The result was disastrous.  As she started off the string tied to the ladder and her apron tightened.  As Susan was a woman of heavy weight, it did not take much effort on her part to pull over the ladder, together with Dent and the pail of water.

Dent came down to the ground, fortunately landing on his feet like a cat.  The pail of water described a graceful curve and splashed on both Susan and the man.  The cook, whose feet became tangled up in the falling ladder, slipped and fell, knocking Dent down, and there they were in a heap, both soaking wet.

And that was Bob’s “joke.”  Hidden around the corner of the house, he laughed so he almost betrayed his position.

“Oh, that’s too funny!” he whispered.  “It was like clowns in a circus!”

CHAPTER X

OFF ON THE TRIP

For a few seconds both the cook and the hired man, whose feet Susan had knocked from under him, did not move.  The suddenness of it all was too much for them.  Then Dent arose after a struggle.

“Did you do that on purpose?” he asked Susan, an angry look coming over his face.

“Do what on purpose?  What do you mean?”

“Did you upset my ladder?”

“Upset your ladder?  Well, I guess not!  But I’d like to know why you tried to throw that pail of water over me.  If it was meant for a joke, I think it was a pretty poor one.”

The woman started to arise, but found herself somewhat tangled up in the cord and ladder.

“Throw water on you?” repeated Dent with a puzzled look.  “I didn’t throw any water.  It got on me as much as it did on you.”

This was as near to a quarrel as these two had ever approached.  Bob, listening around the corner of the house, was holding his sides to keep from bursting into laughter, though my own opinion is that he should have felt sorry for his “joke.”  It might have resulted disastrously, for either Susan or the hired man might have broken a leg or an arm.  But Bob never thought of that.  His sole idea was to create a laugh for himself.

Dent and Susan, dripping wet, looked at each other.  Then the cook, wiping some of the water from her face, got up.  As she did so the cord tied to her apron strings became tightened, and as Dent was partly standing on the step-ladder, Susan’s progress was suddenly stopped.

“There!” she exclaimed, “That’s what did it.  My apron string got tangled in the ladder.”

Dent examined the cord.

“No, it didn’t get tangled,” he announced.  “It was tied there by some one, and I know who did it.”

“Who?”

“Bob Henderson.  Wait till I catch him!  He did this for a joke.  The young rascal! pretending he wanted some rheumatism medicine for his father!  I’ll fix him!”

Bob thought it was time to be moving on.  He did not like the tone of Dent’s voice.