e buffalo was ill with the mumps, so they really needed another boy.

And the buffalo boy's scarlet and gold-laced tunic and trousers were an
exact fit for Sonny Boy, who looked quite straight and handsome in them!

That buffalo was such a huge beast that Sonny Boy had to mount him by
means of a step-ladder. He was bigger than any geography buffalo you ever
saw. And he tossed his horned head and pawed the ground with his great
hoofs in a way that made Sonny Boy's heart go pit-a-pat.

But there was no outward sign that Sonny Boy's heart was going pit-a-pat.
He was not going to miss the proudest moment of his life because he was
afraid! When he rode out into the crowded street, the huge buffalo
following after the troops of tiny Shetland ponies, the better to show his
size, and the crowd shouted and cheered, if Sonny Boy did for a little
while forget even Otto it was not strange!

But Otto did not allow himself to be forgotten. He wanted to see that
procession with his own eyes. He had lain awake all night thinking about
it. When the hospital supply-wagon was at the gate in the morning he
watched his chance to slip out unobserved, and climbed into the back of
the wagon!

It hurt him so that his white face grew whiter and there were drops on his
forehead. He broke one of his crutches, too, and the other fell out of the
wagon. But he was not found out! The driver was in a hurry, perhaps
because he wished to see the procession himself. He jumped into the front
of the wagon, without a glance at the back, and off down the hill rattled
the wagon, with Otto in the back, in his dressing-gown, with a hospital
blanket pinned over his shoulders.

Just as the hospital wagon reached the procession the band struck up and
the horse was frightened and jumped. It gave the wagon just enough of a
jerk to throw Otto out. He was tossed into the little space between the
ponies and the buffalo. The beast's great hoofs were almost upon him!

There was a wild cry from the crowd, but it was Sonny Boy who slipped from
his high perch and, not an instant too soon, drew his friend out of the
danger.

Sonny Boy lost his own footing; the buffalo's hoof grazed his arm and tore
the gold lace of his tunic.

Friendly hands were ready to lift him again to his seat, while the crowd
cheered him until it was hoarse.

"Otto first! Lift him up here and I will hold him on. It's his first good
time." The marshal of the procession made no objection, since