The barrow came about
with an appearance of unwillingness, it locked against the great
wheel; it reared itself towards Prothero and began, smash, smash,
smash, to shed its higher plates. It was clear that Benham was
grappling with a crisis upon a basis of inadequate experience. A
number of people shouted haphazard things. Then, too late, the
barrow had persuaded the little wheel to give up its fancy for the
great wheel, and there was an enormous crash.
"Whoa!" cried Benham. "Whoa!" but also, unfortunately, he sawed
hard at the horse's mouth.
The animal, being in some perplexity, danced a little in the narrow
street, and then it had come about and it was backing, backing, on
the narrow pavement and towards the plate-glass window of a book and
newspaper shop. Benham tugged at its mouth much harder than ever.
Prothero saw the window bending under the pressure of the wheel. A
sense of the profound seriousness of life and of the folly of this
expedition came upon him. With extreme nimbleness he got down just
as the window burst. It went with an explosion like a pistol shot,
and then a clatter of falling glass.
Pages:
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135