crunching of the
dry snow sounded with a distinctness that almost frightened the boy,
who was simply going to his uncle Robert's to spend a day or two. But
finally Dan was on the main road, where the snow was frozen so hard
that his footsteps could not be heard as distinctly, and where the two
tracks worn smooth by the runners of the sleighs lay spread out before
him, looking like two satin ribbons on white broadcloth.

Dan trudged slowly on, his heart growing lighter as the moments went by
and he knew
he had actually gotten away without arousing anyone; but after he had
walked some distance he began to realize how heavy Crippy was. He had
thought he could carry his pet almost any length of time; but at the
very commencement of his journey his arms began to ache.

"It's no use, Crippy, you'll have to walk some of the way," he said, as
he put the goose on the snow, and then started off to show him he must
follow. Now a moonlight promenade on the snow, in the morning, with the
thermometer several degrees below zero, was not at all to Crip's
liking, and he scolded most furiously in his goose dialect, but he took
good care to run after his master at the same time.

As Mrs. Hardy had said, Crippy was very fat, and when he toddled on at
full speed he could only get along about half as fast as his master, so
that Dan's journey was made up with alternately trudging over the
frozen road, and waiting for his pet to overtake him.

And soon it was necessary to make a change even in this slow way of
travelling, for before Crippy had been half an hour on the road he
began to evince the most decided aversion to walking, and it became