kept his boots on. So would the others, especially Dora, as you
will see.

At last the gallant craft rode upon the waves. We manned her,
though not up to our full strength, because if more than four got
on the water came up too near our knees, and we feared she might
founder if over-manned.

Daisy and Denny did not want to go on the raft, white mice that
they were, so that was all right. And as H. O. had been wet
through once he was not very keen. Alice promised Noel her best
paint-brush if he'd give up and not go, because we knew well that
the voyage was fraught with deep dangers, though the exact danger
that lay in wait for us under the dairy window we never even
thought of.

So we four elder ones got on the raft very carefully; and even
then, every time we moved the water swished up over the raft and
hid our feet. But I must say it was a jolly decent raft.

Dicky was captain, because it was his adventure. We had hop-poles
from the hop-garden beyond the orchard to punt with. We made the
girls stand together in the middle and hold on to each other to
keep steady. Then we christened our gallant vessel. We called it
the Richard, after Dicky, and also after the splendid admiral who
used to eat wine-glasses and died after the Battle of the Revenge
in Tennyson's poetry.

Then those on shore waved a fond adieu as well as they could with
the dampness of their handkerchiefs, which we had had to use to dry