"What's yon, Cosmo?" she said--and Cosmo fancied consternation in
the tone. He looked sharply forward, and saw what seemed a glimmer,
but might be only something whiter in the whiteness. No! it was
certainly a light--but whether on the road he could not tell. There
was no house in that direction! It moved!--yet not as if carried in
human hand! Now it was gone! There it was again! There were two of
them--two huge pale eyes, rolling from side to side. Grannie's
warning about the Prince of the power of the air, darted into
Cosmo's mind. It was awful! But anyhow the devil was not to be run
from! That was the easiest measure, no doubt, yet not the less the
one impossible to take. And now it was plain that the something was
not away on the moor, but on the road in front of them, and coming
towards them. It came nearer and nearer, and grew vaguely
visible--a huge blundering mass--animal or what, they could not
tell, but on the wind came sounds that might be human--or animal
human--the sounds of encouragement and incitation to horses. And
now it approached no more. With common impulse they hastened
towards it.
It was a travelling carriage--a rare sight in those parts at any
time, and rarer still in winter. Both of them had certainly seen
one before, but as certainly, never a pair of lighted
carriage-lamps, with reflectors to make of them fiendish eyes. It
had but two horses, and, do what the driver could, which was not
much, they persisted in standing stock-still, refusing to take a
single step farther.
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