There was
nothing for it but trying what "giving him a lead" would do. The place
was evidently a small one, but the landing absolutely uncertain; so I
put Falcon at it steadily, letting him have his head. Then first the
poor horse displayed his remarkable talent for getting over difficulties
in the dark, a talent that I have never seen equaled in any other
animal, and which alone made him invaluable. He took off--almost at a
stand--out of clay up to his hocks, exactly at the right time, and
landed me on firm ground without a scramble. A minute afterward there
came a rush, a splutter, and a crash, and a struggling mass rolled at my
feet, gradually resolving itself into a man, a roan horse, and two
saddle-bags. So sped Alabama's maiden leap. It was soft falling,
however, and no harm beyond the breaking of a strap was done; but it was
fully three-quarters of an hour before our united efforts got Symonds'
refugee across. We accomplished it at last by hurling the brute
backwards into the branch by main strength, and then wading ourselves
through mud that just touched the upper edge of my thigh-boots. Once
over, the track was easily found, and a barking chorus, performed by
half a dozen vigilant mongrels, guided us up to the homestead we were
seeking, just as the snow began to fall heavily.
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