“Yes, I’ll give you each a ride in turn,” kindly offered Adam North, who was to drive the horse hitched to the big rake. And as Laddie had asked first he was given the first ride, sitting on the seat beside Adam.
The curved iron teeth of the rake gathered up a mass of hay until they could hold no more. Then Adam “tripped” it, as the operation is called. The teeth rose in the air and passed over the mass of hay which was left on the ground.
Working in this way, more hay was raked up until there were several windrows and cocks to be loaded upon the wagon. As a special favor Russ and Rose were allowed to pitch small forkfuls of the hay on the wagon. And when all the dried grass had been gathered up the children piled on and rode to the barn for the last time.
“Hurray! Hurray! Hurray for the hay!” they sang most merrily.
“And it’s a good thing we got it in to-day,” said Farmer Joel, with a chuckle, as the last forkful was raised to the mow. “For here comes the rain!”
And down pelted the big drops. There was not much thunder and lightning, but the rain was very hard and the storm pelted and rumbled all night.
“It’s a good thing I got in my hay,” said Farmer Joel, as he went to bed that night. “Now I can sleep in peace.”
For there is nothing more worrying to a farmer than to hear it rain, knowing it is spoiling his hay. Hay, once wet, is never quite so good as that which has not been soaked.
Though it rained all night, the sun came out the next day, and the six little Bunkers could play about and have fun. Russ and Laddie were glad of the storm, for the rain had made the brook higher, and water was now for the first time running over the little dam they had made so their water wheel could be turned.
“She’ll splash like anything now!” cried Laddie, as he and his brother hastened down to the brook.