I did not give it up so easily. I greatly wished to`
reach my destination that night. But there were three wills in
the party, and one of them belonged to the horse. Before I had
any idea of such a thing, the animal made a sudden turn,--too
sudden for safety,--passed through a wide gateway, and after a
few rapid bounds which, to my surprise, I could not restrain, he
stopped suddenly.

"Hello!" exclaimed Uncle Beamish, peering forward, "here's a
barn door." And he immediately began to throw off the far robe
that covered our knees.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"I'm goin' to open the barn door and let the horse go in,"
said he. "He seems to want to. I don't know whether this is
Crocker's barn or not. It don't look like it, but I may be
mistaken. Anyway, we will let the horse in, and then go to the
house. This ain't no night to be travellin' any further, doctor,
and that is the long and the short of it. If the people here
ain't Crockers, I guess they are Christians!"

I had not much time to consider the situation, for while he
had been speaking, Uncle Beamish had waded through the snow, and
finding the barn door unfastened, had slid it to one side.
Instantly the horse entered the dark barn, fortunately finding
nothing in his way.

"Now," said Uncle Beamish, "if we can get somethin' to tie