When ye found me , I 'd jist stopped here to borry a light for me pipe . Up wid ye , b ` y , and not be wastin ' me time stramashin ' after a spalpeen that I 'd like to lay me whip over , '' said Pat , gruffly , as Ben came along , having left the barrow in the shed . `` Do n't you wish you could ? You need n't wait for me ; I 'll come when I 'm ready , '' answered Ben dodging round the chaise , bound not to mind Pat , if he spent the night by the road-side in consequence . `` Bedad , and I wo n't then . It 's lively ye are ; but four legs is better than two , as ye 'll find this night , me young man . '' With that he whipped up and was off before Bab could say a word to persuade Ben to humble himself for the sake of a ride . She lamented and Pat chuckled , both forgetting what an agile monkey the boy was , and as neither looked back , they were unaware Master Ben was hanging on behind among the straps and springs , making derisive grimaces at his unconscious foe through the little glass in the leathern back . At the lodge gate Ben jumped down to run before with whoops of naughty satisfaction , which brought the anxious waiters to the door in a flock ; so Pat could only shake his fist at the exulting little rascal as he drove away , leaving the wanderers to be welcomed as warmly as if they were a pair of model children . Mrs. Moss had not been very much troubled after all ; for Cy had told her that Bab went after Ben , and Billy had lately reported her safe arrival among them , so , mother-like , she fed , dried , and warmed the runaways , before she scolded them . Even then , the lecture was a mild one , for when they tried to tell the adventures which to them seemed so exciting , not to say tragical , the effect astonished them immensely , as their audience went into gales of laughter , especially at the wheelbarrow episode , which Bab insisted on telling , with grateful minuteness , to Ben 's confusion . Thorny shouted , and even tender-hearted Betty forgot her tears over the lost dog to join in the familiar melody when Bab mimicked Pat 's quotation from Mother Goose . `` We must not laugh any more , or these naughty children will think they have done something very clever in running away , '' said Miss Celia , when the fun subsided , adding , soberly , `` I am displeased , but I will say nothing , for I think Ben is already punished enough . '' `` Guess I am , '' muttered Ben , with a choke in his voice as he glanced toward the empty mat where a dear curly bunch used to be with a bright eye twinkling out of the middle of it . CHAPTER XV BEN 'S RIDE Great was the mourning for Sancho , because his talents and virtues made him universally admired and beloved . Miss Celia advertised , Thorny offered rewards , and even surly Pat kept a sharp look-out for poodle dogs when he went to market ; but no Sancho or any trace of him appeared . Ben was inconsolable , and sternly said it served Bab right when the dogwood poison affected both face and hands . Poor Bab thought so , too , and dared ask no sympathy from him , though Thorny eagerly prescribed plantain leaves , and Betty kept her supplied with an endless succession of them steeped in cream and pitying tears . This treatment was so successful that the patient soon took her place in society as well as ever , but for Ben 's affliction there was no cure , and the boy really suffered in his spirits . `` I do n't think it 's fair that I should have so much trouble , -- first losing father and then Sanch .
If it was n't for Lita and Miss XXXXX , I do n't believe I could stand it , '' he said , one day , in a fit of despair , about a week after the sad event .
Bedad Ben Celia Pat gales look-out night right road-side whoops