And then, as the wheels turned and we were going out of the gate, there
was a hoarse "Hooroar!" from the men, and a shrill "Hurray!" from
the women; and then--whack!
A great stone had hit the panel at the back of the cart, and I knew
without telling that it was Shock who had thrown that stone.
Then we were fairly off, with Brother Solomon sitting straight up in the
cart beside me, and the horse throwing out his legs in a great swinging
trot that soon carried us past the walls of Old Brownsmith's garden, and
past the hedges into the main road, on a glorious evening that had
succeeded the storm of the previous night; but, fast as the horse went,
Brother Solomon did not seem satisfied, for he kept on screwing up his
lips and making a noise, like a young thrush just out of the nest, to
hurry the horse on, but it had not the slightest effect, for the animal
had its own pace--a very quick one, and kept to it.
I never remember the lane to have looked so beautiful before. The great
elm-trees in the hedgerow seemed gilded by the sinking sun, and the
fields were of a glorious green, while a flock of rooks, startled by the
horse's hoofs, flew off with a loud cawing noise, and I could see the
purply black feathers on their backs glisten as they caught the light.
The wheels spun round and seemed to form a kind of tune that had
something to do with my going away, while as the horse trotted on and
on, uttering a snort at times as if glad to be homeward bound, my heart
seemed to sink lower and lower, and I looked in vain for a sympathetic
glance or a word of encouragement and comfort from the silent stolid man
at my side.
"But some of them were sorry I was going!" I thought with a flash of
joy, which went away at once as I recalled the behaviour of Ike and
Shock, towards whom I felt something like resentment, till I thought
again that I was for the second time going away from home, and this time
among people who were all as strange as strange could be.
At any other time it would have been a pleasant evening drive, but
certainly one wanted a different driver, for whether it was our crops at
Old Brownsmith's, or the idea that he had undertaken a great
responsibility in taking charge of me, or whether at any moment he
anticipated meeting with an accident, I don't know. All I do know is
that Mr Solomon did not speak to me once, but sat rolling the
flower-stalk in his mouth, and staring right before him, aiming straight
at some place or another that was going to be my prison, and all the
while the sturdy horse trotted fast, the wheels spun round, and there
was a disposition on the part of my box to hop and slide about on the
great knot in the centre made by the cord.