Mr Midshipman Easy by Captain Frederick Marryat Page A

or he might have struck the sides and have been killed; as it was, he was merely soused a second time, and in a minute or two regained his former position.
    â€œThis is mighty pleasant,” thought Jack, as he clapped his wet hat once more on his head “at all events, they can’t now plead ignorance, they must know that I’m here.”
    In the meantime the girl ran into the kitchen, threw herself down on a stool, from which she reeled off in a fit upon sundry heaps of dough waiting to be baked in the oven, which were laid to rise on the floor before the fire.
    â€œMercy on me, what is the matter with Susan?” exclaimed the farmer’s wife. “Here—where’s Mary—where’s John—Deary me, if the bread won’t all be turned to pancakes.”
    John soon followed, holding his under-jaw in his hand, looking very dismal and very frightened, for two reasons; one, because he thought that his jaw was broken, and the other, because he thought he had seen the devil.
    â€œMercy on us, what is the matter?” exclaimed the farmer’s wife again. “Mary, Mary, Mary!” screamed she, beginning to be frightened herself, for with all her efforts she could not remove Susan from the bed of dough, where she lay senseless and heavy as lead. Mary answered to her mistress’s loud appeal, and with her assistance they raised up Susan; but as for the bread, there was no hopes of it ever rising again. “Why don’t you come here and help Susan, John?” cried Mary.
    â€œAw-yaw-aw!” was all the reply of John, who had had enough quite of helping Susan, and who continued to hold his head, as it were, in his hand.
    â€œWhat’s the matter here, missus?” exclaimed the farmer, coming in. “Highty-tighty, what ails Susan? and what ails you?” continued the farmer, turning to John. “Dang it, but everything seems to go wrong, this blessed day. First, there be all the apples stolen—then there be all the hives turned topsy-turvy in the garden—then there be Cæsar with his flank opened by the bull—then there be the bull broken through the hedge and tumbled into the saw-pit—and now I come to get more help to drag him out, I find one woman dead like, and John looks as if he had seen the devil.”
    â€œAw-yaw-aw!” replied John, nodding his head very significantly.
    â€œOne would think that the devil had broke loose to-day. What is it, John? Have you seen him, and has Susan seen him?”
    â€œAw-yaw.”
    â€œHe’s stopped your jaw, then, at all events, and I thought the devil himself wouldn’t have done that—we shall get nothing of you. Is that wench coming to her senses?”
    â€œYes, yes, she’s better now.—Susan, what’s the matter?”
    â€œOh, oh, ma’am! the well, the well—”
    â€œThe well! Something wrong there, I suppose: well, I will go and see.”
    The farmer trotted off to the well; he perceived the bucket was at the bottom and all the rope out; he looked about him, and then he looked into the well. Jack, who had become very impatient, had been looking up some time for the assistance which he expected would have come sooner; the round face of the farmer occasioned a partial eclipse of the round disk which bounded his view, just as one of the satellites of Jupiter sometimes obscures the face of the planet round which he revolves.
    â€œHere I am,” cried Jack; “get me up quick, or I shall be dead;” and what Jack said was true, for he was quite done up by having been so long down, although his courage had not failed him.
    â€œDang it, but there be somebody fallen into the well,” cried the farmer; “no end to mishaps this day. Well, we must get a Christian out of a well afore we get a bull out of a saw-pit, so I’ll go and call the men.”
    In a very short time the men who were assembled round the saw-pit were brought to the