Weaker than a Woman — page 237: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

928 WEAKER THAN A WOMAN. He took one step forward, and at once saw the cause of the commotion. A crowd of men stood round a litter, and on the litter lay Sir Owen. Felix pushed them aside. “Is he dead ?” he asked, and the answer was, *“ No.” “Thank Heaven for that!” he cried. Then he uttered a little cry of dismay, for Lady Chevenix stood by his side. ‘What has happened?” she said. “Tell me the worst.” — “Sir Owen has been thrown from his horse; and Martin says the horse fell on him,” cried a dozen voices. And then, his eves dim with tears, his whole frame trembling with excitement, Martin forced his way through the group, and stood before Lady Chevenix and Felix. ‘My lady,” he said, ‘I wish I had been dead before this day came around. You sent me to take care of him, and he is brought home so.” “Tell Lady Chevenix how it happened,”’ directed Felix, hastily. © “Sir Owen rode nearly all the time, my lady, and I rode by his side: We went all round Lilford, Harberly, and Ripdale. He stopped at Ripdale, and took some refresh- ment. Then he came home by the woods, and the horse was all right until Sir Owen came to the ring fence. The church clock at Lilford had chimed half-past seven. He turned to me and said, ‘Martin, I shall take that fence in fine style.’ I begged him not; I prayed him not. I told him the fence was too high for any horse, even the best in- the kingdom, to take. But he would not listen—you know, my lady, he never would listen. He put the horse at the fence, and it refused. He whipped it and spurred it until my blood ran cold, and then he put it at the fence again. . But Plantagenet would not take it. A third time he used the whip and spur, until the horse went almost mad. A. third time he went at the fence. The horse tried his best, but his fore-feet caught the top, and he fell over, master being underneath him, my lady. When I went to raise him, I was afraid he had been crushed into a shapeless mass, but he was not, nor was he killed, for I felt his heart beating. I had a flask of brandy in my pocket, and I — put it to his lips—he could not swallow it. I had to leave him there while I galloped off to the nearest cottage and gave the alarm. Then we made a litter, and brought him home.”’ Felix turned to him. ‘How long will it take you,” he said, “to ride to Lilford, and bring back two doctors ?”’ “T can do it in two hours and a half,” replied Martin, comicbooks.col