Come on , Kate , before she has time to . '' -LSB- Illustration -RSB- It was n't very far up to the Pinery -- just ten minutes ' walk , and such a delightful walk on that delightful morning . We went through the orchard and then through the white birch wood where the loveliness of the frosted boughs awed us . Beyond that there was a lane between ranks of young , balsamy , white-misted firs and then an open pasture field , sere and crispy . Just across it was the Pinery , a lovely old house with dormer windows in the roof , surrounded by pines that were dark and glorious against the silvery morning sky . The McGinnis dog was sitting on the back-door steps when we arrived . He wagged his tail ingratiatingly , but we ruthlessly pushed him off , went in and shut the door in his face . All the little McGinnises were sitting in a row on their fence , and they whooped derisively . The McGinnis manners are not those which appertain to the caste of Vere de Vere ; but we rather like the urchins -- there are eight of them -- and we would probably have gone over to talk to them if we had not had the fear of Aunt Susanna before our eyes . We kindled the fires , weighed the turkey , put it in the oven and prepared the vegetables . Then we set the dining-room table and decorated it with Aunt Susanna 's potted ferns and dishes of lovely red apples . Everything went so smoothly that we soon forgot to be nervous . When the turkey was done , we took it out , set it on the back of the range to keep warm and put the mince pies in . The potatoes , cabbage and turnips were bubbling away cheerfully , and everything was going as merrily as a marriage bell . Then , all at once , things happened . In an evil hour we went to the yard window and looked out . We saw a quiet scene . The McGinnis dog was still sitting on his haunches by the steps , just as he had been sitting all the morning . Down in the McGinnis yard everything wore an unusually peaceful aspect . Only one McGinnis was in sight -- Tony , aged eight , who was perched up on the edge of the well box , swinging his legs and singing at the top of his melodious Irish voice .
All at once , just XXXXX we were looking at him , Tony went over backward and apparently tumbled head foremost down his father 's well .
Beyond across as by in of on that through with