e
far enough.
The fact that he had been told not to made Chub long to do it.
"Here's the place," said the driver, and, grasping one of the bags, he
jumped from the team and ran into the house with the parcel. The reins
lay loosely upon the horse's back.
Chub, who had kept pace with the team, now paused to choose the most
interesting bit of mischief. Should he make a grab at the loose-lying
reins, and by jerking them surprise the horse, or would he be more
frisky if the half-dozen snowballs which he had been making were all
hurled at him at once?
Before he could decide, the boy came out of the house, and jumping into
the pung, gathered up the reins, and attempted to turn the team towards
home. Chub thought if he were to have any fun, he must get it quickly.
"_Heighoh_! You Jumpin' Ginger!" he shouted, at the same time letting
fly the six snowballs. The frightened nag reared, and turning sharply
about, tipped the pung, completely emptying it of passengers and
freight.
"That'th a _thpill_! Girlth an' _onionth_! Girlth an' _onionth_!"
shouted Chub, but Mandy, who was older, knew quite enough to be
frightened, that is, frightened for her own safety. If the little girls
were hurt, would some one blame her or Chub? The driver had stopped
the thoroughly terrified horse, the pung was not injured, so he thought
he might see if the children were harmed.
Mandy had helped Arabella to her feet, and picked up her shawls, which
had fallen off. She was more frightened than hurt, but her feelings were
injured. Patricia, brushing the snow from her cloak, spoke her thoughts
very plainly.
"Chub's a perfectly horrid boy," she said, "and we _might_ have broken
our necks."
"Ye _didn't_, though," said Mandy.
"And I shouldn't wonder if Ma had him put in the big lock-up," she said,
"for scaring our horse, and tipping us out on the road. We may get
_reumonia_ for being thrown into the snow."
"Ye can't 'rest Chub; he ain't nothin' but a big baby," said Mandy,
"an' what's _reumonia_, anyway?"
Patricia would not reply. The driver helped them to pick up the
cushions, but the bag of onions, which he had forgotten to take to the
big house, he left where they lay in the road. They were too widely
scattered to be gathered up.
Chub found a huge one, and commenced to eat it as eagerly as if it had
been a luscious bit of fruit.
"Thith ith _fine_," he said as he took a big bite from the onion.
"That Chub's a regular little
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