Betty clung to the
dashboard with one hand and tried to pluck off the obstructing tail with
the other. Roberta, with the gingersnap still in her mouth, tugged
desperately at the lines, and the back seat yelled "Whoa!" lustily,
until Betty, having rearranged the tail and regained her seat, advised
them to help pull instead. They had long since left the little grove
behind, had dashed past half a dozen carriages, and were down on the
level road near the ferry, when the "beastie" stopped as suddenly as he
had started. Roberta deliberately removed the gingersnap from her mouth,
handed the reins to Betty to avoid further interruption, and began to
eat, while the rest of the party indulged in unseemly laughter at her
expense.

"We've found out what that extra bit was for," said Rachel when the
mirth had subsided, "and we can advise the liveryman that it doesn't
work. But what are we going to do now?"

"Murder the liveryman," suggested Katherine.

"But the horse is sure-footed; he didn't lie," objected Alice so
seriously that everybody burst out laughing again.

"He told the truth, but not the whole truth," said Rachel. "Next time
we'll ask how many bits the horse has to wear and how it takes to hills.
Now what can we do?"

"We can't go back to the woods, that's sure," said Katherine. "And it's
too hot to stay down here. Let's go home and get rid of this sure-footed
incubus, and then we can decide what to do next."

The ferryman greeted them cheerfully. "Back so soon?" he said. "Had your
dinner?"

"Of course not," replied Katherine severely. "It's only twelve o'clock.
We're just out for a morning drive. Do you remember saying that this
horse was tired? Well, he brought us down the hills at about a mile a
minute."

"Is that so!" declared the ferryman with a chuckle. "Scairt, were you?
Why didn't you git them young Winsted fellers, that jest started up, to
rescue yer? Might a ben quite a story."

"We didn't need rescuing, thank you," said Katherine. "Did you see any
men?" she whispered to Betty.

Betty nodded. "Four, driving a span. They were awfully amused. Miss King
was in another of the carriages," she added sadly. Then she caught sight
of Roberta and began to laugh again. "You were so funny with that cookie
in your mouth," she said. "Were you dreadfully frightened?"

"No," said Roberta, with a guilty blush. "I always expect something to
happen. Horses are such uncertain creatures."

They drove back through t