Down, down, the Slide Raft sped, until it was going so fast that its occupants could not talk. (page [125])
“Let’s build one big sled!” he suggested, “and then we can all be together.”
“A good idea!” agreed the Tiptoe Brothers.
So Gran’pa hammered the boards together and tied them in such a manner that soon he had a fine looking Slide Raft.
“We should have a rudder to guide it with,” Gran’pa said as he stood and studied his work, “for who knows but that the mountain may take a few sudden turns farther down!”
So Gran’pa with his jack knife sawed away at a small tree until he had cut it down, and with the help of the rope and some small pieces of boards he made a rudder.
They all sat down on the Slide Raft, and with everybody pushing and shoving the Slide Raft started down the mountain side, gaining momentum as it went over the slippery needles.
The Soft-Voiced Cow sat in the center of the Slide Raft and the others about her. Gran’pa stood at the rudder to guide the Slide Raft should they come to a sudden turn.
It was well that Gran’pa had thought of the rudder, for when they had slid down the mountain for about a mile, and the Slide Raft was speeding along at a terrific pace, they came to where the open space beneath the trees turned sharply to the right.
Gran’pa swung the rudder round as hard as he could and turned the Slide Raft just in time to escape the trees at the side.