"'The snail he said too far, too far'," he quoted. "That hat's done for. You'll never see it again. It's probably dancing down-stream." "It's probably nothing of the sort. I expect it's lying on the rocks if you'd only go and look for it. What a slacker you are." "Thanks awfully! So pleased to hear your opinion of me. I'm ever so flattered, I assure you." "Lesbia! Don't you think he ought to go and fetch my hat?" "Lesbia doesn't think anything of the sort. I can see it in her eye. Do you, Lesbia?" Thus appealed to, Lesbia was in a tight corner. Privately she thought Derrick would probably have fetched the hat if Regina had only asked him nicely. She tried to hedge. "Shall I drop mine too?" she said jokingly, taking off her own hat and twirling it on her finger for fun. "Perhaps you'll fetch them both." In a twinkling Derrick snatched it from her, threw it below on to the rocks, and went scrambling after it. Next moment a corner of the bank hid him from their view. The girls laughed. "Temper!" said Regina. "That's Derrick all over." "I hope he won't be long. My hair's getting very wet," declared Lesbia. They waited some time, but no Derrick returned with the hats. "I suppose we shall have to go and see what he's doing," grumbled Regina, preparing for a downward scramble. They had almost to slide among the bushes to reach the rocks. They arrived at the bottom scratched and mudstained. There was not a trace of Derrick anywhere. Neither were the hats to be seen. The brown water swirled past carrying sticks and branches on its foaming surface. Regina looked at its hurrying course, and at the slippery bank. "I do hope----" she began, then stopped. She had no need to finish, for the same fear was in Lesbia's eyes. Where had Derrick vanished? There was no exit from the platform where they were standing except by the way they had come. "We--we oughtn't to have let him go," faltered Lesbia. "Could he have climbed up there?" "We'll go and see." In a horrible scare the girls retraced their steps, and ran along the top of the cliff, calling "Derrick" with all the force of their lungs. There was no reply. The only sound to be heard was the roar of the water. Regina, thoroughly terrified, burst into tears. "It's my fault if he's drowned!" she sobbed. "Oh, what _are_ we to do?" The girls hunted about and called for some time, then finally went home in a frantic state to raise the alarm. The first person they saw as they entered the front door was Derrick, dressed in dry clothes and munching a green apple. He bowed politely. "Your hats are drying by the fire," he said in a nonchalant tone. "How _did_ you get home?" gasped the two girls. "We've been looking for you everywhere?" "Why, I climbed up the rocks and went on." "You wretched boy! You gave us such a fright!" panted Regina. "Mother Hubbard's dog isn't in it with you," declared Lesbia. Derrick shrugged his shoulders.