But Lord
William slackened not in the pursuit; and the deer flew straight as an
arrow to its mark,--the very point where the crag jutted out over the
gulf below. The huntsmen drew back in terror; the dogs were still in
chase, though at some distance behind;--Lord William only and the
strange hound were close upon her track. Beyond the crag nothing was
visible but cloud and sky, showing the fearful height and abruptness of
the descent. One moment, and the gulf must be shot:--his brain felt
dizzy, but his heart was resolute.
"Mause, my wench," said he, "my neck or thine!--Hie thee; if she's over,
we are lost!"
Lord William's steed followed in the hound's footsteps to a hair. The
deer was almost within her last spring, when the hound, with a loud
yell, doubled her, scarcely a yard's breadth from the long bare neb of
that fearful peak, and she turned with inconceivable speed so near the
verge that Lord William, in wheeling round, heard a fragment of rock,
loosened by the stroke from his horse's hoof, roll down the precipice
with a frightful crash. The sudden whirl had nearly brought him to the
ground, but he recovered his position with great adroitness.
Pages:
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624