The next morning when the Twins woke up, the sun was shining in through
the one little square window in the bedroom, and lay in a bright patch
of yellow on the floor. Eileen sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. Then
she stuck her head out between the curtains of her bed. "Is it to-day
or to-morrow? I don't know," she said.
Larry sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. He peeped out from his
curtains. "It isn't yesterday, anyway," he said, "and glad I am for
that. Do you mind about the Tinkers, Eileen?"
"I do so," said Eileen, "and the geese."
Their Mother heard them and came to the door. "Sure, I thought I'd let
you sleep as late as ever you liked," she said, "for there's no school
to-day, but you're awake and clacking, so how would you like to go with
your Dada to the bog to cut turf? Himself will put a bit of bread in
his pocket for you, and you can take a sup of milk along."
"Oh, wirra!" cried Eileen. "What have we done but left the milk-jug at
Grannie Malone's!"
"You can take the milk in the old brown jug, then," said the Mother,
"and come along home by way of Grannie's, and get the jug itself. I'd
like your Father to get a sight of the Tinkers' Camp, and maybe of that
thief of the world that stole the geese on us."
It didn't take the Twins long to dress. They wore few clothes, and no
shoes and stockings, and their breakfast of bread and potatoes was soon
eaten. The Mother had already milked the cow, and when they had had a
drink of fresh milk they were ready to start.
Mr McQueen was at the door with "Colleen," the donkey, and when Larry
and Eileen came out, he put them both on Colleen's back, and they
started down the road toward the bog.
When they came to the place where the Tinkers' Camp should be, there was
no camp there at all! They looked east and west, but no sign of the
Tinkers did they see.
"If it were not for the two geese gone, I'd think you had been
dreaming!" said Mr McQueen to the Twins.
"Look there, then," said Larry. "Sure, there's the black mark on the
ground where their fire was!"
The Twins slid off Colleen's back, and ran to the spot where the camp
had been. There, indeed, was the mark of a fire, and near by were some
wisps of straw. There were the marks of horses' feet, too, and Eileen
found a white goose feather by the thorn-bush, and a piece of broken
rope.
"They were here surely," Mr McQueen said, "and far enough away they are
by this time, no doubt. It's likely the police were after them."
They went back to the road, and the Twins got up again on Colleen's
back, and soon they had reached the near end of the bog.
Mr McQueen stopped. "I'll be cutting the turf here," he said, "and the
two of you can go on to Grannie Malone's with the donkey, and bring back
the jug with yourselves. Get along with you," and he gave the donkey a
slap.
The Twins and the donkey started along the road. Everything went well
until Colleen spied a tuft of green thistles, on a high bank beside the
road. Colleen loved thistles, and she made straight for them. The
first thing the Twins knew they were sliding swiftly down the donkey's
back, while Colleen stood with her fore feet high on the bank and her
hind feet in the road.
Larry, being behind, landed first, with Eileen on top of him. She
wasn't hurt a bit, but she was a little scared. "Sure, Larry, but
you're the soft one to fall on," she said as she rolled over and picked
herself up.
"I may be soft to fall on," said Larry, "but I'm the easier squashed for
that! Look at me now! It's out of shape I am entirely, with the print
of yourself on me!"
Then--"Whatever will we do with Colleen?" Eileen said. "She's got her
nose in the thistles and we'll never be able to drag her away from
them."
They pulled on the halter, but Colleen refused to budge. Larry got up
on the bank and pushed her. He even pulled her backward by the tail!
Colleen didn't seem to mind it at all. She kept right on eating the
thistles.
At last Larry said, "You go on with yourself to Grannie Malone's for the
jug, Eileen, and I'll stay here until she finishes the thistles."
So he sat down by the road on a stone and Eileen trotted off to
Grannie's.