vit] THE TWO ETONIANS. 335

came a grass field with a flight of hurdles in the
middle, which also were successfully managed.

The next field, however, was a piece of plough, at the
end of which was a stake-and-bind hedge, newly done
up and formidable to encounter. Across the plough
gallantly charged the runners; but the pace was too
good for the two unmentioned young gentlemen, who
gave up the contest when they found the other five
considerably ahead of them at the further end of the
field. Somehow or other, all the five got safely over
the hedge, and there was little to choose between
them when they entered the next field. Penliman was
the first, Moore the last of the five, for the next few
fields, the other three running and jumping closely
together.

So matters continued until they were within two
or three fields of the Slough road, in which were
congregated numbers of their brother Etonians,
anxiously looking for their coming. On they came,
charging a flight of hurdles up to which the ground
rather rose and thus rendered the jump somewhat
harder than would otherwise have been the case.
Penliman was still first, but, miscalculating his dis-
tance and perhaps going too fast at his jump, he
unluckily caught his foot in the top of the hurdle and
came down, rather a nasty fall, upon the other side.
He was fortunately not hurt, but at that criticalmoment
the fall and the shock were fatal to his chances of
success. The others were but afew yards behind him,
and before he could get into his speed again, he was
too far behind to have hopes that he could recover
his lost ground.