Number Two gave one look at George, then edged out of the crowd and bolted.
"It seems to me," said a man with black whiskers, "that it's you fellows who've done this chap to death, hunting him like a wild beast, and then trying to put the blame on to honest working men."
The crowd murmured approval at this speech, and Gray knelt down and tried to rouse Mrs. Early's husband.
"He's breathing!" he said. "Fetch some water!"
"Can't get no water here," said Black Whiskers. "Better take him down the village afore he pegs out."
"Take him down to the village," chimed in the others.
The ex-legatees, being in the minority, and not knowing what else to do, assisted in carrying George as directed. Three of the men accompanied them, the others returning to their work.
The procession moved slowly, and eventually came in sight of a red-brick house.
"That's the parson's," said one of the men. "We'll take him there; he's a bit of a doctor."
The parson received the insensible man graciously, and heard the story of the accident. George was carried into the library and laid on a sofa, and after a brief examination the parson said he believed the case was not very serious, but that the patient must remain where he was for the present.