Pride and Percabeth

Chapter Twenty-One

Harley was called upon to help the Underwoods drive their pigs into the nearby wood so they could fatten up on acorns prior to being slaughtered. The boy ran after the pigs with a stick to keep them from running off. Juniper kept them in line by flapping her skirts. The two of them also stopped to gather mushrooms along the way. Grover shot whatever rabbits he came across and brazenly walked back into town with them slung over his shoulder. His crooked smirk challenged anyone to charge him with poaching.
One afternoon, when Harley returned to the forge from gathering warden pears in Widow Pomona's orchard, he pounded on the door to get Leo's attention.

"Hey, boy," Leo said, pounding a crowbar into shape on his anvil. "What's the matter?"
"A wagon broke down on the main road," Harley replied. "One of the wheels lost its hub and bearings. I said I was apprentice to the local blacksmith and they sent me to fetch you."
"Let me get what I need and you can show me where it is."
Leo dropped the crowbar into a bucket of cold water and put down his hammer.
"How big is the carriage?"
"Big!"
He shook his head and put several different sizes of carriage wheel hub and bearings, and a wrench into a basket.

The carriage was a large, elegant, black Berlin coupé. A large bird cage was strapped to its back and two footmen were holding the loose wheel in place.