Page:Leah Reed--Brenda's summer at Rockley.djvu/202

186 “Be careful, be careful,” cried Nora, whose speed had increased hut little. “There’s a slope ahead!”

But it was too late for Brenda to do anything. To apply her brake just then, would have meant to overturn  herself, probably. The coast ahead seemed clear, and as she had a pretty cool head in an emergency, she felt  that she could get to the bottom safely. But, unluckily, at the bottom of the road was a stone wall on which  she had not reckoned, and she found herself suddenly  going so fast that she saw that she could not avoid  it in time to turn into the narrow foot-path, as she  had intended. Nora gave a scream, for she had now jumped off her own wheel, and Brenda, seeing certain  disaster for herself at the bottom of the hill applied her  brake. It did not work, and she felt that the only way to prevent her being dashed against the stone wall, was  to jump, and at the rate she was going that might mean  something pretty serious for her. Suddenly a figure seemed to rise from the side of the road, and in some  mysterious way, the man—for it was a man—stopped  the bicycle, caught Brenda as she fell from it, all within  a few feet of the stone wall.

The descent of the hill, the stopping of the wheel, had all taken much less time than has been occupied in telling  it, but the minutes, or minute, whichever it was, had worn  greatly on Brenda’s nerves, and she found herself on the  point of crying.

“There would have been a bad smash,” said the man, “if you’d gone to the bottom.”