IN THE CABIN
"Whoa! Whoa there, ponies!" cried Grandpa Ford, as he jumped off the
seat and held tightly to the reins. "Whoa!"
Grandpa's horses were kind and gentle and well-trained. They did not try
to run away, but stood still after the sled was upset in the snow bank.
Russ was one of the first to get to his feet. He rolled out of the
drift, shook himself as a dog does coming out of the water, and then
looked about him.
"See if the others are all right!" called his grandfather to him. "I'll
hold the horses. Get out Margy and Mun Bun and the others."
Russ, though not very big, was a sturdy young chap, and, seeing Mun
Bun's legs sticking out from under a pile of blankets, he pulled on
them. And, as Mun Bun was still fast to his legs, when Russ pulled on
them he pulled his little brother out into view.
"Hi! Quit that! What you doin'?" Mun Bun wanted to know.
"I had to get you out," said Russ. "Where's Margy?"
Margy did not answer in words, but she did by crawling out from where
she had been sitting next to Mun Bun.
Then out came Laddie, Vi and Rose, and all the six little Bunkers were
accounted for.
"That drift was deeper than I thought it was," said Grandpa Ford. "The
sled went up one side of it and just toppled over. It spilled you all
out nice and easy."
And that is just what had happened. The sled had gone over on one side
so slowly and gently that no one was caught under it. The six little
Bunkers had been toppled out, still wrapped in the blankets in which
they had ridden from Great Hedge.
"What are we going to do?" asked Russ. "How are we going to get home,
Grandpa?"
"Well, I'll see about that in just a minute," answered Grandpa Ford. "I
don't believe anything is broken. But I'll have to get help to lift the
sled right side up again. Whoa, now, ponies!"
The horses, which Grandpa Ford called "ponies," just for fun, were
turning to look at the overturned sled. The six little Bunkers stood in
a row, also looking at what had happened.
"It wasn't the ponies' fault, was it, Grandpa?" asked Violet.
"No, dear. It was mine. I shouldn't have driven them into the bank of
snow. But I thought it was soft so the sled runners would sink down in
it. However, it was hard, and upset us. But we'll soon be all right.
Whoa, now, ponies!"
The big basket of things Grandpa Ford had bought at the store for his
wife had been spilled out of the sled when the upset came. However,
nothing was damaged, and the children helped him pick up the scattered
things, while Russ held the horses.
The animals had not fallen down when the sled upset, and were not
tangled in the harness, so they did not try to run away. The reason for
this was that the front runner of the sled, to which was fastened the
tongue, or long pole, on either side of which the horses ran--the front
runner, I say, remained straight on the ground. The sled seemed to have
broken off from this front part in turning on its side.
"Yes, it's broken," said Grandpa Ford as he looked at the sled. "I shall
have to get it mended before I can drive home again. It's too bad, but
I'm glad none of you is hurt."
He let Russ hold the horses, which stood very still, and the small boy
was very proud of having charge of the animals. Down the road stood a
small house, which looked something like a log cabin.
"Could you get the sled fixed there, Grandpa Ford?" asked Russ, pointing
to the cabin.
"No, I hardly think so. I need to go to a blacksmith shop for a bolt to
use in place of one that is broken. But I know what I can do. I can
leave you children in the cabin until I come back."
"Leave us there all alone?" asked Rose.
"Oh, no," replied Grandpa Ford. "Mr. and Mrs. Thompson live there.
I'll leave you with Mrs. Thompson. She is very good and kind. She'll
look after you. I'll get Mr. Thompson to help me turn the sled right
side up, and then I'll go to the blacksmith shop and get a new bolt in
place of the broken one."
"Will you have to walk?" asked Russ.
"No, I'll ride one of the horses."
"Oh! Could I ride the other?" begged Laddie eagerly.
"I'm afraid you're too little," said Grandpa Ford. "Besides, I want to
ride fast on the back of Major. And if you rode on Prince, which is the
other horse, he might jiggle you off into a snow bank.
"I think all you six little Bunkers had better stay at Mr. Thompson's
cabin until I come back," went on Grandpa Ford. "I won't be any longer
than I can help, and when I get the sled fixed we'll all ride home. I
won't make my trip to the country as I was going to, as it will be too
late."
"Can we get something to eat at the cabin?" asked Margy. "I'm hungry."
"Oh, I guess Mrs. Thompson has something to eat," laughed Grandpa Ford.
Grandpa unhitched the horses from the overturned sled and then started
to drive them toward the cabin, which was the only house for some
distance on that road. The six little Bunkers followed, the highway
being well-packed with hard snow, so that walking was easy.
As the procession, led by Grandpa Ford driving the horses, approached
the cabin, a door opened and a man came out.
"Had an accident, did you, Mr. Ford?" he asked.
"Yes," answered the children's grandfather. "My sled upset in a drift
and spilled out my six little Bunkers. I also broke a bolt, and I shall
have to ride to the blacksmith shop to get another. I was wondering if
the children couldn't wait in your house until I came back."
"Of course they may!" exclaimed a motherly-looking woman, coming to the
door behind her husband. "Bring them in, every one, and I'll give them
some bread and milk. I have cookies, too, for I just baked to-day."
"I'm glad of that!" exclaimed Laddie, and the grown folks laughed at him
because he said it so earnestly.
"Come right in!" went on Mrs. Thompson. "Are you cold?"
"Not very, thank you," answered Rose. "We had lots of blankets in the
sled, and we didn't get much snow on us."
"Well, sit up by the fire, and I'll get you something to eat," said Mrs.
Thompson.
"I'll put one of your horses in the stable while you ride to the
blacksmith shop on the other," said Mr. Thompson, putting on his hat and
overcoat, to go out where Grandpa Ford was waiting.
"Now, you'll be all right, little Bunkers!" called their grandfather to
them, as he started away on the back of Major, who had been unharnessed.
"I'll be back as soon as I can."
Mr. Thompson took Prince to his stable. There was a small one back of
the cabin. I have called it a "cabin," though it really was a small
house. But it was built like a log cabin, and was much smaller than the
house at Great Hedge. It was clean and neat, and on a table covered with
a bright red cloth, in front of a glowing fire in the stove, Mrs.
Thompson set out some cups, some milk, a plate of bread and some
cookies.
"Now come and eat," she said to the six little Bunkers.
They were just drawing up their chairs, and Russ was wondering how long
his grandfather would be gone, when, all at once, a hollow groan sounded
through the cabin.
"Umph! Urr-rumph!"
It was a most sorrowful and sad sound and, hearing it, Rose cried:
"Why, there's the ghost again! Oh, it's come from Great Hedge down to
this house! There's the ghost!"
Again the hollow groan sounded.