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 back into the clay of this road, it will take a derrick to get you out, and a flat car to get you to where we can remove a few tons of superfluous soil."

"All right," said Bess; "but please choose a place where there are no thistles. I saw whole beds of them on that bank, as we came down."

"So did I," said Uncle Rob. "They had nice big purple blossoms on them, and pretty, feathery, fly-away seeds;—but I haven't seen any at all for more than an hour, so don't worry."

"No, nor you haven't seen anything else either. Never mind. Toss me where you choose. I'm not afraid." And I honestly believe that she was not.

It was queer how the weight seemed to have lifted off of all of us. I am perfectly sure that if anything had happened then, we would have had our wits about us so well that we would have known just what to do, and wouldn't have been hurt at all. It makes a lot of difference, when you are in danger, whether you are scared stiff, or have yourself so well in hand that you are all on the alert to meet whatever comes and do the best thing, right on the spur of the moment. That's why a coward is always getting hurt;—he gets