I made up my mind that at the first
inhabited place we came to I would discharge my driver, and find either
a horse or a new conveyance; and with this resolve I controlled myself
with patience. By-and-by, however, after a series of extraordinary jolts
and bumpings, the vehicle came to a standstill, and once more lowering
the glass and putting my head out into the drizzle, I demanded to know
what was the matter.

"I'm afeard, sir," said the cabman, "as I've lost my way. It's so
blessed dark here, I've got off the road. All right," he cried, a second
later, "I see it! You 'old on, sir, I'll be right in a minute." With
this he stood up to flog the horse, and at that instant the vehicle
overturned, slid rapidly down a slope, and stopped with a shock which
for the moment not only drove all the breath out of my body, but all the
sense out of my head. When I recovered I found my hat crushed over my
eyes, and in struggling to find my feet made the unpleasant discovery
that my right ankle was dislocated. I had sprained a wrist into the
bargain, and under these circumstances I had great difficulty in
extricating myself from the overturned vehicle. The horse was hammering
with his hind-feet at the front of the carriage with a vigor surprising
in a creature who had only lately shown himself so fatigued and feeble;
and when at last I contrived to open one of the doors and call to the
driver, I received no answer. I scrambled out painfully, and found
myself scarcely able to stand. The darkness was intense; both the lamps
had been broken and extinguished in the spill, and the rain was now
falling with considerable violence. I called repeatedly to the driver,
and groping about in the pitchy darkness on my hands and knees, I
received a blow on the head from one of the frightened horse's feet, and
lay for a little while quite sick and stunned. How long this sensation
lasted I have no means of knowing, but when I recovered my senses I was
wet through, and found myself lying among furze-bushes in a damp hollow.
The horse had apparently resigned himself to the position, and lay
quiet. As I struggled to my feet, with a thousand colored lights
flashing before ray eyes, the darkness and silence of the night seemed
filled with booming noises like those which are made by a heavy sea
when the wind has fallen. I crawled about cautiously through the wet and
prickly furze, and at last laid a hand upon the driver's sleeve. He was
sitting with his he