The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills | Page 9

them down at the foot of the
mountain or make camp there until the following morning, when he
would continue the journey up the mountain to the shelter.
Janus consulted with Miss Elting. He said they could walk to the
Shelter in a couple of hours, provided the girls were hard enough to
stand the climb. The guardian assured him that they were equal to
anything in the walking line. It was, therefore, settled that the driver
should take them to the foot of the mountain, whence they would make
their way on foot to the stopping place for the night, thus beginning
their tramp at the base of the mountain.
"How much farther have we to go?" questioned Harriet.
"A mile farther on we pass over a long, covered bridge. The road takes
a sharp bend beyond that. The foot of the mountain lies less than a mile
from the end of the bridge. We shall soon be there," answered Janus.
The girls burst forth into song. Janus had to shout to make himself
heard when he spoke to the driver. The horses were traveling at a lively
pace. They did not enjoy the disturbance behind them, and their driver,
having wrapped the reins about his arms to give him greater purchase,
was pulling sturdily, his feet braced against the dashboard of the
carry-all.
"Here's the bridge," cried the guide.
A lantern had been lighted and hung from the rear axle of the carry-all.
But this did little more than cast weird, flickering shadows ahead. It
certainly did not light up the road ahead of there. In the dense darkness
the bridge was not visible to the eyes of the Meadow-Brook Girls.
"The bridge ith coming. Low bridge!" piped Tommy.
"Be quiet; I fear we are making the driver's work difficult," warned
Miss Elting.

"Oh, but isn't this the fine ride?" cried Crazy Jane. "It's almost like
being in my own darlin' automobile with the landscape slipping past on
a greased track. Now, what if one of the horses should fall down?
Wouldn't we be tumbled into a goose pile!" chuckled Jane.
"Oh, thave me!" cried Tommy.
"Don't suggest anything so awful," begged Margery.
"Oh! What's that!" exclaimed Harriet.
The others did not know to what she referred, but they felt a sudden jolt
as the vehicle lurched to the side of the road, then back again.
"What is it?" demanded Hazel.
"The horses have taken fright," answered the guardian calmly. "Be
careful that you do not excite them further."
"Are--are the hortheth running away?" stammered Tommy.
"Not yet," reassured Harriet.
"Don't be frightened," called back the guide encouragingly. "Jim can
hold any hosses that ever chewed a bit. We'll be on the bridge in a
minute; then they can thrash all they want to. Look out!"
There followed a crash, a breaking, splintering sound as the right rear
wheel of the carry-all swerved into the side of the covered bridge a few
inches from the outer end. The wheel put a hole through the siding of
the bridge. It was fortunate for the carry-all that the wheel had not
swerved a second earlier. Had it done so, the carry-all must have been
wrecked on the stout post at the outer end of the long bridge.
What had so startled the horses none of the occupants of the carry-all
knew. The driver knew that they had had a narrow escape from being
hurled down an embankment. It was a bad place for horses to take
fright. He had managed, however, to pick the team up by the reins and
set them down in the middle of the road, where they remained but a few

seconds before they were swerving to one side again, then they began
leaping and galloping through the long, covered bridge.
Once more a rear wheel raked the boards. The girls cried out, fearing
that they would be hurled through the siding and down into the river.
They were clinging to the sides of the vehicle, gripping them firmly
with their hands.
"Don't lose your presence of mind, girls," cried Miss Elting. "I think the
driver has the animals under control now." She was obliged to shout in
order to make herself heard.
The roar of the carry-all on the floor of the bridge was terrifying. As the
vehicle rolled over the loose planks of the bridge floor the sound was
almost as if a Gatling gun were being fired, accompanied by a crash,
now and then, as the wagon was hurled against the side of the bridge.
"Oh, what a mess!" shouted Jane McCarthy. "Are we near the other end,
or has the miserable old bridge turned around since we started? The
horses are now going faster than ever, and we'll be going at the same
rapid