e
'Lightning' 'bus! No more?--then we are off. Link arms, ladies and
gentlemen;" and the unwieldy apparatus was started. The couplings divided
half-way down. About seven reached the bottom, the remaining five were
upset, and were left there. Cecil was in the latter division, and having
extricated herself from the _debris_, slowly ascended the hill.

She was rather tired now, and slightly bored; and began wondering what
had become of her escort. He had not been in the coach, nor was he among
the noisy, chattering party approaching her.

"Has anyone seen Captain Du Meresq?" asked she.

"Ten minutes ago he was death on the big jump," said Jack. "He took
Delamere to start him; and I think Miss Tremaine went too."

A shade passed over Cecil's face. "Would you ask him, Mr. Vavasour, to
get the sleigh? It is quite time we were going."

Another quarter of an hour passed, but no signs of Jack or Bertie.
Cecil kept up a desultory conversation with Mrs. Anderson; but a vague
impatience and restlessness came over her. She looked in the direction of
the big jump, and it seemed to her a point of attraction that gathered up
the stragglers, who all converged towards it. There was quite a crowd
there now. Mrs. Anderson's platitudes became maddening. Then she observed
Lilla coming from the same direction, and beckoning. She sprang to meet
her.

"Cecil," cried Lilla, "don't be frightened." Why do people always use
this agitating formula? "But the fact is poor Bertie has had an awful
cropper. Good gracious, Cecil! don't look like that! Are you going to
faint! He is not so very much hurt,--stunned a bit at first."

"How was it?" said the other, breathing again, and pressing forward.

"He was going down the drop. Captain Delamere was to push him off,
which he did with a vengeance. He didn't mean any harm, though he don't
like a bone in poor Bertie's body. However, the toboggin snapped in two
from the concussion in landing. Bertie was shot out and rolled to the
bottom, which would not have mattered, only he struck his head against
some snag or stone hidden by the snow. We looked down, but he didn't seem
to move, and we got frightened. I had had nearly enough jumping, but I
took Captain Delamere on my toboggin--didn't trust him to steer, I can
tell you, my dear--and bumped down quite safe. Bertie was insensible,
with a queer cut on his forehead; so I extracted the solitaire out of
his shirt-collar, and Captain Delamere gave him a nip o