house-leek which
grew on the tiles, and then he had poked at him with a stick till the
creature got furious and began to beat about him, and at length to set
up a terrible bellowing.

Tom knew well that he should get into trouble if it was found out that
he had been provoking the creature; so down he slipped, and was off in
another direction in a few minutes.

The labourers were all in the field, and Henry and his companions were
in the barn, so that no one heard distinctly the bellowing of the bull
but the girl in the dairy, and she had been too long accustomed to the
noises of a farm to give it a second thought. The animal, however, was
so furious that he broke his fastenings, snapping the ropes, and coming
out of the stall, and even trying to force the door of the shed; but
in this he failed, as there was a wooden bar across it on the outside.
After a little while he ceased to bellow, so no one was aware of the
mischief which had been done, and no one suspected that the bull was
loose.

James walked first to the door of the cattle shed, William came next,
and afterwards Henry.

James did not find it easy to move the bar, so he called William to
help him. The reason why it was hard to move was, that the head of the
bull was against the door, and he was pressing it on the bar; the
moment the bar was removed, the bull's head forced open the door, and
there stood the sullen frowning creature in the very face of poor
Henry, with nothing between them but a few yards of the court. The
other two boys were, by the sudden opening of the door, forced behind
it, so that the bull only saw Henry; but Henry did not stay to look at
his fiery eyes, or to observe the temper in which he lowered his
terrible head to the ground and came forward.

"Run, run for your life!" cried William and James, from behind the
door; and Henry did run, and the bull after him, bellowing and tearing
up the ground before him; and he came on fast, but Henry had got the
start of a few yards, and that start saved his life. Still he ran, the
bull following after. Henry had not waited to consider which way he
ran. He had taken his way in the direction of a lane which ran out of
the yard; the gate was open--he flew through--the terrible beast was
after him--he could hear his steps and his deep snortings and puffings;
in another minute he would have reached Henry, and would probably have
gored him to death, when all at once every dog about the farm, first