Paul's sled was a little ahead of the one steered by Mr. Sneed, and the latter was unaware of the treacherous nature of the road. So he did not warn his fellow coasters. The result was that two of those on the rear fell off, but as they landed in soft snow they were not hurt.
"All the better!" cried Russ, who was making the pictures. "That will add to it. Keep going, Mr. Sneed!"
"If I go much farther I'll fall off!" cried the grouchy actor. "I can't hold on much longer!"
"You've got to!" ordered Mr. Pertell. "I'm not going to have this picture spoiled."
"Please don't fall off, whatever you do!" cried Ruth, who was back of Mr. Sneed. "That would leave me to do the steering and I don't know the first thing about it."
"Well, I'll do my best," he said, as graciously as he could. "Certainly I don't want to make trouble for you, Miss DeVere."
"Thank you," she said, and then as she looked ahead and saw another bump in the road, she cried:
"Look out! We're going to hit it."
Now Mr. Sneed was still suffering from the effects of the first bump, and not wishing to repeat it he sought to avoid the second by steering to one side. But in steering a long and heavy bobsled, well-laden with coasters, there is one thing to be remembered. That is, it must not be steered too suddenly to one side, for it has a propensity to "skid" worse than an automobile.
This was what happened in the case of Mr. Sneed. He turned the steering wheel suddenly, the bobsled slewed to one side, and, in another instant, had upset.