“You can have all of mine,” said Russ. “And I don’t want any, either,” Rose made haste to say. Thus it was that butter was made, and it came out well except that, almost at the last minute, Mun Bun took the plug out of the bottom of the churn and let some of the buttermilk run over the floor. But Norah soon wiped it up. The next day Russ decided that he would make a larger mill for his water wheel in the brook to turn, and Laddie offered to help him. The two boys went down to the stream with bits of wood, a hammer and nails, and they were busy for some time. Mrs. Bunker had taken the other children for a walk in the forest not far away. While Russ was working at the new mill Laddie piled up stones and bits of sod on top of the dam already built, to make it higher so the water back of it would be deeper. “The deeper the water is and the higher we have the dam,” Russ explained to Laddie, “the faster the wheel will turn.” “Yes, it’ll be fine,” agreed Laddie, tugging at a big stone to get it on top of the dam. Russ was putting the new play mill in place and was getting ready to connect it to the water wheel when suddenly he heard a big splash up at the dam, which he could not see plainly because a bush was in the way. “What happened, Laddie?” asked Russ. “Did you drop something in the water?” “I—I dropped—my—_myself_—in!” gasped Laddie. “Oh, Russ, I’m all the way—in! I—I’m all—the—way—in!” CHAPTER XIX A FIGHT Russ sprang to his feet, knocking aside the pieces of his mill in doing so, and rushed around the bush to see what had happened to Laddie. It was just as the smaller boy had said—he had fallen in the deepest part of the water back of the dam. But, after all, it was not very deep, for the brook was a small one. The water would not have been over Laddie’s head if he stood upright. But the trouble was that Laddie had slipped as he was about to lift a heavy stone on top of the dam, and had gone down sideways. “I’m coming! I’m coming!” Russ shouted, as he saw Laddie floundering and struggling in the water. “I—I guess—blub—blub—glub-ub!” was what Laddie answered. He started to say that he guessed he could get out by himself, when his foot slipped on some mud at the bottom of the brook and his face went under water. “Oh, Laddie!” cried Russ in alarm. But he need not have been worried, for Laddie managed to get up on his feet again, and by this time Russ was beside him, holding out his hands to his small brother to help him to shore. “Are you hurt?” Russ asked, as Laddie, gasping for breath and with water dripping from every part of him, stood on the bank of the brook. “No, I—I’m not exactly _hurt_,” Laddie answered. Then he smiled and said: “But I’m awful _wet_!” “I should say you were! And muddy, too!” chuckled Russ. “It’s a good thing you had your old clothes on. I guess mother won’t scold much. She expects us to fall in once or twice. I heard her tell Farmer Joel that. How did it happen, Laddie?”