Old Tilly
washing himself with one hand, while around the wrist of the other a
grimy handkerchief was bound. "Why didn't you say you were hurt?" he
said, coming over to Old Tilly's side. "What is it, anyway?"

"Oh, it's nothing," said Old Tilly, with an impatient nod of his head.
"Maybe it's where the lightning ran down," he said, with a laugh.

"Lightning!--not much! Come, out with it. What is it?"