20 THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER. 



Bucephalus of the hills ; nor, indeed, was it safe to 

 attack him in the ordinary way. Many of ihe three 

 year olds had been known to break the legs of their 

 pursuers, and some had been dismounted and trampled 

 to death. 



" Garonwy was determined to give the noble fellow 

 a chase over the hills, and so overcome him by fatigue 

 before the lasso was flung. The dogs were unslipped, 

 and off they went swift as the winds, Garonwy follow- 

 ing, and the two assistants posted in a neighboring 

 eminence. Vain was the effort to tire the merlin. 

 Hugo, naturally impatient, and without waiting to 

 ascertain that the coils were all clear, flung the lasso 

 over the head of the wild horse. The extremity of 

 the cord was twisted round his own body, and tighten- 

 ing as the animal struggled, the compression became 

 insupportable, and at length, in spite of every effort 

 to disengage himself, Garonwy was dragged from his 

 horse. 



"The affrighted merlin, finding himself manacled 

 by the rope, darted off with all the speed of which he 

 was capable, dragging poor Garonwy over the rocky 

 ground and stunted brushwood. This occurred at 

 some distance from the men. They called in their 

 dogs that the speed of the merlin might not be in- 

 creased; but ere they could arrive at the spot at 

 which the accident happened, the horse and the man 

 had vanished. Whether the sufferings of the hunter 



