Yet partly my love of all animals, and partly my fear of the farmer's disgrace, compelled me to go to the succour, and the noise was coming nearer.

A dry short wheezing sound it was, barred with coughs and want of breath; but thus I made the meaning of it.
'Lord have mercy upon me! O Lord, upon my soul have mercy! An if I cheated Sam Hicks last week, Lord knowest how well he deserved it, and lied in every stocking's mouth--oh Lord, where be I a-going ?' These words, with many jogs between them, came to me through the darkness, and then a long groan and a choking.

I made towards the sound, as nigh as ever I could guess, and presently was met, point-blank, by the head of a mountain-pony.

Upon its back lay a man bound down, with his feet on the neck and his head to the tail, and his arms falling down like stirrups.

The wild little nag was scared of its life by the unaccustomed burden, and had been tossing and rolling hard, in desire to get ease of it.
Before the little horse could turn, I caught him, jaded as he was, by his wet and grizzled forelock, and he saw that it was vain to struggle, but strove to bite me none the less, until I smote him upon the nose.
'Good and worthy sir,' I said to the man who was riding so roughly; 'fear nothing; no harm shall come to thee.' 'Help, good friend, whoever thou art,' he gasped, but could not look at me, because his neck was jerked so; 'God hath sent thee, and not to rob me, because it is done already.' 'What, Uncle Ben!' I cried, letting go the horse in amazement, that the richest man in Dulverton--'Uncle Ben here in this plight! What, Mr.
Reuben Huckaback!' 'An honest hosier and draper, serge and longcloth warehouseman'-- he groaned from rib to rib--'at the sign of the Gartered Kitten in the loyal town of Dulverton.