Blazer felt the chain loosen, and darted forward, jerking Tinker after
him.
"I can't hold him!" yelled Tinker.
[Illustration: "I can't hold him!"]
Alloway turned, dropped his whip, and bolted up through the village.
Blazer dashed at the gate, clawing it; Tinker got a better grip on the
chain, opened the gate, snatched up the whip as Blazer jerked him
through; and they set off down the road after Alloway. The farmer ran
better than ever, faster than he had run after Tinker, faster,
probably, than he had ever run before in his life.
Blazer, though Tinker dragged for all he was worth, made a very fair
pace after him. But by the time they were a hundred yards beyond the
village, the throttling drag began to tell; Blazer slowed down; and
Alloway, still going hard, disappeared round the corner.
Blazer and Tinker fell into a walk, and then stopped.
Sir Tancred Beauleigh, on his quiet way to the village post-office, was
surprised at being nearly knocked down by one of the most respectable
young farmers of the neighbourhood, who was running with the speed and
face of a man pursued by all the tigers of Bengal. A hundred yards
further on he heard yells and screams, and shouts of laughter; and
coming round a corner, he saw a small boy rolling in recurring
paroxysms of joy on the grass by the roadside, watched by a puzzled
bull-terrier.
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