oon as Billy had come to a halt Matt sprang to the ground. A tree
the boy had feared they would collide with was close at hand, and to
this he tied the horse, making sure that the halter should be well
secured; and for the time being, the danger of being wrecked through a
runaway was over.

But the trouble was by no means past. The storm still kept on, the
lightning being as vivid as ever, and the thunder causing Billy to tug
violently at the strap which held him. It was with a shiver that Matt
wondered what the consequence would be should that particular tree be
struck by lightning.

To prevent Billy doing damage to the wagon by twisting in the shafts
or by kicking, Matt unharnessed him and pushed the wagon back a few
feet into a somewhat open space. Here the rain came down heavier, but
he felt safer than in close proximity to the tree.

Feeling that nothing was to be done until the storm should abate, Matt
climbed into the wagon again and protected himself as well as he could
with the rubber blanket and the lap-robe. The back shade of the wagon
was down, and he was glad to see that so far the stock inside had
sustained no damage.

A half-hour dragged along slowly. Several times the storm appeared
upon the point of clearing away, but each time the clouds settled down
heavier than before, until under the trees it was as black as
midnight.

Matt wondered how far he was from the road, and if there were a
farmhouse anywhere at hand.

"If I could reach a house of some sort it wouldn't be so bad," he
murmured to himself. "But being out here alone isn't any fun, that's
certain."

At last the clouds seemed to scatter for good. A fresh breeze stirred
the trees and bushes, and ere long the rain ceased, although the
drops still came down from the heavily-laden branches overhead.

As soon as he felt certain that the sky was brightening to remain so,
Matt untied Billy, and harnessed him to the wagon once more.

"Now, Billy, we'll get back to the road just as fast as we can," he
said to the horse. "And I trust that you will never run away again in
that fashion, old boy."

On all sides arose bushes and rocks, and, although the road might be
close at hand, Matt thought it best to return the way they had come.
He wished to take no more chances, feeling that it would be the
easiest thing in the world to get lost, or to run the turn-out into
some hollow or hole from which it would be next to impossible to
extricate it.

B