a short distance above the edge of the fall and it was also open below the fall where there was a great foaming and tumbling and whirling of currents looked at it a moment and then he concluded that it would be better for him to go with i have seen said he to himself pretty much all of the machinery and i shall be very tired of waiting here an hour so he concluded that he would run down quick and see if had gone when he got down stairs and out at the door he found that the was not at the post he ran around the comer and saw at some distance just at the foot of a hill he ran after l im calling jo � jo just at this time stopped to let the mill horse walk up the hill and so he heard calling for the bells did not make so much noise when the horse was walking as they did so stopped until overtook him and they went on the rest of the way together chapter ix difficulty although it was winter when the boys were taking this ride yet the sun was shining in a very warm and pleasant manner and the snow was every where softening in the fields and melting in the roads indicating that the spring was coming on there was a little stream of water down the hill in the middle of the road and forming a long pool at the bottom turned his horse to one side to avoid this pool of water and waited until came up well said he � tired of the mill already why no said only i thought that on the whole rather go with you i didn t think that you were be gone so long it is about two miles said where are you going said to see about some logs i thought yoa heard your father teu me to go and see about some logs what about the logs said why to make the boards of for the bam o replied didn t know that yes continued when we want boards we have to go to somebody who owns some pine timber in the woods and get him to cut down some of them and haul them to the mill then they saw them up and make boards what mill said at that saw mill near the mill the mill down in the village you know is a mill by this time the boys had got to the top the hill and they got into the and rode along presently they came to a place where was going to turn off into a sort of by road which led away into the woods where the pine trees grew the man that owned the trees lived pretty near in a is that the road that we are going in asked on a farm ik winter yes said but it not look very promising the road was filled up nearly full of snow it had been hard so that they could travel upon it pretty well but the warm sun had softened the snow so much that the horses feet sunk down into it in some places very deep however went along as well as he could let us get out and walk said no said that will not do much good for it is the weight of the horse himself that makes him sink into the snow not the weight of the so the boys both continued to ride in the they soon came into the woods where the ground being sheltered by the trees above the snow lay more upon it and though the horse a little ye he got along very comfortably at length however they came out of the woods into an opening the road went along under a high bank with a deep brook on the other side wind during the storms in the winter had blown in over this bank and filled up the road entirely f now said i am afraid we re in difficulty why said is that a very bad place yes said it looks like a very bad place saw that the snow was very deep on the upper side of the road and that it away in such a manner that it would be very difficult for them to get along even if the road way was hard perhaps it is hard said no said i think it cannot be for the bank slopes to the south and the sun has been shining upon it all day however we must try it the horse hesitated a moment when he came to this place for he � new by instinct that it would be very hard for him to get through it come general said though stop a moment perhaps we had better get out and walk or the may upset so they got out walked by the horse keeping on the upper side of the road went behind taking hold of the back on a farm in winter part of the so as to hold it in case it should tip down too far they went on thus for some distance tolerably well the horse sometimes got in pretty far and for a moment would plunge and as if he could hardly get along but then h would work his way out and go on a little farther at length however the old general came to a full stop he sank down shoulders under in the snow the more he struggled to get free the deeper he got in stepped on before him and patted him on the head and tried to quiet him said let us stop i don t believe we can go any farther nor i said at least i don t think we can get the old general any farther nor back again either said as 