Rollo at Play; Or, Safe Amusements

by Jacob Abbott

  DEVIATION.

  They went on so very quietly for some time, until Jonas said there was aturn in the road on before them, where there was a foot-path that ledacross a ravine, by a nearer way than the chaise-road, and proposed thatRollo should ask leave for Jonas and himself to go across on horseback,and wait for the chaises, when they should come out on the main road.

  So they rode up to the chaise, and Rollo put the question to his uncleGeorge.

  His reply was that he could not say any thing about it; Rollo must goand ask his father.

  "Would you go?" said Jonas.

  "Yes," said Rollo.

  "Well, touch up Old Trumpeter then."

  So Rollo applied his switch, and the horse trotted on fast. Rollo hadhard work to hold on, but he clasped his arm tight around Jonas's waist,and succeeded in keeping his seat.

  Rollo's father and mother were riding some distance before them, butthey saw Jonas coming up, and rode slowly, that he might overtake them.

  "Well, Rollo," said his father, "how do you like riding double?"

  "Very much," said Rollo; "and we want you to let Jonas and I cut acrossby the horse-path through the valley, and wait for you at the mill."

  "Is there a horse-path across here, Jonas?"

  "Yes, sir," said Jonas.

  "Is it a good path?"

  "It is rather rough, sir, through the woods and bushes; but it is apretty good road."

  Rollo's father sat hesitating a moment, and then said--

  "You may go, if you choose, but I advise you not to."

  "Why do you advise us not to?" said Rollo.

  "Why, you may get into some difficulty, and so we get separated."

  "Yes, but," said Rollo, "it is not near so far across, and we shall havetime to get through to the mill long before you come along."

  "Very well, you may do as you please."

  "Jonas, what would you do? Would you go, or not?"

  "I think I would _not_ go, if your father thinks we had better not."

  "I want to go very much," said Rollo.

  "Very well," said his father; "you are willing to go with him, Isuppose, Jonas, are you not?"

  "O yes, sir," said Jonas.

  "Well," said Rollo, "let us go. We will he very careful, father, not toget into any difficulty."

  So the two chaises rode on, and Jonas and Rollo, in a few minutes,turned off by a narrow path that struck into the woods. Just as theywere bending down their heads to pass under a great branch of a tree,Rollo looked along, and saw Lucy waving her handkerchief to him, as thechaise which she was in disappeared by a turn of the road.

  Rollo at first felt a little uneasy to think that he had deserted hiscousin, as it were. He thought that he should not have liked it exactly,if she had gone off, and left him alone so in the chaise. However, itwas now too late to repent, and his attention was attracted by the wildand romantic scene around him. The path descended obliquely, by a rough,wet, and stony way, through a dark forest. He heard the sighing of thewind, in the tops of the tall trees, and the mellow notes of forestbirds, far off, and high, which came rich and sweet to his ear with apeculiar expression of solitude and loneliness.

  The boys rode on, and the path became more and more slippery, stony,and steep Rollo clung tight to Jonas, and begun to be somewhat afraid.He would have proposed to go back, but he was ashamed to do it. After alittle time, he asked Jonas whether the path was as bad as that all theway.

  "As bad as this!" said Jonas; "we call this very good. I will show youthe bad road pretty soon."

  Rollo looked frightened, but said nothing.

  "The road seems more wet than common to-day," said Jonas, "I suppose onaccount of the rain yesterday; and I declare," said he, "I am afraid weshall find the brook up."

  "The brook up!" said Rollo.

  "Yes--why did not I think of that before? However, we must go on now."

  "Why?" said Rollo. "Why cannot we go back?"

  "O, because we should be too late; besides, there is no danger, only wemay have to wade a little."

  As they went on, the mud in the road grew deeper and deeper, andpresently Old Trumpeter's legs sunk far down among roots and mire.Rollo began to feel more and more alarmed, and heartily wished that hehad taken his father's advice.

  Soon alter they came to a place where the path, for some distance beforethem, was full of water, deep and miry. Jonas said he thought that theyhad better go out upon one side; so he made the horse step over a logand go in among the trees and bushes. The branches brushed and scratchedRollo unmercifully, though he bent down, and leaned over to this sideand that, continually, to escape them. He asked Jonas why this path hadnot dried, as well as the main road, where the chaises had gone; andJonas told him that the sun and the wind were the great means of dryingthe open road, but that this narrow and secluded path was shaded fromthe sun, and sheltered from the wind, and that the water consequentlyremained a long time among the moss, and roots, and mire.

  After a time, they got back into the path again, and, going on a littlefarther, they came down to the margin of the brook. They found that it_was_ "up," as Jonas had feared. At the place where the path went downand crossed the brook, a deep cut had been worn in the two oppositebanks, and this was filled with water, and above and below the streamrushed on in a torrent. Jonas hesitated a moment, and then asked Rolloif he thought he could hold on, while they we're riding through. Rollosaid he was afraid it was so deep as to drown them. Jonas then said thathe might get off and stand upon a rock by the side of the path, while herode through, first, to see how it was, and that then he would come backfor him.

  So Rollo got off, in fear and trembling, and stood on the rock, whileJonas urged his horse into the water. Old Trumpeter did not much likethis kind of travelling, but Jonas half persuaded and half compelled himto go through. When he was in the middle, the water came up so high,that Jonas was obliged to lift up his feet to keep them from being wet.Presently, however, it became more shoal, as the horse walked slowlyalong; and at last he fairly reached the dry ground, and stood drippingon the bank.

  Rollo was glad to see that the water was no deeper, but was stillafraid to go over. He told Jonas he _could not_ go over I here, and thathe _must_ go back with him.

  "No," said Jonas, "that would not be right."

  "Why," said Rollo, "we can ride fast, and overtake them."

  "Not very soon," said Jonas. "If we go back now, they will get to themill before us, and then will be very anxious and unhappy, thinking thatsomething has happened to us; and perhaps your father will come throughhere after us. Now it was your own plan, coming across here, and youought not to make other people suffer by it. Your father advised you notto come."

  "I know it," said Rollo; "what a foolish boy I was! I shall certainly bedrowned."

  "O no," said Jonas, "there is no real danger, or I should not make yougo;" and so saying, he came back slowly through the water. "See," saidhe, "it is not very deep."