“Lord have mercy upon me!  O Lord, upon my soul have mercy!  An if I cheated Sam Hicks last week, Lord knowest how well he deserved it, and lied in every stocking’s mouth—­oh Lord, where be I a-going?”

These words, with many jogs between them, came to me through the darkness, and then a long groan and a choking.  I made towards the sound, as nigh as ever I could guess, and presently was met, point-blank, by the head of a mountain-pony.  Upon its back lay a man bound down, with his feet on the neck and his head to the tail, and his arms falling down like stirrups.  The wild little nag was scared of its life by the unaccustomed burden, and had been tossing and rolling hard, in desire to get ease of it.

Before the little horse could turn, I caught him, jaded as he was, by his wet and grizzled forelock, and he saw that it was vain to struggle, but strove to bite me none the less, until I smote him upon the nose.

“Good and worthy sir,” I said to the man who was riding so roughly; “fear nothing; no harm shall come to thee.”

“Help, good friend, whoever thou art,” he gasped, but could not look at me, because his neck was jerked so; “God hath sent thee, and not to rob me, because it is done already.”

“What, Uncle Ben!” I cried, letting go the horse in amazement, that the richest man in Dulverton—­“Uncle Ben here in this plight!  What, Mr. Reuben Huckaback!”

“An honest hosier and draper, serge and longcloth warehouseman”—­he groaned from rib to rib—­“at the sign of the Gartered Kitten in the loyal town of Dulverton.  For God’s sake, let me down, good fellow, from this accursed marrow-bone; and a groat of good money will I pay thee, safe in my house to Dulverton; but take notice that the horse is mine, no less than the nag they robbed from me.”

“What, Uncle Ben, dost thou not know me, thy dutiful nephew John Ridd?”

Not to make a long story of it, I cut the thongs that bound him, and set him astride on the little horse; but he was too weak to stay so.  Therefore I mounted him on my back, turning the horse into horse-steps, and leading the pony by the cords which I fastened around his nose, set out for Plover’s Barrows.

Uncle Ben went fast asleep on my back, being jaded and shaken beyond his strength, for a man of three-score and five; and as soon he felt assured of safety he would talk no more.  And to tell the truth he snored so loudly, that I could almost believe that fearful noise in the fog every night came all the way from Dulverton.

Now as soon as ever I brought him in, we set him up in the chimney-corner, comfortable and handsome; and it was no little delight to me to get him off my back; for, like his own fortune, Uncle Ben was of a good round figure.  He gave his long coat a shake or two, and he stamped about in the kitchen, until he was sure of his whereabouts, and then he fell asleep again until supper should be ready.