The Argosy — page 251: what you’re looking at

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

235 Wilful Margaret. sion; so, as soon as she caught sight of the large, clumsy-looking vehicle piled up with its motley collection of articles, she planted her fore-feet firmly in the ground, and raised her head with a snort of displeasure. At the same time an ugly-looking cur ran out from beneath the gaudily coloured van and snapped at her legs. Like a flash of lightning the vicious animal lowered her head, threw back her ears, seized the bit between her teeth, and darted off with the speed of the whirlwind. Mr. Wilson started in pursuit, but his horse was no match in speed for Wild Sorrel, and there was soon a long distance between them. Madge, he could see, was sitting well, but it became painfully evident that she was not strong enough to cope with the prodigious strength of the mare now that she was on her mettle. Had the road been straight there would have been less danger ; she might even have succeeded in tiring out the creature’s violence; but the mare had left the track. She was taking a sidelong course over the common, and George’s face grew pale as he saw her heading directly for some gravel-pits, into which she would assuredly hurl herself unless her wild career could be checked in time. Cold drops of terror burst out over‘his face as he strained every nerve to urge on his horse. “Too late,” he groaned, in an agony of remorse for not having lent his voice to Colonel Massingham’s when trying to dissuade her from her purpose. Wild Sorrel was within a few yards of the pit, the opening of which was concealed from view by a slight ascent, fringed at the margin with some stunted furze bushes. He closed his eyes so that he should not see the catastrophe. In that critical moment a horseman appeared in sight on the right. He was galloping at full speed, as if to head, and thus stop, the run- away. It was Colonel Massingham; who had sought the solitude of the common in preference to the garrulous companionship of his host, and thus had been witness of Wild Sorrel’s mad flight and Margaret’s danger. Regardless of self he dashed forward, and reached the brink at the same time as Wild Sorrel. ‘The mare, hearing the sound of hoofs, had slightly slackened her tremendous pace as he neared her ; he leaned forward, and by a dexterous movement, grasped her reins close to the curb. By Madge’s orders, it unfortunately had been fastened too loosely to be of much use with an animal of Wild Sorrel’s calibre. The movement stopped the mare so suddenly that she was almost thrown back on her haunches. In a moment Margaret had slipped from saddle, and then there was a scream of terror. A falling of gravel was heard, and her preserver and his steed disappeared from view as the edge of the pit gave way under the weight and pressure brought to bear upon it by the struggling horses. Wild Sorrel trotted off quietly and began browsing at the turf as if in her own paddock. George, startled by Margaret’s scream, hurried to the scene. With scared face of an ashen pallor, she was clambering and _ slipping COPMIECMOOKS EOLKn