Bram froze. Uh-oh. Once he had gotten home, father hadn't been home yet, and he had realized it was better to tell a smaller lie, since he only had to explain why he was dirty. He had told Anne he had been playing near the river and had slipped. Now he realized Clover had probably followed through with the original plan.

"What trouble?" said Ben suspiciously.

Bram turned red as he thought of what to do. "I didn't want to worry any of ye..." he said.