"Freddie told us to be sure to bring you back with us.""I am so glad to get these things," the matron said to Aunt Sarah, as she took the aprons, "for everybody has been upset with Mrs. Manily having to leave so suddenly. The aprons are lovely. Did the little girls make them?"Aunt Sarah told her about the sewing school, and then she said she was going to have a little account printed about it in the year's report of good work done for the Aid Society.
"And Mrs. Manily has written an account of your circus," the matron told Harry and Bert, for she had heard about the boys and their successful charity work.
Some of the girls who knew Nan came up now and told her how Nellie, the little cash-girl, had been taken sick and had had to be removed to the hospital tent over in the other mountain.
This was sad news to Nan, for she loved the little cash-girl, and hoped to see her and perhaps have her pay a visit to Aunt Sarah's.
"Is she very sick?" Aunt Sarah asked the matron.
"Yes indeed," the other replied. "But the doctor will soon cure her, I think.""The child is too young to work so hard," Aunt Sarah declared. "It is no wonder her health breaks down at the slightest cause, when she has no strength laid away to fight sickness."By this time a big girl had washed and dressed Sandy, and now what a pretty boy he was! He wore a blue-and-white-striped linen suit and had a jaunty little white cap just like Freddie's.
He was so anxious to go that he jumped in the wagon before the others were ready to start.
"Get app, Bill!" he called, grabbing at the reins, and off the old horse started with no one in the wagon but Sandy!
Sandy had given the reins such a jerk that Bill started to run, and the more the little boy tried to stop him the harder he went!
"Don't slap him with the reins!" called Harry, who was now running down the hill as hard as he could after the wagon. "Pull on the reins!"he calledagain.
But Sandy was so excited he kept slapping the straps up and down on poor Bill, which to the horse, of course, meant to go faster.
"He'll drive in the brook," called Bert in alarm also rushing after the runaway.
"Whoa, Bill! whoa, Bill!" called everybody, the children from the camp having now joined in following the wagon.
The brook was directly in front of Sandy.
"Quick, Harry!" yelled Bert. "You'll get him in a minute."It was no easy matter, however, to overtake Sandy, for the horse had been on a run from the start. But Sandy kept his seat well, and even seemed to think it good fun now to have everybody running after him and no one able to catch him.
"Oh, I'm so afraid he'll go in the pond!" Nan told Aunt Sarah almost in tears.
"Bill would sit down first," declared Aunt Sarah, who knew her horse to be an intelligent animal.
"Oh! oh! oh!" screamed everybody, for the horse had crossed from the road into the little field that lay next the water.
"Whoa, Bill!" shouted Aunt Sarah at the top of her voice, and instantly the horse stood still.
The next minute both Bert and Harry were in the wagon beside Sandy. "Can't I drive?" asked the little fellow innocently, while Harry wasbackingout of the swamp.
"You certainly made Bill go," Harry admitted, all out of breath from running.
"And you gave us a good run too," added Bert, who was red in the face from his violent exercise.
"Bill knew ma meant it when she said whoa!" Harry remarked to Bert. "I tell you, he stopped just in time, for a few feet further would have sunk horse, wagon, and all in the swamp."Of course it was all an accident, for Sandy had no idea of starting the horse off, so no one blamed him when they got back to the road.
"We'll all get in this time," laughed Aunt Sarah to the matron."AndI'llsend the boys over Sunday to let you know how Sandy is.""Oh, he will be all right with Freddie!" Bert said, patting the little stranger on the shoulders. "We will take good care of him."It was a pleasant ride back to the Bobbsey farm, and all enjoyed it - especially Sandy, who had gotten the idea he was a first-class driver and knew all about horses, old Bill, in particular.
