94 



His Own Petard 



horse would be on him m a moment, he feared, so 

 furiously did it plunge in its terror, and for himself, 

 when he pulled one arm out the other sank in deeper, 

 and precisely the same thing happened to his legs. His 

 nose and mouth were full of the mess in which he was 

 struggling. Would he ever get out of it ? Before 

 despair could set in, a rustic with surely the broadest 



They all disappeared from his view with amazing suddenness ' 



grin that ever was found on a human face was to be seen 

 gazing at the hapless master. The lout looked as if he 

 had not come across many jokes during his career, but 

 this one would evidently last him for a lifetime. Perkin- 

 son would gladly have revived the terrors of the Inquisi- 

 tion, and launched them at the head of the yokel. 



' What the devil are you grinning for ? ' he angrily 

 demanded ; but the question merely set the countryman 



