Page:Marriott Watson--Galloping Dick.djvu/171

 had calculated, the coachman, seeing how we still rode on abreast for him, suddenly, and upon instinct, pulled his leaders across the roadway out upon the green marsh. The swiftness of this strategy, when they were in full speed, threw the whole team into confusion, and they pranced and came back upon their haunches, backing the coach with a bump into a puddle of water. But the movement came a second too late for Creech, who, sweeping along on my left, swerved out of line and ran his mare full face upon the struggling prads. The shock sent ’em all to the ground, and Creech in the thick of the mellay. But I had no time to spend upon him then, for at that moment I put a shot in the coachman, lest he should do further mischief, and the next second the fusillade began.

The first thing I was aware of was a bullet through the cuff on my wrist, but by this Zacchary and I had been carried to the rear of the coach, and were using our barkers pretty freely. Zacchary knocked over a tall fellow that was leaning over the top with a blunder-