But a moment later they were all relieved to see Tom, the hired man, come to the door of the barn, leading Russ by the hand. The boy looked frightened, but not hurt.
"What was it?" asked his father.
"I got to going and I couldn't stop," explained Russ, who was breathing almost as hard as Laddie had done after his run.
"What did you get to going on, and why couldn't you stop?" his mother wanted to know.
"Oh, it was a—a sort of wooden hill," explained Russ. "I was running on it and——"
"What does he mean—a wooden hill in the barn?" asked Mrs. Bunker.
"It was the treadmill," explained Thomas Hardy. "I was in another part of the barn, and I guess Russ must have wandered upstairs, where we keep the old treadmill they used for the threshing machine and churn. He started to walk on the wooden roller platform, and it moved from under him. He had to keep running so he wouldn't slip down. That's what he meant when he said he couldn't stop."
"That was it," explained Russ. "I saw a funny machine upstairs in the barn, and I got on it. I didn't know it would move."
"Well, you couldn't get hurt on it, that's one good thing," said Grandma Bell. "At the same time it's better not to get on queer machines, or play with things you don't know about, Russ. The next time you might be hurt."
"I'll be careful," promised the little boy.