what have you been doing?" asked Mother, when she saw
his wet, muddy clothes.

When he told her about getting on the raft she looked surprised. When he
told her what Rover did, she turned and patted Rover's neck and said,
"Good dog, good dog!"

"Of course, you will have to go to bed while your clothes get dry," she
said to Bobby.

"Can't I put on one of my clean suits?" he asked.

"No," said Mother. "When boys get on rafts and fall into the water,
they always go to bed while their clothes dry."

So to bed Bobby went in the middle of the day.

Mother washed his clothes and hung them to dry in the shade of the apple
tree.

Sue tied a blue ribbon on Rover's collar, and Mother gave him a plate of
cold roast beef with potatoes and gravy.

[Illustration: BOBBY'S HORSEBACK RIDE]

XIII

Of all the horses on Cloverfield Farm, Prince was the one the children
liked best.

Prince would take a lump of sugar from Bobby's hand and not bite him. He
would let Bobby and Betty come near and not kick them.

Sometimes Bobby rode on Prince's back, very slowly, with Father walking
along beside.

"When shall I be allowed to go trotting down the road all alone, like
John and Sue?" asked Bobby.

"Not until you are older," answered Father.

One day Bobby was down in the field where Hobson was working. When the
dinner bell rang, Bobby said, "Let me ride Prince up to the barn."

"You might fall off," said Hobson. "I think I had better not let you."

"I can hang on," said Bobby. "Father lets me ride sometimes."

Hobson thought a moment. "All right; if you'll be careful, I'll let you
ride this time," he said.

He let Daisy go on ahead, and then lifted Bobby to Prince's back with
the big, clumsy work harness still on.

"Hold on tight and go slow," said he, as he gave Bobby the check rein.

Through the gap into the lane went Daisy, up the lane toward the barn.
Prince and Bobby followed.

When Father let Bobby ride up to the barn, he always walked along
beside. But after Hobson had started them off, he went across lots to
the barn.

So there was Bobby riding Prince all alone.

How big and grand he felt!

When they were part way up the lane, Daisy, who was in a hurry for her
dinner, began to trot.

"Let us trot, too," said Bobby. "Get-up, Prince."

Prince was hungry and thirsty. So when Bobby said a second time,
"Get-up, Prince," and pulled on the check rein, Prince began to trot.

Father was in the farmyard