310 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 



On we went — tlie blood starting in my chilled frame 

 diffusing over me a glowing heat, until I wiped huge 

 drops of perspiration from my brow, and breathed in the 

 cold air as if I were smothering. The dull, stunning 

 sound that now marked our progress, was scarcely re- 

 lieved by the clattering hoofs of the horses, and the mo- 

 tion became perfectly steady, except when a piece of ice 

 would explode from under the wheels as if burst with 

 powder. 



Almost with the speed of thought we rushed on, 

 and the critical moment of our safety came. The stum- 

 bling of a horse — the breaking of a strap — a too strongly- 

 drawn breath, almost, would have, with the speed "we 

 were then making, projected us over the mountain-side 

 as if shot from a cannon, and hurled us on the frozen 

 ground and hard rocks beneath. 



The driver, with distended eyes, and with an ex- 

 pression of intellectual excitement, played his part well, 

 and fortune favored us. 



As we made the last turn in the road, the stage for 

 an instant vibrated between safety and destruction, — 

 running for several yards upon one side, it displayed two 

 wheels in the air, whirling with a swiftness that rendered 

 them almost invisible. With a severe contusion it 

 righted — the driver shouted — and we were rushing vp 

 an (Lscent. 



For a moment the stage and horses went on, and 

 it was but for a moment, for the heavy body lately 



