f. Now
watch."

He then selected a large stone and smashed the bottle on it.

"Now," he observed, "come over with the rest of it, and be quick." But
here he seemed to realize that Tish's face was rather awful, for he
stopped bullying and began to coax. "Now see here," he said. "I'm going
to help you out of this if I can, because I rather think it is an
accident. You've all had something on an empty stomach. Go down to the
creek and get some cold water, and then walk about a bit. I'll see what
I can do with the car."

Aggie was weeping in the rear seat by that time, and I shall never
forget Tish's face. Suddenly she got out of the car and before he
realized what was happening, she had his gun in her good hand.

"Now," she said, waving it about recklessly, "I'll teach you to insult
sober and God-fearing women whose only fault is that one of them hasn't
all the wit she should have and let a car run away with her. Lizzie, get
out of that seat."

It was the young man's turn to look strange.

"Be careful!" he cried. "_Be careful!_ It's loaded, and the safety
catch----"

"Get out, Aggie."

Aggie crawled out, still holding the rug around where she had sat down
in the creek.

"Now," Tish said, addressing the stranger, "you back that car out and
get it to the road. And close your mouth. Something is likely to fly
into it."

"I beg of you!" said the young man. "Of course I'll do what I can,
but--please don't wave that gun around."

"Just a moment," said Tish. "That blackberry cordial was worth about a
dollar. Just give a dollar to the lady near you. Aggie, take that
dollar. Lizzie, come here and let me rest this gun on your shoulder."

She did, keeping it pointed at the young man, and I could hear her
behind me, breathing in short gasps of fury. Nothing could so have
enraged Tish as the thing which had happened, and for a time I feared
that she would actually do the young man some serious harm.

He sat there looking at us, and he saw, of course, that he had been
mistaken. He grew very red, and said:

"I've been an idiot, of course. If you will allow me to apologize----"

"Don't talk," Tish snapped. "You have all you can do without any
conversation. Did you ever drive a car before?"

"Not through a haystack," he said in a sulky voice.

But Tish fixed him with a glittering eye, and he started the engine.

Well, he got the car backed and turned around, and we followed him
through the stubble as the car bumped