But now he seemed more out of reach than ever.

There were my two neglected letters, never called for, and not a word from him since the day I left Stonebridge House.

I might as well give up the idea of ever seeing him again, and certainly spare myself the trouble of further search after him.
I was walking on, letters in hand, engaged in this sombre train of thought, when suddenly, on the road before me, I heard a clatter of hoofs accompanied by a child's shriek.

At the same moment round a corner appeared a small pony galloping straight towards where I was, with a little girl clinging wildly round its neck, and uttering the cries I had heard.
The animal had evidently taken fright and become quite beyond control, for the reins hung loose, and the little stirrup was flying about in all directions.
Fortunately, the part of the road where we were was walled on one side, while the other bank was sloping.

I had not had much practice in stopping runaway horses, but it occurred to me that if I stood right in the pony's way, and shouted at him as he came up, he might, what with me in front and the wall and slope on either side, possibly give himself a moment for reflection, and so enable me to make a grab at his bridle.
And so it turned out.