Down North and Up Along 
closed the gateway to the meadow at the 
farther end of which the house stood, and 
undertook the offices of hospitality in her 
mother's absence. Her mother had gone on 
the mountains for blueberries, which was good 
news to hungry travellers. 
As there was no one at home but Annie and 
a little boy, we, with a confidence partly as- 
sumed, undertook the deliverance of Dan. 
A " collar and hames " is a remarkable in- 
vention not commonly used on a single horse 
excepting for heavy work, but it formed a part 
of our strong harness. The hames is within 
the comprehension of the average intellect, for 
it unbuckles and comes off, but the collar does 
not ; it does not open, and is smaller than the 
horse's head by any ordinary method of meas- 
urements. We had exhausted mathematics 
and the patient Dan's forbearance ; the sunset 
flamed and waned unseen before the inspiration 
seized us to turn it around, then, presto ! it 
was the shape of his head, and off it came. 
Dan's tortured ears and head being finally 
released, to our infinite relief and his, we min- 
istered to his comfort as well as we could in 
the gathering darkness, then went to the house, 
190 
