A DILEMMA did not know; "It were certainly bad luck that we should have been right in the middle of the road when she gave out, but you see we never expected anything of the kind." It was an unfortunate position of affairs; if we decided to attempt to drive by, and our horses shied or swerved ever so little in the attempt, a serious accident was almost a certainty; so, after considering the matter well, a happy, if troublesome, way out of the difficulty occurred to us: this was to unharness both horses and lead them past the obstructing engine, then to wheel the dog-cart after as best we could. Just as we had decided to do this, the monster gave another spasmodic snort or two and began to move in a jerky fashion, only to break down again, then the men set to work once more a-hammering. How long would this go on? we wondered. However, the few yards that the engine had managed to move was to one side, which gave us a little more room to pass, whereupon, acting under a sudden impulse, we whipped the horses up, and taking tight hold of the reins dashed safely by, but it was "a touch and go" affair; our horses did swerve a trifle, and we just missed bringing our tour to a conclusion on the spot, but "all's well that ends well," and "a miss is as good as a mile!"
After this little episode we had a peaceful progress on to Spalding undisturbed by further adventure. The approach to this essentially old-world-looking town from the Crowland direction alongside the river Welland—which is here embanked and made to run straight, canal fashion, and has shady
