The professor had just made up his mind that he stood very little chance
of seeing Abbie or his daughters again, when he felt the onward rush
suddenly modified. There were a pawing and snorting, an irregular jerk
or two, and then a dead stop. The old gentleman picked himself up and
descended to the ground uninjured beyond a few slight bruises.
Cornelia and Bressant had been pacing the latter part of their way
slowly, there being a disinclination on both their parts to come to the
end of it. But they had passed the bend, and were within a few rods of
the Parsonage, before Cornelia pressed her companion's arm, paused,
listened, and said: "I think I hear him coming: yes! that's Dolly--but how fast she's
going!"
As they stood, arm-in-arm, Bressant was between Cornelia and the
approaching vehicle: but, when it swung around the corner, she stepped
forward, thus bringing her white dress suddenly into view. At the same
moment the velocity of the wagon was much increased, and, as it came
upon them, both saw the figure on the seat, easily recognizable as the
professor, fall over backward. Bressant, who had been busy freeing the
guard of his watch, handed it to Cornelia, at the same time pressing her
back to one side. He then stepped forward in silence, half facing up the
road.
Cornelia remained motionless, her hands drawn up beneath her chin: and
while she drew a single trembling breath, and the busy watch ticked away
five seconds, the whole act passed before her eyes. She saw Bressant
standing, lightly erect, near the centre of the road, could discern his
darkly-clad, well-knit figure, seemingly gigantic in the gloom: his head
turned toward the on-rushing mare, one foot a little advanced, his arms
partly raised, and bent: remarked what a marvelous mingling of grace and
power was in his form and bearing: as the watch ticked again, she saw
him spring forward and upward, grasping and dragging down both reins in
his hands: another tick--he was dashed against Dolly's shoulder, and his
body swung around along the shaft, but without loosening his hold upon
the reins: tick, tick, tick, the mare's headway was slackened; the
dragging at the bit of that great weight was more than she could carry;
tick, tick, tick, she staggered on a few paces, trailing Bressant along
the road; tick, tick, she came to a panting, trembling stand-still;
Bressant let go the reins, but, instead of rising to his feet, he
dropped loosely to the earth and lay there; tick--the five seconds were
up, and Cornelia drew her second breath.
By the time the professor had scrambled out of the wagon and got around
to the scene of action, he found the mysterious white figure--his own
daughter--kneeling in the road beside a prostrate something he knew must
be Bressant.