CHAPTER V. 



MARMION AT A DISCOUNT. 



"■ Hold up, 'oss," cried Will again, as his nearly ' done ' 

 horse blundered badly, on landing over the place which had 

 proved fatal to our friend Binkie, " Hullo," he exclaimed, 

 as he caught sight of the chestnut, well into the middle of the 

 dyke, whilst his owner was frantically trying to swarm up the 

 far side in parlous plight. "Ben," he shouted back to his 

 second Whip, who was coming up close behind him: "Better 

 stop and help Mr, Johnny Gilpin out o' this, or I'm blessed if 

 there won't be a crowner's 'quest wanted here : p'raps the 

 gentleman can't swim ! " and on he went, with some difficulty 

 shaking his horse into a canter again. 



Ben disgustedly prepared to obey. Left to himself, the 

 young Wliipper-in, keen as mustard, would have let Mr. 

 Binkie be drowned or be d — d with equal indifference, so that 

 he himself was on with hounds. But he could not disobey 

 orders, so leaving his smoking steed, standing with shaking 

 tail and down-drooped head, to take care of itself, he walked 

 down to the ditch-side in order to commence salvage opera- 

 tions on the Binkie person and property. 



Meantime, the field had become somewhat select, and all 

 really left in the run with a chance to see anything of the 

 finish, were Tom Tribe, Jack Dashwood, who had bucketed 



H.H. E 



