But this didn’t please Ruth.  She didn’t want to be left alone with only her sled for company.  She wanted the boys to stay with her.

“You’ll like it when you are used to it,” urged Sunny Boy.  “Come on, Ruth, there are ever so many girls coasting.  You can steer as well as that girl in the green coat.”

He pointed to a little freckle-faced girl who came down the hill on a shabby old sled and steered it neatly out of the way of every sled she met.

“No, I couldn’t do that,” said Ruth.  “But I’ll coast with you, Sunny.  I can hang on to you.”

Sunny Boy had meant to coast down the hill a few times by himself, for he had not had a sled last year and he was not sure he knew how to steer.  But, of course, if Ruth had made up her mind to coast with him on his sled, Sunny Boy felt that there was nothing to do but take her.

“I’ll go first!  Watch me!” cried Nelson, scrambling up the hill ahead of them.  He plumped himself on his sled, pushed with one foot, and away he flew down the hill.

“That looks just as easy,” said Sunny Boy to himself.

He had to wait a minute to find a place for his sled in the row of coasters lined up at the top of the hill.  Then he sat down and took the rope and Ruth sat down behind him and grasped the belt of his coat.

“Here, I’ll start you,” offered a boy, who came up behind them.

“Wait a—­” began Sunny Boy.  He meant to say, “Wait a minute,” but the boy gave him a tremendous push and the sled slid over the hill and began to go down.

“Ow!” shrieked Ruth, closing her eyes and opening her mouth very wide.  “Ow!  Stop Sunny Boy!  Ow!  Ow!”

Sunny Boy couldn’t stop.  But he was steering nicely and they would probably have had a fine coast if Ruth had not grown more frightened and thrown her arms around his neck.  Her elbow knocked Sunny Boy’s cap over his eye and he felt himself being pulled over backward.  The sled went zigzagging down the hill for a moment, then a big sled tore past it and knocked it to one side.  Ruth fell off and dragged Sunny Boy with her and the sled went on down the hill alone.

Nelson had seen the spill at the bottom of the hill and he came running up to them.

“Are you hurt, Ruth?” he asked his sister.  “Did another sled hit you?  There’s Jimmie Butterworth with your sled, Sunny Boy.”

Ruth was not hurt, and neither was Sunny Boy.  And tumbling off a sled when you are coasting is rather fun if you do not get frightened.  Unfortunately, Ruth was frightened and she began to cry and say she wanted to go home.

“I knew you’d want to go home,” scolded Nelson.  “You can’t go.  I haven’t had but one coast.  Come on, and ride down on my sled.”

“I don’t want to ride on your sled,” sobbed Ruth.  “I want to go home; my feet are cold.”

“Well, you’ll have to wait till I have some fun,” said Nelson.  “What did you do with your sled?”