In this way they drove into the forest, entered the cool dark shadows of the big woods, and were greeted with a chorus of piping twitters from hundreds of forest birds, varied now and then by the hoarse caw of a distant crow whose voice perhaps had started the woodland chorus.  The fragrance of the woods mingled delightfully with the perfume of the wild honey-suckle.  The Meadow-Brook Girls fell silent under the majesty of the forest.  Tommy was the first to break the spell.

“Thith ith a thpooky old plathe,” she declared with a shiver.  “Oh, Mr. Jathper, are there any fairieth in thethe woodth?”

“Any what?”

“Fairies,” explained Harriet, smiling absently.

“Never seen none,” answered the old man gruffly.

“Isn’t it simply glorious?” breathed Hazel.

“It is too wonderful for words,” agreed Harriet.

Miss Elting nodded, smiling happily at the enthusiasm of the girls.  The wagon was following an old logging road.  Small bushes grew up in the middle of the road.  The wheels sank down into deep ruts that had been cut by the tires of the heavy logging wagons, but in general the way was free of obstructions, though the bushes in the road tickled the hide of the young horse until he began to prance from one side of the road to the other in an effort to avoid them.  Harriet wanted to suggest to Jasper that he use both hands to drive, but she did not quite like to do so.  He undoubtedly would resent her interference, nor could she blame him for doing so.

“Jasper, are you sure the horse is perfectly safe?” questioned Miss Elting apprehensively.

“Hasn’t been doing nothing for nigh onto a week.  Jest feels his oats, that’s all.”

Harriet was not fully satisfied with the explanation, though the others appeared to be.  Harriet watched the animal now even more closely than she had done before.

“Gid-ap!” commanded Jasper, giving the horse an unexpected slap with the reins after a particularly quick swerve to one side of the road on the animal’s part.  The horse cleared the road with a single leap sideways.  He had been pricked by the sharp top of a bush at the instant the reins were brought down on his back.  The reins not being under the full control of the driver at that moment, the animal took advantage of the fact and shying clear out of the narrow road, plunged in among the trees in a panic of fear.

There followed a crunching grinding crash.

“Thave me!  Oh, thave me!” screamed Tommy.

With a ripping sound the canopy top was stripped clear of the vehicle and left dangling from the low hanging limbs of the trees under which the buck-board wagon had been dragged.

“Hold fast!  Don’t try to jump!” commanded Miss Elting without the least trace of excitement in her voice.  Hazel placed a firm hand on the arm of the terror-stricken Tommy.

The right forward wheel of the wagon collided with a tree.  The wheel was shattered, and the end of the axle broken off short.  At the same instant the horse sprang sharply to the left evidently in an effort to get back into the log road, facing almost in the opposite direction.