BILLY RUNS AWAY
All the next day the animals and fowls too listened with all their ears
to discover whether or not Mr. Watson or any of the farm hands knew
they had been away at a party the night before. But not a word was
spoken about it so they decided no one thought they had been off the
farm.
“My, didn’t we have a good time? One to be remembered all our lives!
And Father Billy’s talk was most entertaining,” said Daisy.
“We certainly did, and the Chums related such thrilling things that it
would almost pay to let them go traveling again so they could have some
more unusual experiences to relate when they came home,” agreed her
husband.
“Oh, hi there, Billy Whiskers, where are you?” called Mr. Watson. “I
want you to pull Ruthie to town in the little goat cart. She is going
in to spend the day with some little friends, and they wish to have a
ride in her cart.”
So the new harness with all the shining silver buckles on it was put
on Billy and he was hitched to the cunning little cart and away drove
Ruthie, Mr. Watson’s little four-year-old granddaughter who had come to
the farm for a visit with her mother, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Watson.
[Illustration]
Billy trotted along the road almost as fast as a pony would go, for the
cart and Ruthie were a light burden for such a big, strong goat, and
it was no time until they were in town. Of course Mr. Watson drove a
little way behind them so he could be ready to take a hand should any
accident occur in case they met a drove of cattle, for he did not know
what Billy might do in such an emergency.
The first thing they did on coming to the town was to go straight to
the home of Grace, the little girl Ruthie was to visit. There they
piled into the cart all the children the little wagon could hold, and
took them for a nice long ride around town, returning just before
luncheon. Before they went into the house they unhitched Billy and
gave him just what he liked best to eat: carrots and a bunch of sweet
hay with a big pail of cold well water to drink. Then they left him to
wander around in the big yard as he pleased, taking care that all the
gates were tightly shut before they left him.
Billy ate his dinner which he enjoyed greatly, being extremely hungry
after pulling the children all about the town. After he had eaten, he
sought the shade of a big tree and took a nap. He awoke feeling very
much refreshed and hearing the children laughing at their play on the
other side of the house, he thought this would be a good time to run
off and hide before they tired of the swing and came for him to take
them for another ride. This he had determined he would not do, having
ahead of him the long pull to take Ruthie back to the farm.
As you know, gates were nothing to Billy when he wished to go
somewhere, as he could jump any gate he ever saw. With a bound now he
was over one and out on the street, running as fast as ever he could go
toward Lake Winnebago which he could see rippling in the distance.
On his arrival at the shore of the lake, feeling hot and dusty from
pulling the little cart around during the morning, he decided to go
for a swim. This he enjoyed, coming out greatly refreshed and rested.
While he was shaking himself dry, up the beach he spied a queer looking
object. He could not make out what it was, so he determined to run up
and find out. He had almost reached the spot when something glided on
top of the water for a short distance and then rose from the surface
and flew for quite a distance as straight up in the air as ever it
could go. Then it descended in graceful curves to the water, and again
made a flight.
“Heigho! They are hydroplanes!” exclaimed Billy. “My, how I wish I
could get a ride in one! I know I should just love the sensation of
gliding on the water and then flying straight up in the air. I think I
shall go as close as I can to them and see what they look like at close
range.”
When he arrived and saw one after the other of the planes make a
flight, he was more anxious than ever to ride in one. At last he was
so near he could have stepped off the platform one plane was lying
against, and in fact was about to do so and take all chances when
some boys discovered him and began to throw stones at him. He paid no
attention to them, but thought how cruel and selfish boys could be to
throw stones at him when he was not bothering anyone, only looking at
the fascinating planes just as they were. But when they sicked two
dogs on him, he knew he would have to go. They chased him to the end
of the pier. He could go no farther unless he jumped into the water.
Then when one of the dogs snapped at him, he turned to his tormentor
and hooked him straight up in the air, and he came down inside one of
the hydroplanes just as it was rising from the water, carrying him up
with it. The dog was so afraid in the plane that he jumped out when
they were about fifty feet in the air, and went kersplash in the water,
disappearing from sight and probably touching the very bottom of the
lake. When he came to the surface he swam for shore and, reaching it,
cut sticks for home as fast as his long legs would carry him.
[Illustration]
On seeing what had happened to his friend, the second dog slunk off and
disappeared from sight, no one knew where.
[Illustration]
Then some rough boys and men thought they would have some fun with
Billy and walked out to the end of the pier to tease him, but after the
first man had been butted into the lake, the others thought they would
not try it. Seeing there was too large a crowd gathered on the shore
for him to make his way through it, Billy Whiskers leaped into the
water, swimming near the shore until he was so far away that the crowd
would not bother him any more. He landed and tried to find his way back
to the house where Ruthie was visiting, for he knew by the position of
the sun he must have been away a long time. But the more he tried to
find the house, the more confused he grew. Billy Whiskers knew he was
lost.
He ran up and down the streets, baaing as loudly as he could, hoping
he might happen to pass the house and Ruthie would run out and bring
him in. But no such luck attended him and his baaing only attracted the
attention of the mischievous boys, who threw stones after him or chased
him up and down one street after another. He had just escaped one group
of boys and was quietly walking down a street, trying to recover his
breath, when he heard the voices of several children in a yard the
other side of a high stone wall. He thought he recognized Ruthie’s
voice, and ran to the gate and peeped in, but no, to his disappointment
all the children were boys. They were acting so queerly he stopped to
watch them for a minute or two, and then he discovered they were trying
to do the tricks they had seen the clowns and trapeze performers do at
the circus. He was so busy gazing at them that he pushed the gate open
and went inside that he might have a close view of the hand springs and
backward somersaults they were turning.