Hampton who had passed them was the first over the fence, and the
other three all took it abreast. The Major was to the right, the
lord to the left and the girl between them. The mare's head was
perhaps the first. She rushed at the fence, made no leap at all,
and of course went headlong into the ditch. The Major still stuck
to her though two or three voices implored him to get off. He
afterwards declared that he had not strength to lift himself out of
the saddle. The mare lay for a moment;--then blundered out, rolled
over him, jumped on to her feet, and lunging out kicked her rider
on the head as he was rising. Then she went away and afterwards
jumped the palings into Rufford Park. That evening she was shot.
The man when kicked had fallen back close under the feet of Miss
Trefoil's horse. She screamed and half-fainting, fell also;--but
fell without hurting herself. Lord Rufford of course stopped, as
did also Mr. Hampton and one of the whips, with several others in
the course of a minute or two. The Major was senseless,--but they
who understood what they were looking at were afraid that the case
was very bad. He was picked up and put on a door and within half an
hour was on his bed in Rufford Hall. But he did not speak for some
hours and before six o'clock that evening the doctor from Rufford
had declared that he had mounted his last horse and ridden his last
hunt!
"Oh Lord Rufford," said Arabella, "I shall never recover that.
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