BLACK AND WHITE 197 



thing. We had to go back over the spar-bridge, and another 

 horse did just the same thing. This time the body servant 

 of a young lady with a deep silver lace band hat, and the old 

 drab Zouave gaiter. However I was the right side, having 

 exerted my prerogative of ' Master, please ! ' and bidden Jim 

 sternly to the rear. Charlie was with difficulty restrained 

 from staying to see if he could not get this one in, and 

 lustily roared the same advice to Hatband. After dragging 

 on a mile or two we had a long check, the floods and our 

 ignorance of fords and bridges having played the dickens 

 with us. Just as we were settling down into the doldrums 

 of stag-hunting a baker's cart brought up tidings of great 

 joy. The baker had met the deer at some cross roads about 

 two miles away. Harvey at once subjected him to a severe 

 cross-examination as to his acquaintance with the look of 

 a deer, perhaps remembering the story of the yokel who 

 took a squirrel for the fox — * He wor but a little one, and 

 he run up a tree.' The baker stood it well, and offered to 

 go with us as a sort of hostage, declaring he would chance 

 it, which I suppose referred to the afternoon delivery. 



Harvey having satisfied himself of the baker's bona 

 fides and natural history, started off at a hard-held gallop, 

 blowing his horn. We wanted a little enlivening. The baker's 

 roan pony leading us to such purpose that his loaves kept 

 being jerked out from time to time. The baker must have 

 forgotten the cross road, for when he came to it on he went. 

 ' Hold hard ! ' we all shouted, like one man, whilst I added 

 the conventional ' You're all over the line ! ' On this he 

 pulled up so short that one wheel went into the ditch, and a 

 large wicker basket flew out. However, it was all right, and 

 that thick-shouldered Cardigan hit it off and took it down 

 the road at least two hundred yards ; none of the others 

 seemed to own it. We slotted him out of the road, and then 

 hunted up to him rather nicely over a fair country, through the 



