THEY CHOOSE SEATS 19 



hares, he resumed his grunting and crossed the 

 ridge on the way to his earth. 



At the first faint blush in the east the hares 

 sped towards the pool that fills the hollow 

 between Bartinney and Chapel Carn Brea. 

 There near the edge of the water the leverets 

 confused their trails and chose their seats. This 

 they did under the eyes of their mother, who 

 watched interestedly from the slope where she 

 lay amongst the heather. As it proved, no 

 precautions were necessary, for no creature 

 came near ; indeed, nothing disturbed the drowsy 

 stillness till late in the day, when a breeze 

 sprang up that sent the water in tiny wavelets 

 against the rushy shore. This immunity from 

 molestation was the result of the hare's knowledge 

 of the ways of her enemies, of their retreats, and 

 especially of the times of their coming and going. 

 At every outing they crossed the foul line left by 

 some marauder on its way to the lowland, but — 

 those of the badger excepted — never a homing 

 trail ; for the hares were settled in their forms 

 before fox, polecat, and stoat came slinking back 

 to their lairs. 



But not even the hare, with cunning quick- 

 ened by the dependence of her young, could 

 provide against every contingency. On the 

 fourth day of their stay by the pool, when they 



