udicrous surprise, that escaped my companion, told me that he had also
made it out. "Good gosh, capt'n!" cried he, "look yander! Consarn my
skin! ef 't ain't a _wheelberra_!" A wheelbarrow it certainly was: for
the two men were now traversing along the top of the ridge, and their
bodies from head to foot, were conspicuously outlined against the sky.
There was no mistaking the character of the object in the hands of the
shorter individual--a barrow beyond the shadow of a doubt--trundle and
trams, box, body, and spoke-wheel complete!

The sight of this homely object, in the midst of the savage prairies,
was as ludicrous as unexpected; and we might have hailed it with roars
of laughter, had prudence permitted such an indecorous exhibition. As
it was, my companion _chuckled_ so loudly, that I was compelled to
caution him. Whether my caution came too late, and that the laughter
was heard, we could not tell; but at that moment the tall pedestrian
looked back, and we saw that he had discovered us. Making a rapid sign
to his companion, he bounded off like a startled deer; and, after a
plunge or two, disappeared behind the ridge--followed in full run by the
man with the wheelbarrow! One might have supposed that the fright would
have led to the abandonment of the barrow. But no: it was taken along--
hurried out of our sight in an instant--and in the next, both man and
machine disappeared as suddenly as if some trap had admitted them into
the bowels of the earth! The singular fashion of their flight--the long
strides taken by the gander-like leader, and the scrambling attempt at
escape made by the barrow-man--produced a most comic effect. I was no
longer able to restrain myself, but joined my companion in loud and
repeated peals of laughter.

In this merry mood, and without any apprehension of danger, we advanced
towards the spot where the odd figures had been seen. Some broken
ground delayed us; and as half a mile of it had to be passed over, we
were a considerable time in reaching the summit of the hill. On
arriving there, and looking over the swell, behind which they had
disappeared, neither tall nor short man was to be seen. A timbered
valley lay beyond: into this they had evidently escaped. The track of
the wheelbarrow, where it had pressed down the grass, alone indicated
their recent presence upon the spot--as it did also the direction they
had taken. Their retreating from us was easily accounted for: they
co