30 SIGNS OF INDEPENDENCE 



feed before withdrawing for the day. In the 

 ^rey dawn th(;y crossed tlie wall and made 

 their way towards the old chantry. Half-way 

 to the summit the leverets, apparently without 

 a hint, sei)arated first from the hare and then 

 from each other, and secreted themselves in 

 seats where the sun would fuid them early and 

 where, weary after their long round, they soon 

 passed from drowsiness into a sound sleep. 



The week that followed was singularly void 

 of disquieting incidents ; nevertheless it was a 

 period of great importance in the life of the 

 jack, because of the signs of indejjendence that 

 manifested themselves in his conduct. Hitherto 

 he had been tractable enough considering his 

 sex; under tlu.' influence of fear he had been a 

 model of good behaviour ; now all was changed, 

 suddenly changed. The night following his 

 escape from the fox, he stayed behind in the 

 cl(jver-field long after his mother had gone on, 

 and —a thing he had never done before — took no 

 notice of her repeated calls except to twitch his 

 ears as if aimoyed at her persistency. Then the 

 very next night he obstinately refused to leave 

 the wheatfield, though his mother shook with 

 fright as she told him that she had just seen a 

 polecat looking out of a rabbit-hole in the hedge, 

 and that to stay might cost him his life. But she 



