ide's house,
which was a mile or two up the river out of the town. Just as they were
startin', Tim's horse gave a plunge that well-nigh pitched him over its
head, an' Tim came down on him with a cut o' his heavy whip that sounded
like a pistol-shot. The beast was so mad at this that it gave a kind o'
squeal an' another plunge that burst the girth, Tim brought the whip
down on its flank again, which made it shoot forward like an arrow out
of a bow, leavin' poor Tim on the ground. So slick did it fly away that
it didn't even throw him on his back, but let him fall sittin'-wise,
saddle and all, plump on the spot where he sprang from. Tim scratched
his head an' grinned like a half-worried rattlesnake as his comrades
almost rolled off their saddles with laughin'. But it was no laughin'
job, for poor Tim's leg was doubled under him an' broken across at the
thigh. It was long before he was able to go about again, and when he
did recover he found that Louise and the young clerk were spliced an'
away to Kentucky."

"So you see what are the probable consequences, Kate, if you use your
whip so obstreperously again," cried Charley, pressing his horse into a
canter.

Just at that moment a rabbit sprang from under a bush and darted away
before them. In an instant Harry Somerville gave a wild shout, and set
off in pursuit. Whether it was the cry or the sudden flight of Harry's
horse we cannot tell, but the next instant Kate's charger performed an
indescribable flourish with its hind legs, laid back its ears, took the
bit between its teeth, and ran away. Jacques was on its heels
instantly, and a few seconds afterwards Charley and Harry joined in the
pursuit, but their utmost efforts failed to do more than enable them to
keep their ground. Kate's horse was making for a dense thicket, into
which it became evident they must certainly plunge. Harry and her
brother trembled when they looked at it and realised her danger; even
Jacques's face showed some symptoms of perturbation for a moment as he
glanced before him in indecision. The expression vanished, however, in
a few seconds, and his cheerful, self-possessed look returned, as he
cried out--

"Pull the left rein hard, Miss Kate; try to edge up the slope."

Kate heard the advice, and exerting all her strength succeeded in
turning her horse a little to the left, which caused him to ascend a
gentle slope, at the top of which part of the thicket lay. She was
closely followe