“Foremost one hung upon the horse’s flanks;”
“Wounded;”
“Nothing but the animal’s speed saved him;”
“Wet with sweat;”
“Miraculous ’scape;”
“Jones’s boy,” &c., were the broken sentences with which the tale was told by the several informants, all speaking at once.
“Well, friends, long as there’s no damage done, I don’t see any use in being so excited. As to my guns and dogs, you can have them in welcome; but as to my company, I have promised the Judge here to drive him and his wife over to see their house. And I expect they will want me to haul the plunder over too—won’t you, Judge?”
Mark Sutherland bowed.
After a little discussion, they urged “the Judge” to join their hunt, and Rosalie privately squeezed Mark’s arm in disapproval. Mark declined; and, after a little more altercation, the visitors at length departed, with three or four of the bachelor boarders, who quaffed each a “hasty” cup of coffee and followed.
When this little disturbance was over—