“That’s true,” agreed Carter, as he deliberated what was best to do.

Though not a large man, Carter seemed to fill the little room with his grown-up presence, and the children were glad to shift their responsibility on to him.

“The thunder is melting away,” he said at last, “and the lightning is nothin’ to speak of; and a drop more of wet won’t hurt you, so I think I’d better take ye all to your grandma’s as soon as possible.  I’ll carry little Miss Stella, and do ye other two climb down the ladder mighty careful and don’t add no broken necks to your distresses.”

So down the ladder, which Moses on the ground was holding firmly, Carter carried Stella, who, though fully conscious, was nervous and shaken, and clung tightly around Carter’s neck.

Midge and Molly followed, and then the procession struck out across the field for home.

“I s’pose,” whispered Midget to Molly, “it’s perfectly awful; but now that Stella’s all right, I can’t help thinking this is sort of fun, to be walking out in the storm, without any umbrella, and soaking wet from head to foot!”

Molly squeezed her friend’s hand.  “I think so, too,” she whispered.  “The thunder and lightning were terrible, and I was almost scared to death; but now that everything’s all right, I can’t help feeling gay and glad!”

And so these two reprehensible young madcaps smiled at each other, and trudged merrily along across soaking fields, in a drenching rain, and rescued from what had been a very real danger indeed.

During all this, Grandma Sherwood had been sitting placidly in her room, assuming that Marjorie was safely under shelter next door.  Molly’s mother had, of course, thought the same, and Stella’s mother, finding the girls nowhere about, had concluded they were either at Molly’s or Marjorie’s.

Owing to the condition of the party he was bringing, Carter deemed it best to make an entrance by the kitchen door.

“There!” he said, as he landed the dripping Stella on a wooden chair, “for mercy’s sake, Eliza, get the little lady into dry clothes as quick as you can!”

“The saints presarve us!” exclaimed Eliza, for before she had time to realize Stella’s presence, Midge and Molly bounded in, scattering spray all over the kitchen and dripping little pools of water from their wet dresses.

Stella had ceased crying, but looked weak and ill.  The other two, on the contrary, were capering about, unable to repress their enjoyment of this novel game.

Hearing the commotion, Grandma Sherwood came to the kitchen, and not unnaturally supposed it all the result of some new prank.

“What have you been doing?” she exclaimed.  “Why didn’t you stay at Stella’s and not try to come home through this rain?”

Marjorie, drenched as she was, threw herself into her grandmother’s arms.

“Oh, if you only knew!” she cried; “you came near not having your bad little Mopsy any more!  And Stella’s mother came nearer yet!  Why, Grandma, we were in the tree-house, and it was struck by lightning, and Stella was killed, at least for a little while, and the ladder broke down, and we couldn’t get down ourselves, and so we sent off rockets of distress, I mean firecrackers, and then Carter came and rescued us all!”