The Trotter, i6i 



time completely changed. The wind had risen and was blowing in 

 violent gusts 5 heavy masses of scud and cloud drifted across the 

 stormy sky, while 



*• The moon, as if in malicious mirth. 

 Kept peeping down on the ruffled earth. 

 As if she enjoyed the tempest's birth. 

 In revenge for her old eclipses." 



The horse was very fidgety at starting. It is probable that he did 

 not like to face the storm, which was then raging at its full height j 

 and it was some little time before Sam could get him settled down 

 to a steady trot. Even then he would not go pleasantly, but kept 

 breaking, fidgeting all over the road, shying at every stone heap^ 

 till at length Sam lost his temper. 



" Confound the horse, I never knew him like this before." And 

 he drew the whip sharply across him, with '^ Now steady, will you ?" 



This was all that was wanted to fire the train. As soon as the 

 horse felt the lash, he gave one sudden plunge as if he would have 

 snapped the traces and went off at tlie rate of twenty miles an hour. 

 All Sam's strength of arm was of no avail now, and all he could do. 

 was to try and keep the horse in the middle of the road 5 but his 

 coolness and presence of mind never left him. 



" Sit still, and for God's sake don't scream : leave the horse 

 to me," was all he said to his wife, as she laid her hand, as 

 it were imploringly, on his arm. 



Luckily the road was straight and good, and there was little fear 

 of meeting anything on it at this time of night 3 but there were 

 rocks ahead which Sam never saw till he was close into the 

 breakers. For the first mile and a half the road was straight,, 

 and ran apparently right down to a backv^jter, which carried the 

 stream from a neighbouring mill into the main river 3 but when it 

 reached the water, the road suddenly branched off at right angles, 

 followed the side of the stream for about one hundred yards up to 

 the mill, and then turned sharp again to the left, over a bridge, and 

 * so straight on. As far as the road ran parallel with this mill- 

 stream, the sides were built up with flat coping stones, which faced 



M 



