"Hark at him!"

"That's what you've been doing," I continued.

"What I've been doing!" he said. "I'm sorry for the poor horse if you
had the loading up. A cart ain't a wagon."

"Well, I know that," I said, "a wagon has four wheels, and a cart two."

"Send I may live," cried Ike. "Why, he is a clever boy. He knows a
cart's got two wheels and a wagon four."

He said this in a low serious voice, as if talking to himself, and
admiring my wisdom; but of course I could see that it was his way of
laughing at me, and I hastened to add:

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

"Yes, I know what you mean, but you don't know what I mean, and if
you're so offle clever you'd best teach me, for I can't teach you."

"But I want you to teach me," I cried. "I've come here to learn. What
is there in particular in loading a cart?"

"Oh, you're ever so much more clever than I am," he grumbled. "Here,
len's a hand with that barge."

This was to the man who was helping him, and who now seized hold of
another basket, which was hoisted into its place.

Then more baskets were piled up, the light flower barges being put at
the top, till the cart began to look like a mountain as it stood there
with the shafts and hind portion supported by pieces of wood.

"Look ye here," said Ike, waving his arms about from the top of the pile
of baskets, and addressing me as if from a rostrum. "When you loads a
cart, reck'lect as all your weight's to come on your axle-tree. Your
load's to be all ballancy ballancy, you see, so as you could move it up
or down with a finger."

"Oh yes, I see!" I cried.

"Oh yes, you see--now I've telled you," said Ike. "People as don't know
how to load a cart spyles their hosses by loading for'ard, and getting
all the weight on the hoss's back, or loading back'ards, and getting all
the pull on the hoss's belly-band."

"Yes, I see clearly now," I said.

"Of course you do! Now you see my load here's so reg'lated that when I
take them props away after the horse is in, all that weight'll swing on
the axle-tree, and won't hurt the horse at all. That's what I call
loading up to rights."

"You've got too much weight behind, Ike," said Old Brownsmith, who came
up just then, and was looking on from opposite one wheel of the cart.

"No, no, she's 'bout right," growled Ike to himself.

"You had better put another barge on in front. Lay it flat," cried Old
Brownsmith, whose eye was educated by years of experience, a