although she was so lame that she could hardly move, declared that she
had never felt better, and away they ran to their stilts again.

Julia had already shown off about all of her stilt accomplishments, so
she thought and thought to devise something new whereby to arouse
Beth's admiration afresh.

"Beth, I have it. We'll walk out in the river on our stilts. I've
never tried that. It will be great."

Beth looked somewhat doubtful.

"Weren't stilts made for land? They're not boats."

"Oh, pshaw. If you're afraid, you can watch me."

Watch her indeed! Dragons could not have kept Beth from making the
attempt if Julia did.

They took their stilts to the river. Beth was in such a hurry to show
Julia she was not afraid, that she had great difficulty in starting.
Julia mounted, and walked out into the water as proudly as a peacock.
Beth followed, but, of necessity, more slowly, and she kept near the
wharf. Julia skimmed through the water for a minute or two almost as
easily as she went on land. But alas, pride goes before a fall.

The river bed near the shore is of hard sand, but a little way out it
becomes marshy.

Suddenly Julia's stilts stuck. She tried to raise them, but they would