Midnight
At first Midnight slowed down to a walk , but at length , becoming a little impatient to get home , she broke into a gentle trot . Then , in the twinkling of an eye , the sleigh gave a great lurch , and before a hand could be raised Dan found himself shooting over the parson and falling headlong into the soft yielding snow . Recovering himself as quickly as possible , and brushing the snow from his mouth , ears and eyes , he groped around to ascertain what had happened . Away in the distance he could hear a crashing sound as Midnight hurried along with the overturned sleigh . Then all was still . He called and shouted , but received no reply . A feeling of dread crept over him , and at once he started to walk back to the road .