Andy the Acrobat Page 17

  CHAPTER XVII

  A WILD JOURNEY

  Andy Wildwood found himself in a box, in more ways than one.

  Judging from the sounds he had heard, the men bent on securing theregistered mail pouch had been baffled. The old circus horse had startedon a sudden and surprisingly swift sprint. From the feeling of turns,jerks and swings, Andy decided that within four minutes the rig had leftthe post-office fully half-a-mile to the rear.

  "I've started the horse all right," said Andy. "Old Ripley's signal hasacted like a charm. How to stop the animal, though. That is the presentquestion?"

  Andy ran at the two rear doors of the wagon. He steadied himself, armsextended so as to touch either side of the box. Then he gave the doors atremendous kick with the sole of his shoe.

  The doors did not budge. He felt over their inner surfaces where theycame together. The lock was set in the wood. They could be opened onlyfrom the outside.

  The wagon box had one aperture, Andy discovered. This was a smallventilating grating up in one corner above the seat.

  He sprang up on the newspaper bag. This brought his eyes on a level withthe grating. It was about four by six inches, with slanting slats. Andycould see down at the horse and ahead along the road.

  He grew excited and somewhat uneasy as he looked out. Lute was a sightfor a race track. Her head down, mane flowing, tail extended, she wascovering the ground with tremendous strides.

  Farther back on the route Andy had felt the wagon collide with curbs andwith other vehicles. Once there was a crash and a yell, and he felt surethey had taken a wheel off a rig they passed. Now, however, theyappeared to be quite clear of the town proper.

  The road ahead was a slanting one. A steep grade fully half-a-mile longled to a stone bridge crossing a river. It was so steep that Andywondered that Lute did not stumble. The wagon wheels ground and slid sothat the vehicle lifted at the rear, as if its own momentum would causea sudden tip-over.

  "We'll never reach the bottom of the hill," decided Andy. "My! we'regoing!"

  He shouted out words of direction to the horse he had heard Ripleyemploy. Lute did not hear, at least did not heed. Andy remembered nowthat in stopping the horse Ripley had used the reins.

  He held his breath as, striking a rut, the wagon bounded up in the air.He clung for dear life, with one hand clutching the ventilator bars asthe vehicle was flung sideways over ten feet, threatening to snap offthe wheels, which bent and cracked on their axles at theterrific strain.

  Contrary to Andy's anticipations they neared the bottom of the hillwithout a mishap. Suddenly, however, he gave a shout. A new dangerthreatened.

  The bridge had large stone posts where it began. Then a frail woodenrailing was its only side protection. The roadway was not very broad.Two full loads of hay could never have passed one another onthat bridge.

  "There's a team coming," breathed Andy. "We'll collide, sure. Whoa!whoa!" he yelled through the grating. "No use. It's a smash, and abad one."

  Andy fixed a distressed glance on the team half-way across the bridge. Acollision was inevitable. Lute, striking the level, only increased heralready terrific rate of speed.

  Andy took heart, however, as she swerved to one side.

  The intelligent animal appeared to enjoy her wild runaway, and wanted tokeep it up. Apparently she aimed to keep precisely to her own side ofthe road and avoid a collision.

  The driver of the team coming had jumped from his seat and pulled hisrig to the very edge of the planking. All might have gone well but for aslight miscalculation.

  As Lute's feet struck the bridge plankway, she pressed close to theright. The wagon swerved. The front end of the box landed squarelyagainst the stone post.

  The shock was a stunning one. It tore the wagon shafts, harness and all,clear off the horse. With a circling twist the vehicle reversed likelightning. The box struck the wooden rail. This snapped like apipe stem.

  Lute, dashed on like a whirlwind, the driver of the other team staringin appalled wonder, the box slid clear of the plankway and went whirlingto the river bed fifteen feet below.

  Andy was thrown from side to side. Then, as the wagon landed, a newcrash and a new shock dazed his wits completely. He was hurled thelength of the box, his head fortunately striking where the newspaper bagintervened.

  Judging from the concussion, Andy decided that the wagon box had landedon a big rock in the river bed. There it remained stationary. Hestruggled to an upright position. One arm was badly wrenched. His facewas grazed and bleeding.

  "If I don't get out some way," he panted, "I'll drown."

  It looked that way. He felt a great spurt of water, pouring in rapidlywhen the ventilator dipped under the surface. Then, too, the crash hadwrenched the box structure at various seams. Water was forcing its wayin, bottom, sides and top.

  From ankle-deep to knee-deep, Andy stood helpless. Then, locating thedoor end of the vehicle, he drew back and massed all his muscle for asupreme effort. Shoulders first Andy posed, and then threw himselfforward, battering-ram fashion. He felt he must act and that quickly, orelse the worst might be his own.