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bushes of May, and out in the open, going fast. For a space he could
hear the ponderous paces in pursuit receding behind him, and then it was
just as if Yaaa had not lost his temper, as if Yaaa had never existed.
The pace never faltered, on they rode and on.
Ugh-lomi was now all exultation. To exult in those days was to insult.
"
Ya-ha! big nose!" he said, trying to crane back and see some remote
speck of a pursuer. "Why don't you carry your smiting-stone in your
fist?" he ended with a frantic whoop.
But that whoop was unfortunate, for coming close to the ear of the
horse, and being quite unexpected, it startled the stallion extremely.
He shied violently. Ugh-lomi suddenly found himself uncomfortable again.
He was hanging on to the horse, he found, by one arm and one knee.
The rest of the ride was honourable but unpleasant. The view was
chiefly of blue sky, and that was combined with the most unpleasant
physical sensations. Finally, a bush of thorn lashed him and he let go.
He hit the ground with his cheek and shoulder, and then, after a
complicated and extraordinarily rapid movement, hit it again with the
end of his backbone. He saw splashes and sparks of light and colour. The
ground seemed bouncing about just like the horse had done. Then he found
he was sitting on turf, six yards beyond the bush. In front of him was a
space of grass, growing greener and greener, and a number of human
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