Then the two boys broke into a run, giving no further heed to the fact that the ground was uneven and that their feet were bare. They had heard stories of vicious rams many times, and knew that only the year before a girl had been almost mauled to death by such an animal.
They had still fifty yards to cover when Snap went into a hole and pitched headlong. Shep was directly behind him, and over he went on top of his chum, crushing one of the baskets of strawberries between them. The other basket was scattered in all directions over the ground.
"There go our berries," grumbled Snap. "Too bad!"
"Get up!" roared Shep, scrambling to his feet. "Here comes the ram, and he's as wild as they make 'em!"
He caught his chum by the arm, and both tried to go on. But Snap's ankle had received a bad wrench and he was forced to limp.
The boys had to pass a low shed, used occasionally for the storage of fruit and baskets. As they reached this the ram came up and lowered his head.
"Jump for the shed!" yelled Shep, and caught hold of the roof of the structure. He scrambled to the top and gave his chum a hand. Then on came the ram and hit the side of the frail building a resounding whack with his head. Snap escaped by less than a foot; and then both boys stood upright on the top of the shed wondering what they had best do next.
CHAPTER III
A TRICK THAT FAILED
"We are in a pickle, Snap."