FALSE SECURITY 27 



rejoined the leverets, who followed her without 

 shrinking towards the middle of the pool. 



It seemed as if the long-legged creatures would 

 never get out of their depth, yet they lost their 

 foothold at last, fell to swimming, and soon 

 gained the opposite bank. In their wet coats 

 they looked more leggy than ever, but regained 

 their usual appearance after shaking themselves 

 a time or two. Then the hare again scanned 

 the almost bare surface and, seeing nothing, 

 gave up all thought of the enemy and devoted 

 herself to her young. Her eyes were all for 

 them : she had not another glance for her back 

 trail. 



Her lack of vigilance was the opportunity 

 of the dog fox who had struck their line in 

 the clover-field and followed it to the moor, 

 which he was now scrutinising from the only 

 rock that rose above it. He looked every- 

 where but at the right spot. In his ignorance 

 of a hare's ways he did not examine the pool, 

 till a slight disturbance of the surface arrested 

 his wandering gaze : even then he thought 

 that the ripples were caused by wildfowl ; but 

 the moon emerged from the black cloud that 

 had obscured it, and revealed the three hares 

 frisking in the shallows. 



The fox licked his chops at the rare sight, 



