BBOOMSTICK BROUGHT TO BAY. 125 



remainder of the flock, and with the velocity of falcons they 

 rushed past Broomstick ; up went his tail and down went 

 his head ; half-a-dozen violent struggles, and the hobbling 

 broke. For a moment he stood, then threw his mane reck- 

 lessly about, turned round and gave his dead load a sniff, and 

 breaking into a succession of buck-jumps, finishing with a 

 shower of kicks, divested himself of his burden, and in 

 spite of all I could shout, with the most perfect disregard 

 for consequences, started for home at a pace so unusual 

 and corky, that I vowed if ever I had leg over him again 

 he should give me a specimen of the same gait for my 

 gratification. 



I do not think I ever felt more savage in my life. Two 

 or three times I hesitated whether I would try the effect of 

 a leaden messenger after him. If so long a journey to 

 civilisation had not been before me, I believe I should, 

 but finally concluded that cutting off your nose to spite 

 your face was at the best an unsatisfactory performance. 

 After spending half-an hour in dragging the game together, 

 and possibly as much longer in ruminating over the awk- 

 wardness of my position, and the mutability of human and 

 horse affairs, debating the pros and cons whether to return 

 to camp or remain where I was, to my intense satisfaction 

 I saw one of my comrades coming towards me with the 

 now-submissive Broomstick captive, and looking as if any 

 pace faster than that of a funeral procession was entirely 

 beyond his powers of exertion. My friend had spied the 

 truant making straight for camp. After an exciting chase, 

 he had succeeded in capturing him, when, by taking the 

 direction from which he ~vas seen to come, he happily 



