children hawk!" Flossie exclaimed, missing the word. Then everybody
laughed, and Flossie said maybe there were children hawks for bad girls
and boys, anyway.

Aunt Sarah and Mrs. Bobbsey were chatting away like two schoolgirls,
while Dinah and the children saw something new and interesting at every
few paces old Billy, the horse, took.

"Hello there, neighbor," called a voice from the field at the side of
the road. "My horse has fallen in the ditch, and I'll have to trouble
you to help me."

"Certainly, certainly, Peter," answered Uncle Daniel, promptly jumping
down, with Mr. Bobbsey, Bert, and Harry following. Aunt Sarah leaned
over the seat and took the reins, but when she saw in what ditch the
other horse had fallen she pulled Billy into the gutter.

"Poor Peter!" she exclaimed. "That's the second horse that fell in that
ditch this week. And it's an awful job to get them out. I'll just wait
to see if they need our Billy, and if not, we can drive on home, for
Martha will be most crazy waiting with dinner."

Uncle Daniel, Mr. Bobbsey, and the boys hurried to where Peter Burns
stood at the brink of one of those ditches that look like mud and turn
out to be water.

"And that horse is a boarder too!" Peter told them. "Last night we said
he looked awful sad, but we didn't think he would commit suicide."

"Got plenty of blankets?" Uncle Daniel asked, pulling his coat off and
preparing to help his neighbor, as all good people do in the country.

"Four of them, and these planks. But I couldn't get a man around. Lucky
you happened by," Peter Burns answered.

All this time the horse in the ditch moaned as if in pain, but Peter
said it was only because he couldn't get on his feet. Harry, being
light in weight, slipped a halter over the poor beast's head.

"I could get a strap around him!" Harry suggested, moving out
cautiously on the plank.

"All right, my lad, go ahead," Peter told him, passing the big strap
over to Bert, who in turn passed it on to Harry.

It was no easy matter to get the strap in place, but with much tugging
and splashing of mud Harry succeeded. Then the ropes were attached and
everybody pulled vigorously.

"Get up, Ginger! Get up, Ginger!" Peter called lustily, but Ginger only
seemed to flop in deeper, through his efforts to raise himself.

"Guess we'll have to get Billy to pull," Uncle Daniel suggested, and
Mr. Bobbsey hurried back to the road to unhitch the other horse.

"Don't let Billy