Mickey exchanged the fish for a handful of wet, vividly coloured pebbles, then brought a bunch of cowslips yellow as gold, and a long willow whip with leaves on, and when she had examined these, she looked inquiringly at Mrs. Harding. "Nicest lady, may I put my feet in your water?" "How about the temperature of it, Mickey?" inquired Mrs. Harding. "It's all right," said Mickey. "I've washed her in colder water lots of times. The Sunshine Lady said I should, to toughen her up." "Then go ahead," said Mrs. Harding. "Peter, may I?" asked Peaches. "Surely!" agreed Peter. "Whole bunch may get in if Ma says so!" "Well, I don't say so!" exclaimed Mrs. Harding. "The children have their good clothes on and they always get to romping and dirty themselves and then it's bigger washings and mine are enough to break my back right now." Peter looked at his wife intently. "Why Nancy, I hadn't heard you complain before!" he said. "If they're too big, we must wear less and make them smaller, and I'll take an hour at the machine, and Junior can turn the wringer. All of you children listen to me. Your Ma is feeling the size of the wash. That means we must be more careful of our clothes and help her better. If Ma gets sick, or tired of us, we'll be in a fix, I tell you!" "I didn't say I was sick, or tired of you, I'm just tired of washing!" said Mrs. Harding. "I see!" said Peter. "But it is a thing that has got to be done, like plowing and sowing." "Yes I know," said Mrs. Harding, "but plowing and sowing only come once a year. Washing comes once and twice a week." "Let me," said Mickey. "I always helped mother, and I do my own and Lily's at home. Of course I will here, and I can help you a lot with yours!" "Yes a boy!" scoffed Mrs. Harding. "Well I'll show you that a boy can work as well as a girl, if he's been taught right," said Mickey. "I wasn't bringing up any question of work," said Mrs. Harding. "I just didn't want the children to dirty a round of clothing apiece. They may wade when their things are ready for the wash anyway. Go on Peaches!" Peter moved down the bank and prepared to lower her to the water, but she reached her arms for Mickey. "He promised me," she said. "Back there on his nice bed in the hot room he promised me this." "So I did," said Mickey, radiating satisfaction he could not conceal. "So I did! Now, I'll let you put your feet in, like I said." "Will the fish bite me?" she questioned timidly. "Those little things! What if they did?" Thus encouraged she put her toes in the water, gripping Mickey and waiting breathlessly to see what happened. Nothing happened, while the warm, running water felt pleasant, so she dipped lower, and then did her best to make it splash. It wasn't much of a splash, but it was a satisfying performance to the parties most interested, and from their eagerness the watchers understood what it meant to them. Junior sidled up to his mother. "Ain't that tough?" he whispered.