Then along the road could be seen the figure of a fat man carrying a
fishing rod. He began to run wildly towards the caravan.
"_Ach! Gott in Himmel_!" he cried as he ran, "my beautiful caravan!
Who has this to it done?"
He joined the frenzied altercation that was going on between the
donkey man and the fat woman. The air was rent by their angry shouts.
A group of highly appreciative villagers collected round them. Then
one of them pointed to William, who sat, feeling still slightly
shaken, upon the bank.
"It was 'im wot done it," he said, "it was 'im that was a-drivin' of
it down the 'ill."
With one wild glance at the scene of devastation and anger, William
turned and fled through the wood.
"_Ach! Gott in Himmel!_" screamed the fat man, beginning to pursue
him. The fat woman and the donkey man joined the pursuit. To William
it was like some ghastly nightmare after an evening's entertainment at
the cinematograph.
Meanwhile the donkey and the mule fraternised over the _debris_ and
the villagers helped themselves to all they could find. But the fat
man was very fat, and the fat woman was very fat, and the donkey man
was very old, and William was young and very fleet, so in less than
ten minutes they gave up the pursuit and returned panting and
quarrelling to the road. William sat on the further outskirts of the
wood and panted. He felt on the whole exhilarated by the adventure. It
was quite a suitable adventure for his last day of unregeneration.
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