CHAP, IV. | Adventure with a Bull. 83 
peared ere the bull began to snort, and kick, and jump. The 
brute threw up its head, and bounded backward with such - 
force that the boy was nearly upset. Instead of holding 
the rope short, as he had been told, he let it go, though he 
still held by it at the far end. Away went the bull along 
the road, dragging the boy after him. So long as the full 
stretch of rope lay between them, Edward did not care so 
much; but when the animal rushed into a field of corn, he 
let. go altogether, and resumed his journey. 
He had not gone far before he found, on looking back, 
that he was hotly pursued by the animal. Observing his 
danger, Edward rushed into a clump of trees standing by 
the roadside, and, throwing down his bundle, he proceeded 
to climb one of them. He had only ascended a few yards 
when the brute came up. The bull snorted and smelled at 
his bundle, threw it into the ditch with his horns, bellowed 
at the boy up the tree, gave a tremendous roar, then dashed 
out of the wood, and set off at full speed down the nearest 
by-way. Edward was flurried and out of breath: he rested 
in the tree for a short time, then descended, and ran along 
the road for some miles, until he thought that he was out 
of reach of further danger. 
This was the only adventure that he met with on his 
homeward journey. He passed through Bervie without 
molestation. But instead of reaching Aberdeen that night, 
as he had intended, he rested near Stonehaven. He went 
through the town, and got into a corner of the toll-bar dike, 
where he sat or lay until day-break. He then got up, and 
commenced the last stage of his journey.. 
On reaching the neighborhood of Aberdeen, he went to 
the hole in the bank by Deeside where he had left his week- 
day clothes, and found them all right. But before going 
home he went down Deeside and turned up Scraphards io 
look at a laverock’s nest, which was still there. Then he 
went past Ferryhill House, through Dee village, and struck 
the water-side by the path now known as Affleck Street, 
