NowwemustgobacktoMr。andMrs。Beaverandthethreeotherchildren.AssoonasMr。Beaversaid,“There’snotimetolose,”everyonebeganbundlingthemselvesintocoats,exceptMrs。Beaver,whostartedpickingupsacksandlayingthemonthetableandsaid:“Now,Mr。Beaver,justreachdownthatham.Andhere’sapacketoftea,andthere’ssugar,andsomematches。Andifsomeonewillgettwoorthreeloavesoutofthecrockoverthereinthecorner.”
“Whatareyoudoing,Mrs。Beaver?”exclaimedSusan.
“Packingaloadforeachofus,dearie,”saidMrs。Beaververycoolly.“Youdidn’tthinkwe’dsetoutonajourneywithnothingtoeat,didyou?”
“Butwehaven’ttime!”saidSusan,buttoningthecollarofhercoat.“Shemaybehereanyminute.”
“That’swhatIsay,”chimedinMr。Beaver.
“Getalongwithyouall,”saidhiswife.“Thinkitover,Mr。Beaver.Shecan’tbehereforquarterofanhouratleast.”
“Butdon’twewantasbigastartaswecanpossiblyget,”saidPeter,“ifwe’retoreachtheStoneTablebeforeher?”
“You’vegottorememberthat,Mrs。Beaver,”saidSusan.“Assoonasshehaslookedinhereandfindswe’regoneshe’llbeoffattopspeed.”
“Thatshewill,”saidMrs。Beaver.“Butwecan’tgettherebeforeherwhateverwedo,forshe’llbeonasledgeandwe’llbewalking.”
“Then-havewenohope?”saidSusan.
“Nowdon’tyougetfussing,there’sadear,”saidMrs。Beaver,“butjustgethalfadozencleanhandkerchiefsoutofthedrawer.Coursewe’vegotahope.Wecan’tgettherebeforeherbutwecankeepundercoverandgobywaysshewon’texpectandperhapswe’llgetthrough.”
“That’strueenough,Mrs。Beaver,”saidherhusband.“Butit’stimewewereoutofthis.”
“Anddon’tyoustartfussingeither,Mr。Beaver,”saidhiswife。“There.That’sbetter.There’sfiveloadsandthesmallestforthesmallestofus:that’syou,mydear,”sheadded,lookingatLucy.
“Oh,dopleasecomeon,”saidLucy.
“Well,I’mnearlyreadynow,”answeredMrs。Beaveratlast,allowingherhusbandtohelpherinto;hersnow-boots.“Isupposethesewingmachine’stookheavytobring?”
“Yes.Itis,”saidMr。Beaver.“Agreatdealtooheavy.And
youdon’tthinkyou’llbeabletouseitwhilewe’reontherun,Isuppose?”
“Ican’tabidethethoughtofthatWitchfiddlingwithit,”saidMrs。Beaver,“andbreakingitorstealingit,aslikelyasnot.”
“Oh,please,please,please,dohurry!”saidthethreechildren.AndsoatlasttheyallgotoutsideandMr。Beaverlockedthedoor(“It’lldelayherabit,”hesaid)andtheysetoff,allcarryingtheirloadsovertheirshoulders.
Thesnowhadstoppedandthemoonhadcomeoutwhentheybegantheirjourney.Theywentinsinglefile-firstMr。Beaver,thenLucy,thenPeter,thenSusan,andMrs。Beaverlastofall.Mr。Beaverledthemacrossthedamandontotherightbankoftheriverandthenalongaveryroughsortofpathamongthetreesrightdownbytheriver-bank.Thesidesofthevalley,shininginthemoonlight,toweredupfarabovethemoneitherhand.“Bestkeepdownhereasmuchaspossible,”hesaid.“She’llhavetokeeptothetop,foryoucouldn’tbringasledgedownhere.”
Itwouldhavebeenaprettyenoughscenetolookatitthroughawindowfromacomfortablearmchair;andevenasthingswere,Lucyenjoyeditatfirst.Butastheywentonwalkingandwalking-andwalking—andasthesackshewascarryingfeltheavierandheavier,shebegantowonderhowshewasgoingtokeepupatall。Andshestoppedlookingatthedazzlingbrightnessofthefrozenriverwithallitswaterfallsoficeandatthewhitemassesofthetree-topsandthegreatglaringmoonandthecountlessstarsandcouldonlywatchthelittleshortlegsofMr。Beavergoingpad-pad-pad-padthroughthesnowinfrontofherasiftheywerenevergoingtostop.Thenthemoondisappearedandthesnowbegantofalloncemore.AndatlastLucywassotiredthatshewasalmostasleepandwalkingatthesametimewhensuddenlyshefoundthatMr。Beaverhadturnedawayfromtheriver-banktotherightandwasleadingthemsteeplyuphillintotheverythickestbushes.AndthenasshecamefullyawakeshefoundthatMr。Beaverwasjustvanishingintoalittleholeinthebankwhichhadbeenalmosthiddenunderthebushesuntilyouwerequiteontopofit.Infact,bythetimesherealizedwhatwashappening,onlyhisshortflattailwasshowing。