26 



THE COUNTRY BOY 



distance of twelve miles, with the bugg3% and 

 never was the vehicle injured. They used to 

 take his bridle off and tie a card, explaining, 

 on the back band of his harness, so that if he 

 met strangers they wouldn't stop him, and 



those who knew him only spoke to him and 

 smiled as he passed. Sometimes if he struck 

 a good patch of clover in the fence corner, he 

 would be a little late whinnying at the gate; 

 but he never failed. Once on his return he 

 made the philosopher of the place think, as 

 he came home with pond lilies in the floor of 

 the buggy. There were no ponds or streams 

 in the Waldo Hills containing pond lilies, nor 

 w^ere there any in Salem, and it required deep 

 thought. 



He had gotten home so late that the only 



