Violet Jacob > Stories told by the miller

THE STORY OF FARMYARD MAGGIE 165
There was the cock at his post, fast asleep.
When she had filed through the last bit of the
bolt, she woke him with a stone, and signed
to him to go and fetch Maggie. Then she ran
to the boat, cut its rope with her knife, and,
jumping into it, rowed quickly down to where
her friends were waiting.
How smoothly and how fast the water carried
them along, as they ran into the current and
the tall mass of the palace dropped behind
them ! Rhoda had the oars, and the cock sat
in the bottom of the boat beside the guitar.
Maggie was so much delighted to be free that
she did not speak a word. The fields and the
alder-trees slipped by, and when the spring
day broke, she saw the tufts on the willows
and the yellow stars of the celandines shining
among the roots. She felt quite sure now
that everything would go right.
The whole day they rowed on, and when
they thought themselves far enough from the
Bishop to be safe, they jumped on shore and
let the boat drift out of sight. Then they
started off to seek their fortunes once more.
It was a hard life they led as they roamed
the country, but they were contented with it.