“Very likely: now I remember—he stopped barking all at once; he was afraid!”
“That was it: but he yelled—”
“It must have been fright,” said Mark. “Nothing touched him: Pan, what was it?”
Pan wagged his tail once, once only: he still crouched and kept close to them. Though patted and reassured, his spirit had been too much broken to recover rapidly. The spaniel was thoroughly cowed.
“It came very near,” said Bevis. “It hit the fence while he was getting through.”
“It must have missed him—perhaps it was a long jump. Did you hear anything rush off.”
“No.”
“No more did I.”
“Soft pads,” said Bevis, “they make no noise like hoofs.”
“No, that was it: and it’s sandy too.” Sand “gives” a little and deadens the sound of footsteps.