Maureen clasped her hands in distraction. She knew this boreen. It was one of the most dangerous in the neighbourhood, and led straight to the great bog of Anniskail. Suddenly she saw two men coming to meet her; one was Colonel Herbert, who was always a special friend of hers, and the other was poor Jacobs, who looked absolutely wild with distraction and fear.
"Where have you dropped from, baby?" said the pleasant voice of the Colonel.
"Oh--oh, Colonel Herbert," gasped Maureen, "I know a little bit about horses, being trained when I was in India, and--and I'm so _terrified_ about Auntie!--And what are you doing here, Jacobs?" The child's voice got quite angry. "Why ever are you not with your mistress?"
"It warn't my fault, missie; it warn't, indade!"
"Oh, don't say whose fault it was. What has happened?"
"She laid the sthroke of the whip acrost me first and thin acrost The O'Shee, and was it to be wondered at that the baste wouldn't sthand the whip, niver having tasted it in all his life! He jest shivered from head to foot, and afore I could git up ahint on the dogcart, he was off and away like a streak o' greased lightning. She druv him herself and whipped him all the time. I went up to tell the Colonel and----"
"Don't--don't say any more," said Maureen.--"Colonel, will you help me?"
"There is Anniskail at the other end of this road," said the child. "Oh, oh, how am I to bear it!"
"There's my dogcart coming down the avenue, dear. Jump up beside me, and we'll go straight for the bog. I have ropes and things handy, and we may pull her out if we don't delay a second."
Maureen, like a little sprite of the air, was soon seated beside the Colonel on the dogcart. How fast they went--how fast! How close they got to disaster, to tragedy unspeakable! The Colonel guessed the worst; he did not attempt to speak. The child shivered but kept her self-control.
Jacobs and the Colonel's own groom were seated at the back of the dogcart. Colonel Herbert's powerful horse covered the ground with right good-will. Almost the whole of the lane was more or less boggy, and great splashes of soft mud flew up as the dogcart got over the ground.
Suddenly the Colonel pulled up his horse, threw the reins to his groom, and motioned to Jacobs to follow him.