we would not be much behind
the rest of the company after all; and when we got to the hay scales,
there was no one there! Ned stopped a minute, and then he said:

'Dimpey, I've got some currant wine in my basket; but I forgot the wine
glasses. I think we'd better drive on to our house and get them, and we
can wait there till the others come up.'

'But,' said I, 'you appointed to meet _here_. Won't they wait for you?'

'That's true. Just hold the lines, and I'll run in to Mr. Smith's, and
ask him to tell them we've gone on, and will meet them at the foot of
the mountain.'

So Ned ran in to Mr. Smith's, and out again in two seconds, and when he
took the lines, he started off at such a rate, I wondered what possessed
him, as we had plenty of time. However, I like to ride fast, as I said
before; and to tell the truth, Ned was talking to me all the way about
'my beautiful eyes, and how proud he should feel if he had a wife with
_my_ complexion;' and he asked me, 'if I didn't think we'd make a
handsome _team_ if we were in one harness,' and all _such_ speeches, so
that I got quite bewildered-like, and might have been riding behind a
humpbacked camel without knowing it!

When we got to Mr. Hassel's, the old man was sitting on the steps
reading the newspaper. He came to the gate to speak to us, and Ned said:

'You had better go in, and wait, Dimpey; the boys will not be here yet a
while, and I want to fix my wagon more comfortable before we start to go
up to the mountain.'

So Mr. Hassel helped me out, and asked me into the house. I should have
liked to stay on the steps, where I could see the picnickers as they
came along; but he went into the living room, which was at the back of
the house, and I followed him. I sat down, and he began to talk of all
sorts of things. I answered as well as I could, and pretty soon I heard
some one shout at the front gate:

'Hallo, Ned! here we are! Where's your team?'

I heard Ned answer: 'Hallo!' and then run around the house. I couldn't
hear what more he said; and then there was a great laughing, and a
scraping of wheels, as if they were all driving past. I sat still,
wondering why Ned didn't come for me. My face was so red when I went in
the house, that I hardly dared to look at Mr. Hassel; but now I looked
up suddenly, and he sat looking at me with such a strange sort of smile,
I didn't know what to make of it. It's likely he knew well enough--but
never mind that _now_.

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