, 1883-10-06

he strobe to the door and was gone.
After tea in the half-lit coffee room
and pipe in the bar, with the bar
maid to tell me the gossip, started
at about half-past eight, called at the
saddler's, put my saddle under the
seat, and set out for home. As we
passed the blacksmith's forge at the
end Of the street, there was a pony
being shOd, and Mr.. Jack Plover, in
a bIg-great-cOat was looking on at
the process.
"Cast shoe, Mr.. Tom, and had
to turn back" he called out as 1
passed by.
Outinto the country, looking doubly
black and dismal by contrast with the
cheerful light and warmth that we
were leaving behind; with the slant
ing rain driving full in ones face, so
that it dazzled the sight with gray
piles of cloud hurrying overhead;
with a veil of mist and darkness
blending hurdle and hedge row, field
and tree, into vague, indistinct gray
mass. The road is muddy, and, albeit
the high road in bad condition; but
thelittle mare has got her head home
ward, and pulls her hardest toward
warm stable and well-stOcked rack,
and the society Of heavy DObbin and
his brethren. Not that my little
hunter is to be permitted to pull her
self to pieces through ruts and over
| ill-laid stones, for there is Saturday
in prospect, and, with the country in
this state, we shall want the very last
ounce. Now we are climbing a hill,
and, anon, we are on the top, and
the rain and the wind beat savagely
upon us, and the prospect on either
hand is dreary enough. Now steadily
down the shedding ground, with a
tight rein and careful lookout for
loose stones; for this is a deep descent,
and one false step may take twenty
pounds of the little mares value.
The banks are high, at all events, so
there is some shelter, and down at
the bottom there are trees on either
hand.
It was pitch dark in this hollow,
but let the mare out at the bottom
of the hill and gave her head. Sud-
denly, with a loud snort, she swerved
violently, ran the wheel of the trap
onto a heap of wayside stones, put
there to mend the road, and in a sec
ond we were over
went out, of course, and the dri-
ving-box, the saddle, and debris of
miscellaneous articles after me. l
landed parity on my shoulder, partly
on my head, and was up again in
moment, although bit dazed. The
moment gained my feet was seized
by the collar, and a harsh voice ex-
claimed-not to me, but to some one
else:
"IIold his head down-hold his
head down !"
A dusky form sprang to the mares
head and kept her from attempting
to rise. A third form knelt on the
trap.
"By Jove ~ exclaimed this last
fellow in an angry tone, "we've got
the wrong man |"
"What !" said he who had hold of
my collar. "Do you mean to say it
isn't the-?"
With a vOlley Of Oaths, the other
replied in the negative. The man
who had hold of me released me and
joined the other. They whispered
together for few seconds. Then the
first one came back to me and said,
with a fine pretence of Indifference
"Nasty accident, sir But it might
have been worse. It's lucky we
were at hand to help YOU"
Tdon'tknOw about that, )" Ireplied
with no small acrimony, "for my
horse SHE'D at one Of you. You'll
oblige me by helping to get her out"
In "A twinkling we had the harness
undone, and the mare, with founder
and a stagger, was on her feet, and
shook herself in a disgusted fashion.
The men said nothing, but obeyed
my directions. Luckily nothing was
broken; the mare had rubbed little
hair off her, as well as could tell,
but her knees were all right. In seven
or eight minutes from the time we
went over, so quickly did it all hap
pen, was in my seat again, ready
to start.
My assailants, or assistants, which
ever they were, made no opposition,
and seemed only anxious to get rid
of me; they dispatched me without
word, and was a mile on my road
before fully realized what had hap
pened. As is always the case in an
accident, l could only recall what
took place Immediately before and
Immediately after, and for that very
reason the words uttered by the men
were more viviGly impressed on my
memory. What did they mean?
1t flashed into my mind like a rev.
elation. They had been misled by
the shape of my trap, which, as l
have said, was square behind and
looked like a mail cart, while the
darkness was too great in their place
Of ambuscade for them to see the
color. The time of my arrival was
about that of the mail, had not Jack
Plover been obliged to turn back; and
the careful pace at which ! came down
the hill accorded very well with
Jacks nag.
And the voice! l had heard it