A tongue of flame leapt forth and burst upon
the night with a terrific explosion; and as Caleb fell backwards with
the shock, the clumsy engine slipped from his fingers and fell with a
clatter upon Mr. Fogo's instep.
When the pair recovered and looked forth again, the echoes had died
away, and once more the night was tranquil.
Footnotes, Chapter XIX
[1] A monotonous chant or burthen.
[2] A fiddler.
[3] Thick-set.
[4] Stout.
[5] Strength.
[6] Kin.
[7] A concealed compartment or drawer.
CHAPTER XX.
HOW CERTAIN CHARACTERS FOUND THEMSELVES, AT DEAD OF NIGHT, UPON THE
FIVE LANES ROAD.
Panting, slipping, with aching sides, but terror at his heels, Sam
Buzza tore up the hill. Lights danced before him, imaginary voices
shouted after; but he never glanced behind. The portmanteau was
monstrously heavy, and more than once he almost dropped it; but it
was tightly packed, apparently, for nothing shook inside it.
Only the handles creaked in his grasp.
He gained the top, shifted the load to his left hand, and raced down
the other side of the hill. How he reached the bottom he cannot
clearly call to mind; but he dug his heels well into the turf, and
arrived without a fall. At the foot of the slope a wire fence had to
be crossed; next the railway line, then, across the embankment,
another fence, which kept a shred of his clothing.
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