THK SEQUEL 443 



said he had heard a sort of crackhng followed by the fall of 

 something- heavy, but as he knew that one of his neighbours 

 was going to have in a sack of coals he thought they had just 

 been shot down. 



As soon as I made out where I was I begged two of the 

 cottagers to walk with me to Stondon Place, where Philip 

 Meyer very kindly allowed me to decline all his offers ot 

 hospitality and ordered out his dogcart and sent me home. 

 Fortunately I arrived before any ill tidings, for I much feared 

 " Exmoor " might have galloped home and spread great alarm. 

 On reachino- home, while my trood wife sent for the doctor. 

 I sent all my people in quest of " Exmoor. She was tound 

 tolerably comfortably stabled at Kelvedon Common, having 

 been found in company with a stray horse at the hay rick of 

 a man who saw by her appearance that there had been an 

 accident. She was cut badly and deeply on the off hind-leg in 

 front of the fetlock joint and in a position where every motion of 

 the foot opened the wound. It was pretty evident that she had 

 shied at a light from one of the cottage windows coming across 

 the wet roacl, and, in the effort to stop, this joint had given way 

 and come in contact with the gravel road, causing her to fall 

 or drop down behind, and this sudden check at the tremendous 

 pace she was going at had cut and bruised the fetlock joint 

 so badly and precipitated her rider on to his head. 



At Mr. Earle's advice I took tea, went to bed and kept 

 quiet a day or two. I hunted with the staghounds the follow- 

 ing Saturday, when I was fortunately instrumental in saving a 

 good fellow and bold rider, David Christy, from an accident 

 which might have ended worse than mine, for at a brook his 

 mare fell, and jumping up was making off, dragging her rider 

 with his head hanging against her heels, when I stopped her. 



Some of my friends said, "Well, now, of course you will 

 give up hunting ! '' I asked, what had hunting to do with my 

 accident ? It was a road accident, and might have equally 

 happened riding to and from the railway station. Indeed, more 

 likely so, for one's horse is then fresh and tidgety, while after 

 a hard day's hunting and with a tired horse (for "Exmoor" 

 was tired, too tired, I should have thought, to run away from 

 any cause, but blood will tell), one could not have anticipated 

 such a misadventure. My reply was, " I will increase my life 

 assurance by ^10,000, and continue to hunt so long as the 

 Fates permit," and I more than kept my word. 



Frederick Petre had become very unwell during the season, 

 and towards its close (in ?^ I arch), while I was away trom home. 



