Something had happened, for the driver was on the ground and appeared to
be busy trying to mend a break in the harness, or something still more
serious.
As he drew nearer Dick saw first of all that the man was Mr. Cartwright,
the miller, the very man he was intending to see, and the next thing he
noticed was that the loaded wagon was tilted on one side, showing that a
wheel must have given away, threatening a complete collapse.
He hurried up, wondering if his lucky star might not be in the ascendant
just then, the opportunity to get in the good graces of the miller
seeming so good.
The dusty miller was scratching his head in puzzled wonder at just the
minute Dick arrived on the scene.
"Good morning, Mr. Cartwright. You seem to have met with an accident,"
remarked the boy, as he came alongside.
The man looked up with interest, to show more or less disappointment
when he found that it was only a boy who had arrived.
"It's you, is it, Dick? Yes, I've broken down at last. Twenty years more
or less I've carried loads back and forth between my mill and the town,
and never once in all that time have I had such an accident. The wheel
is giving way. If I try to go on it will smash entirely, and perhaps
part of my load be thrown off. How to get home is a question I am trying
to decide. I hate to unload. If I had another wheel and a jack here I
might get around the trouble.
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