He was gentle with her, and showed himself to be
an expert driver of the roan colts. Otherwise Nan might have
been much afraid during the first mile of the journey to Pine
Camp, for certainly she had never seen horses behave so before.
"Haven't been out of the stable for a week," explained Tom cooly
as the roans plunged and danced, and "cut up didos" generally, as
Uncle Henry remarked.
"We had a big fall of snow," Tom went on to say. "Bunged us all
up in the woods; so Rafe and I came in. Marm's all right. So's
everybody else around the Camp, except Old Man Llewellen. He's
down with rheumatism, or tic-douloureux, or something. He's
always complaining."
"I know," said Uncle Henry, and then went on to relate for his
son's benefit the wonderful thing that had happened to his
brother and his brother's wife, and why Nan had come up into
Michigan without her parents.
"We'll be mighty proud to have her," said Tom simply. He was
only a great boy, after all, and he blushed every time he caught
Nan looking at him. The girl began to feel very much grown up.
They were glad of the hot coffee, and Tom was shown how and why
the mysterious bottle kept the drink hot. They only made that
single halt (and only for a few minutes for the horses to drink)
before reaching Pine Camp.
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