Suddenly coming up the sands below the cliff appeared Mrs. Burton, whose apprehensions had compelled her to join in the search.
“Oh, Aunt Alish!” exclaimed Toddie, discovering his aunt, and hurrying to grasp her hand in both of his own; “dzust see de water dance! Do you see all de lovely lights dat de Lord’s lit in it? Don’t you wiss you could get in it, an’ fly froo it, an’ have it shake itself all over you, an’ shake yourself in it, an’ shake it all off of you, an’ den fly into it aden? Deresh placesh like dis up in hebben. I know, ’cauzh I saw ’em—one time I did. An’ all the andzels staid around ’em, an’ flew in an’ out, an’ froo an’ froo’s an’ laughed like everyfing!”
Mr. Burton concealed all of himself but his eyes and hat to observe the impending conflict of ideas; but no conflict ensued, for Mrs. Burton snatched her nephew and kissed him soundly. But Toddie wriggled away, exclaiming:
“Don’t do dat, or I’ll get some uvver eyes when I don’t want ’em.”
How long Toddie’s ecstasy might have endured the Burtons never knew, for a clatter of horse-hoofs on the road attracted Mr. Burton, and, looking hastily back, he beheld one of his brother’s horses galloping wildly back towards Hillcrest, while, just letting go of a reinstrap, and enlivening the dust of the roadway, was the form of the boy Budge, whose voice rose shrilly above the thunder of the falling waters.
BUDGE ENLIVENED THE DUST OF THE ROADWAY
Mr. Burton attempted first to catch the horse, but the animal shied successfully and had so clear a stretch of roadway before him that humanity soon had Mr. Burton’s heart for its own and he hurried to the assistance of Budge.
“I—boo-hoo—was just goin’ to lead the—boo-hoo-hoo—horse down to water like—boo-hoo-hoo—ah—like papa does, when he—oh! how my elbow hurts!—just pulled away an’ went off. An’ I caught the strap to stop him, an’—oh! he just pulled me along on my mouth in the dirt about ten miles. I swallowed all the dirt I could, but I guess I’ve got a mouthful left.”
Mr. Burton hurriedly unharnessed the other horse, and started, riding bareback, in search of the runaway, while his wife, who had intuitively scented trouble in the air, hurried up the cliff with Toddie, and led both boys to the shadow of the carriage, with instructions to be perfectly quiet until their uncle returned.