The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1893-07-22
ever present little bnskst III his

the ever present little baeket Ii hts
hand.
He had creased his boots, and mixed
the thread-Dare places on the knees
OF his pa~ntalo0ns, and altogether he
presented quite d holiday appearance.
'tEvenin' Sally said he, bobbing his
head, feels as IL it might be cooler
to- morrer."
YES, SO does" said Sally, cheerfully;
'.get right In, Adoniram."
Adoniram accomplished the feat ut
getting right in" with some difficulty,
but at last he was safely seated be-
side Sally with the little basket held
between his knees.
Want me to drive, asked he.
"Oh, no, thank ye," said Sally; I'm
a-takin' you to ride"
They logged along a mile or SO In
utter silence; Reeds Hill lay just be-
yond them. Sally drew q long breath.
."In do 1t afore we pass that are pine
tree!' she said to herself.
"Adoniram," she said, bracing her
self for the effort, g" thought I'd ask
you" 80.
Sally did not complete the sentence.
for just then the red mare whislSed
her tail ut q fly and caught the rein
under it.. In IN instant she was isl-
other horse. She snorted, threw up
her head, and plunged into q run down
a cross-road that led along the bank OF
the river.
"Whoa! whoa! whoa" shouted Sally.
pulling frantically on the one rein over
which she had control.
"Whoar' yelled Adoniram through
the yawning cavity Of space left BY
bis lost front tooth. "WhOa! you jaae'
What in mater ais her, Sally2 Pull
her into the bushes, can't yer
Sally pulled, and the mare responded
by dashing through a clump of elders
and Sally's bonnet, and her little false
front Of yellowish curls were torn Off,
and Adoniram's stately white hat was
tossed aloft In the air without the
slightest regard to appearances, Nay-
ing his few struggling locks of gray
streaming out OH the wind.
Jump for yer lif,, Sally" shouted
Adoniram, "this boss critters gone
crazyw ~ - s,.
"No, I sha'n't jump" said Sally reso-
lutely, giving the rein another twist,
II hired this ere team and I promis I'd
to take good care Of it.! An / ai;l't
a-gwine to quit it unless I am hove ,ut.
! shall jest cling to the riggin'." =.
BY this time the red mares temper
was somewhat cooled, and the infll-
ence of the oats Sam had metioned was
beginning to abate.
She slackened her pace, and rs Sally
relaxed her hold on the rein, the mar
justified her owners assertion that she
was not very steady on her legs. Nv
stepping ip q rut and going down in i
heap. -, -. ~
There vas an aminous sound Of split.
ting wood which told the unfortunass
couple that the shaft was broken.
Sally and Adoniram got out Of The
wagon and Adoniram managed to pry
the mare out of the mud by the hid
of a fence rail, while Sally held his
vantage ground for him with a second
Fail placed slantwise petheatl the
first. ~
The mare shook herself as she found
her feet and said as well as she could
that she was all right, and took a
green nip from the bushes to show that
She harbored no III will,
"Land sake alive!" said Sally, ''what
o narrer chance that was! What shall
do with that are shaft7 Why did't
! think to fetche the clothes line along:
might a. knowed sunthia' would q
Aappeaedl" >
" dunno but T could get along with.
out my gallerses IL I sot kinder STILL
said Adoniram, They're knit ones,
an strong as Q bridge. Some men folks
goes without 'em all the time, out
it allus seems to me as il they was liza,
bic to come apart my minute"
And Adoniram, basket and all, ne.
tired for q brief. space to the hedge,
from which he emerged directly, with
the gallerses'' In his hand.
The shaft was tied together, the mar
ness put to rights, and the old pair re
sumed their Journey to the Varncy
schoolhouse. ., 80
Sally shut her lips tightly, and prayed
for courage.
Il said I'd do it, an I'll do It." she
remarked to herself.
Just ahead lay the river, glittering
in the red light OF sunset.
"Afore I cross that river I'll do it!'
said Sally, and she turned toward her
companion. "Adoniram, I thought "a
just ask you
At this interesting juncture a white
dog sprung out OF the wood and cut
across the road with his nose to the
ground. The red mare bolted sudden
", turned half around, dashed through
the l9W brush fence a NJ struck = bee
Sally pulled on the reins with oil her
might, and AdOniram stood up in the
wagon with his little basket still in
his haad, and Joined his forces with
hers. His hat was gone, his mouth
was open, and he was painfully con-
scious that he had lost his egalluses, =
but he held on with Sally. They pulled
together.
Sally turned her face around toward
bin, hhna thSuga her voice shook, she
asA ;1sam { thought gg4t 7 would just
Just then the mare seemed to gather
herself for supreme effort; the river
bank was in her way, and 1t did not
turn out. Neither did the mare; and
in an instant Sally, Adoniram, Squire
Jones' red mare and the buggy wagon
We're in the river.
neck, and it rushed Tito the wagon and
flowed oyer Sally, who had been
thrown from her feet by the shock Of
going over the bank, and lay prone in
the bottom OF the vehicle. And Adoq-
IRAN still chung to the little basket,
and to the reinss and shouted f~rantical-
":
therela
The mare saw land ahead, and was
quite %obliVions to the meaning Of WHOM.
She leaped forward, and jerking the
reins from Adoniram, she made for the
opposite bank, taking the front wheels
OF the wagon with her and leaving the
body Of that unlucky vehicle IN the wa
ter.
sally struggled to her feet. and