第21章

Thefogofthepreviouseveningstilllingeredsoheavilyoverthewoodsthatthemorningcouldnotpenetratethetreestilllongafteritstime。Theloadbeingaponderousone，thelanecrooked，andtheairsothick，Winterbornesetout，asheoftendid，toaccompanytheteamasfarasthecorner，whereitwouldturnintoawiderroad。

Sotheyrumbledon，shakingthefoundationsoftheroadsidecottagesbytheweightoftheirprogress，thesixteenbellschimingharmoniouslyoverall，tilltheyhadrisenoutofthevalleyandweredescendingtowardsthemoreopenroute，thesparksrisingfromtheircreakingskidandnearlysettingfiretothedeadleavesalongside。

Thenoccurredoneoftheveryincidentsagainstwhichthebellswereanendeavortoguard。Suddenlytherebeamedintotheireyes，quiteclosetothem，thetwolampsofacarriage，shornofraysbythefog。Itsapproachhadbeenquiteunheard，byreasonoftheirownnoise。Thecarriagewasacoveredone，whilebehinditcouldbediscernedanothervehicleladenwithluggage。

Winterbornewenttotheheadoftheteam，andheardthecoachmantellingthecarterthathemustturnback。Thecarterdeclaredthatthiswasimpossible。

“Youcanturnifyouunhitchyourstring-horses。”saidthecoachman。

“Itismucheasierforyoutoturnthanforus。”saidWinterborne。

“We’vefivetonsoftimberonthesewheelsifwe’veanounce。”

“ButI’veanothercarriagewithluggageatmyback。”

Winterborneadmittedthestrengthoftheargument。“Butevenwiththat。”hesaid，“youcanbackbetterthanwe。Andyououghtto，foryoucouldhearourbellshalfamileoff。”

“Andyoucouldseeourlights。”

“Wecouldn’t，becauseofthefog。”

“Well，ourtime’sprecious。”saidthecoachman，haughtily。“Youareonlygoingtosometrumperylittlevillageorotherintheneighborhood，whilewearegoingstraighttoItaly。”

“Drivingalltheway，Isuppose。”saidWinterborne，sarcastically。

Theargumentcontinuedinthesetermstillavoicefromtheinteriorofthecarriageinquiredwhatwasthematter。Itwasalady’s。

Shewasbrieflyinformedofthetimberpeople’sobstinacy；andthenGilescouldhearhertellingthefootmantodirectthetimberpeopletoturntheirhorses’heads。

Themessagewasbrought，andWinterbornesentthebearerbacktosaythathebeggedthelady’spardon，butthathecouldnotdoassherequested；thatthoughhewouldnotassertittobeimpossible，itwasimpossiblebycomparisonwiththeslightdifficultytoherpartytobacktheirlightcarriages。Asfatewouldhaveit，theincidentwithGraceMelburyonthepreviousdaymadeGileslessgentlethanhemightotherwisehaveshownhimself，hisconfidenceinthesexbeingrudelyshaken。

Infine，nothingcouldmovehim，andthecarriageswerecompelledtobacktilltheyreachedoneofthesidingsorturnoutsconstructedinthebankforthepurpose。Thentheteamcameonponderously，andtheclangingofitssixteenbellsasitpassedthediscomfitedcarriages，tiltedupagainstthebank，lentaparticularlytriumphanttonetotheteam’sprogr