But Peregrine heard the sound of the horses and the voices of the horsemen. 'By Jove, there's a lot of them coming down here,' said he. 'It's the judge and two of the girls. Oh, Miss Staveley, I'm so glad you've come. Graham has had a bad fall and hurt himself. You haven't a shawl, have you? the ground is so wet under him.'
'It doesn't signify at all,' said Felix, looking round and seeing the faces of his friends on the other side of the bank.
Madeline Staveley gave a slight shriek which her father did not notice, but which Miss Furnival heard very plainly. 'Oh papa,' she said, 'cannot you get over to him?' And then she began to bethink herself whether it were possible that she should give up something of her dress to protect the man who was hurt from the damp muddy ground on which he lay.
'Can you hold my horse, dear,' said the judge, slowly dismounting; for the judge, though he rode every day on sanitary considerations, had not a sportsman's celerity in leaving and recovering his saddle. But he did get down, and burdened as he was with a greatcoat, he did succeed in crossing that accursed fence. Accursed it was from henceforward in the annals of the H. H., and none would ride it but dare-devils who professed themselves willing to go at anything. Miss Tristram, however, always declared that there was nothing in it—though she avoided it herself, whispering to her friends that she had led others to grief there, and might possibly do so again if she persevered.
'Could you hold the horse?' said Madeline to Miss Furnival; 'and I will go for a shawl to the carriage.' Miss Furnival declared that to the best of her belief she could not, but nevertheless the animal was left with her, and Madeline turned round and galloped back towards the carriage. She made her horse do his best though her eyes were nearly blinded with tears, and went straight on for the carriage, though she would have given much for a moment to hide those tears before she reached it.
'Oh, mamma! give me a thick shawl; Mr. Graham has hurt himself in the field, and is lying on the grass.' And then in some incoherent and quick manner she had to explain what she knew of the accident before she could get a carriage-cloak out of the carriage. This, however, she did succeed in doing, and in some manner, very unintelligible to herself afterwards, she did gallop back with her burden. She passed the cloak over to Peregrine, who clambered up the bank to get it, while the judge remained on the ground, supporting the young barrister. Felix Graham, though he was weak, was not stunned or senseless, and he knew well who it was that had procured for him that comfort.
And then the carriage followed Madeline, and there was quite a concourse of servants and horses and ladies on the inside of the
