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Page 22
They were a little early for the stage, so Joseph sat and watched the
wagons and carriages, that passed the inn. All the carriages had ladies
and children inside, and Joseph thought they must be going to see their
grandmas.
Most of the wagons that passed the inn were loaded down. Some of them
were full of hay; and Joseph knew in a minute, where they were going,
for he had heard his Grandma say that she was going to store her hay
away in a barn, that very day.
Some of the wagons carried good things to sell; and the men who drove
them would ring their bells, and call out, now and then: "Apples to
sell! Apples to sell!" or "Potatoes and corn! Potatoes and corn!" which
made Joseph laugh.
Then there was the milkman. His tin cans were so bright that you could
see yourself in them, and Joseph knew that they carried good sweet milk.
This made him think of their own cows. He could shut his eyes and see
how each one looked. Clover was red, Teenie black, and Buttercup had
white spots on her back.
Just then he heard the sound of a horn; and his father jumped up in a
hurry and collected their bundles. "For," said he, "that is the guard
blowing his horn, and the stage coach is coming!"
Joseph was so pleased when he heard this that he jumped up and down; and
while he was jumping, the stage coach whirled around the corner.
There were four horses hitched to it, two white, and two black; and they
were trotting along at a fine pace. The driver was a jolly good fellow,
who sat on the top of the coach and cracked his whip; and the guard sat
behind with the horn.
The wheels were turning so fast that you could scarcely see them, but as
soon as the inn was reached, the horses stopped and the stage coach
stood still. The guard jumped down to open the door, and Joseph and his
papa made haste to get in. The guard blew his horn, the driver cracked
his whip, the horses dashed off, and away went Joseph and his papa.
The stage coach had windows, and Joseph looked out. At first, all he
could see was smooth, level ground; but after a while, the horses walked
slowly and you could have counted the spokes in the wheels, for they
were going up hill and the driver was careful of his horses.
[Illustration: As soon as the inn was reached the horses stopped.]
The hill was so much higher than the rest of the country that when
Joseph looked out at the houses in the valley he felt very great,
although it was only the hill that was high, after all.
Then they all came down on the other side, and the horses trotted
faster. It was early in the morning, and the sunshine was so bright and
the air so fresh that the horses tossed their heads, and their hoofs
rang out as they hurried over the hard road.
The road ran through the wood, and Joseph could see the maples with
their wide-spreading branches, and the poplar with its arms held up to
the sky, and the birches with their white dresses, all nodding in the
wind, as though they said, "How do you do?" Once, too, he saw a little
squirrel running about, and once a queer rabbit.
Then the stage-coach stopped with a jerk.
"What's the matter?" called Joseph's papa, as the driver and the guard
got down.
"The linch-pin has fallen out," answered the driver, "and we have just
missed losing a wheel."
"Can we go on?" Joseph asked. And when his papa said "No," he felt
sorry. But the guard said that he would go after a wheelwright who lived
not far beyond; and Joseph and his papa walked about until the
wheelwright came running, with his tools in his hand.
He set to work, and Joseph thought it was very funny that the great
wheel could not stay on without the linch-pin; but the wheelwright said
that the smallest screws counted. He put the wheel quickly in order, and
off the stage-coach went.
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