Mr. Meredith had thanked him and then forgotten all about the fish , which would have promptly spoiled had not the indefatigable Mary prepared them for drying and rigged up the `` flake '' herself on which to dry them . Mary had a diabolical inspiration . She flew to the `` flake '' and seized the largest fish there -- a huge , flat thing , nearly as big as herself . With a whoop she swooped down on the terrified Rilla , brandishing her weird missile . Rilla 's courage gave way . To be lambasted with a dried codfish was such an unheard-of thing that Rilla could not face it . With a shriek she dropped her basket and fled . The beautiful berries , which Susan had so tenderly selected for the minister , rolled in a rosy torrent over the dusty road and were trodden on by the flying feet of pursuer and pursued . The basket and contents were no longer in Mary 's mind . She thought only of the delight of giving Rilla Blythe the scare of her life . She would teach HER to come giving herself airs because of her fine clothes . Rilla flew down the hill and along the street . Terror lent wings to her feet , and she just managed to keep ahead of Mary , who was somewhat hampered by her own laughter , but who had breath enough to give occasional blood-curdling whoops as she ran , flourishing her codfish in the air . Through the Glen street they swept , while everybody ran to the windows and gates to see them . Mary felt she was making a tremendous sensation and enjoyed it . Rilla , blind with terror and spent of breath , felt that she could run no longer . In another instant that terrible girl would be on her with the codfish . At this point the poor mite stumbled and fell into the mud-puddle at the end of the street just as Miss Cornelia came out of Carter Flagg 's store . Miss Cornelia took the whole situation in at a glance . So did Mary .
The latter stopped short in her mad career and before Miss Cornelia could speak she had whirled around and was running up XXXXX fast as she had run down .
In about along as at by into of on that