fterwards," she said.

Over the baluster she flung cushion after cushion, until Arabella's
curiosity forced her to question.

"What ever _are_ you going to do with all those cushions?" she asked.

Patricia looked very wise.

"Oh, you'll see," she said, and when she had reached the lower hall she
peeped out.

"Here it is!" she said.

Arabella looked.

"Why, that's an old _pung_!" she said

"Well, who said it wasn't?" Patricia replied sharply; "but it isn't an
_old_ one _now_, because it has just been painted yellow. It's our
grocer's, and the boy that drives it is going to let us ride in it this
afternoon." Arabella hesitated. She knew that Aunt Matilda did not
wish her to be with Patricia at all, and she also felt that to ride in a
yellow pung, lettered, "Fine Groceries, Butter, Cheese, and Eggs," was
surely not aristocratic, and yet, what _fun_ it would be!

CHAPTER X

THE PUNG RIDE

The grocer's boy had delivered all of his parcels except two large
paper bags which he had pushed over near the dasher. Patricia began to
bring out the cushions, and the boy tossed them in upon the straw which
lay upon the floor of the pung. Then Patricia and Arabella climbed in,
the boy cracked his whip, the horse sprang forward with a surprising
jolt, then settled down to a comical amble.

How cold it was! Arabella had wondered at the number of shawls which
Patricia had taken. Now she was very glad to wrap two around her, while
Patricia wore the other two.

"G'lang!" shouted the boy, and again the horse gave an amazing hop which
sent the pung forward with a lurch, and rolled the two girls over upon
the straw. Patricia thought it a joke, but Arabella, never very
good-tempered, was actually angry. "O dear!" she cried, "I think it's
just horrid to be shaken up so. Well, I don't think you're very nice to
laugh about it, Patricia. I wouldn't like to take any one out to a
sleighride, and have 'em banged around,--oh, o-o!"

It was a "thank-you-ma'am" in the middle of the road that caused
Arabella's angry speech to end in a little shriek.

It was useless for Patricia to try to hide her merriment. She could not
help laughing. She rarely felt sorry for any one's discomfort, and
really Arabella did look funny.

In the shake-up, her hat had been pushed over to one side of her head,
but she did not know that, and her old-fashioned little face looked
smaller than usual, because of the two heavy shawls which were crowded
s