“Well, after all the scouts had been digging sand and filling every receptacle we had taken with us Ben arrived at the pit. We began filling the cart and soon had it full, but then he refused to start back. We coaxed and pulled and pushed with might and main, but all to no good. Ben just stood and balked.
“Then Janet got a willowy hickory and cracked him soundly to induce him to change his mind. He started suddenly and ran three paces, and as suddenly stopped short, almost breaking my neck, because I was driving. I was sitting on top of the sand heaped in the cart and at the sudden start and stop, a lot of the sand slid off the back of the cart, toppling me backwards with it.
“Of course, I let go of the reins and will you believe it! At the moment Ben felt the reins dangle about his feet he gave a jump that rolled more sand, and me with it right off the back of the cart into the road. Then he galloped on down the road with no one driving, or to stop him.
“Frances jumped in her automobile and started to speed after Ben. She never waited for any one of the scouts to jump in to help coax Ben back to duty again, but tore along the road until she had passed him and then turned to block the road with the car.
“Ben must have laughed in his sleeve—or whatever a nag uses for a covert laugh—when he saw Frances waiting for him. He stopped where he was, turned about so abruptly that the cart upset and almost threw him from his feet, too.
“Now there he was! The cart couldn’t right itself, and he wouldn’t budge again to try to turn it right side up. The whole side road was blocked by the cart and horse so that Frances could not pass the obstruction and come back for us to help turn the cart up again. So she had to walk back to call on us to go and help Ben out of his troubles.
“All the sand was dumped when the cart went over, so we led Ben back to the sand pit and filled the cart again. This time the horse made no attempt at balking, but started humbly along the road until we came out on the main road. He ambled slowly along and we were all rejoicing in the vain belief that soon we would be at Green Hill, with enough sand for you to work with, while we could return to the pit for another load.
“But Ben knew of a nice ford down by the wooden bridge, and before I knew that he intended turning down there for a drink, he had left the main road and was descending the steep bank. I tried to keep my balance on the sand pile in the cart, but the unexpected angle made me slide and I alighted on Ben’s broad back instead of remaining seated where I had been.
“A great deal of the sand slid out and fell into the stream, when Ben tilted the cart so sharply on the bank. I wish you could have heard those unsympathetic scouts laugh when they came up in the car and saw me straddling Ben and clutching on to his old harness for all I was worth!”
The scouts shouted with laughter at remembrance of the funny sight, and the three adults who had anxiously awaited the coming of the sand-diggers, also laughed heartily at Norma’s story.