The Forest - Edward Rutherfurd [322]
‘Oh, my dear Miss Albion.’ She heard Martell’s voice behind her, but did not look back as she rushed forward through the dancers to the place where, miraculously, Mrs Pride’s strong arms were already raising the little old gentleman up. Without a word she carried him towards the entrance and the fresh air, where she was quickly joined by Mr Gilpin and the Lymington doctor.
Minutes later, still uncertain of the outcome of this scene, the guests were collecting their cloaks and coats to leave.
And poor Mrs Grockleton, having been through so much that night, could only turn helplessly to her husband and wail: ‘Alack-a-day.’
They had the pig ready and the moon was high as along the track on the gorse-strewn bareness of Wilverley Plain the cart containing Caleb Furzey trundled towards them.
The sky was clear and clustered with stars; the moon shone down with that intimate, frightening urgency it often has when it is full.
The six boys waited by the tree called the Naked Man. The pig was surprisingly quiet, probably because it had been well fed. It grunted a bit, that was all.
The cart was drawing closer. The horse was going at a slow walk. Caleb Furzey’s feet could just be seen resting on the side. From within the empty box of the cart his snores were magnified, as if by some magic of the moon.
Nathaniel and Andrew Pride moved out first. The old horse recognized them, and when Nathaniel took his head, he stopped quite willingly.
Taking him out of the harness was not too difficult. Andrew’s task was to lead him away across the plain and tether him to a stunted tree trunk behind a large gorse brake a few hundred yards off. The next step was to put the pig in the horse’s place.
The makeshift harness they had made worked well enough, but the shafts of the cart were far too high. Two of the boys now tried to pull them down, but couldn’t.
Two more boys added their weight to the shafts. The shafts came down, but not far enough. The pig didn’t like the look of it. Nathaniel was holding firm but the pig was large; if he made a run for it, there would be no stopping him. But now, as he clung on to the pig’s harness, he heard a sound from the cart. Caleb’s feet were moving; the snoring was interrupted.
Suddenly the cart tipped forward. They heard a bump. Caleb had rolled to the front.
‘Quick.’
It was the work of a moment to attach the traces to the harness. Nathaniel was still holding the pig, soothing him as the others stepped back. They all looked apprehensively towards the cart but, miraculously, Furzey was still asleep.
‘Now.’
They fled, but not far. A hundred yards away, behind a gorse brake, Andrew was already waiting.
‘You know what to do,’ said Nathaniel, as he started undressing. So they did as he had told them and went to their stations. It was time for the fun to begin.
The pig, surprisingly, did not react for more than a minute. Then it decided to move.
The pig was much smaller than the horse, but it was heavy and very strong. The cart inched forward, but the sensation of something not only holding but following it was displeasing to the pig. It grunted loudly and tried to make a run. Again, the cart seemed to be holding on, as though it were determined not to let the pig escape its clutches. The pig didn’t like this a bit. It let out a bellow of rage, bumped the shafts from side to side and squealed loudly again.
Behind,