The girls liked to play in the half-empty shed , and the boys , merely for the fun of teasing , declared that they should not , so blocked up the doorway as fast as the girls cleared it . Seeing that the squabble was a merry one , and the exercise better for all than lounging in the sun or reading in school during recess , Teacher did not interfere , and the barrier rose and fell almost as regularly as the tide . It would be difficult to say which side worked the harder ; for the boys went before school began to build up the barricade , and the girls stayed after lessons were over to pull down the last one made in afternoon recess . They had their play-time first ; and , while the boys waited inside , they heard the shouts of the girls , the banging of the wood , and the final crash , as the well-packed pile went down . Then , as the lassies came in , rosy , breathless , and triumphant , the lads rushed out to man the breach , and labor gallantly till all was as tight as hard blows could make it . So the battle raged , and bruised knuckles , splinters in fingers , torn clothes , and rubbed shoes , were the only wounds received , while a great deal of fun was had out of the maltreated logs , and a lasting peace secured between two of the boys . When the party was safely over , Sam began to fall into his old way of tormenting Ben by calling names , as it cost no exertion to invent trying speeches , and slyly utter them when most likely to annoy . Ben bore it as well as he could ; but fortune favored him at last , as it usually does the patient , and he was able to make his own terms with his tormentor . When the girls demolished the wood-pile , they performed a jubilee chorus on combs , and tin kettles , played like tambourines ; the boys celebrated their victories with shrill whistles , and a drum accompaniment with fists on the shed walls . Billy brought his drum , and this was such an addition that Sam hunted up an old one of his little brother 's , in order that he might join the drum corps . He had no sticks , however , and , casting about in his mind for a good substitute for the genuine thing , bethought him of bulrushes . `` Those will do first-rate , and there are lots in the ma ` sh , if I can only get 'em , '' he said to himself , and turned off from the road on his way home to get a supply . Now , this marsh was a treacherous spot , and the tragic story was told of a cow who got in there and sank till nothing was visible but a pair of horns above the mud , which suffocated the unwary beast . For this reason it was called `` Cowslip Marsh , '' the wags said , though it was generally believed to be so named for the yellow flowers which grew there in great profusion in the spring . Sam had seen Ben hop nimbly from one tuft of grass to another when he went to gather cowslips for Betty , and the stout boy thought he could do the same . Two or three heavy jumps landed him , not among the bulrushes , as he had hoped , but in a pool of muddy water , where he sank up to his middle with alarming rapidity . Much scared , he tried to wade out , but could only flounder to a tussock of grass , and cling there , while he endeavored to kick his legs free . He got them out , but struggled in vain to coil them up or to hoist his heavy body upon the very small island in this sea of mud . Down they splashed again ; and Sam gave a dismal groan as he thought of the leeches and water-snakes which might be lying in wait below . Visions of the lost cow also flashed across his agitated mind , and he gave a despairing shout very like a distracted `` Moo ! ''
Few people passed along the lane , and the sun was setting , so the prospect of a night in the marsh nerved Sam to make a frantic plunge toward the bulrush island , which was nearer than the mainland , and looked firmer than any XXXXX round him .
Ben Cowslip first labor squabble suffocated tambourines tormentor tussock whistles