96 RAIN, SLEET, AND HAIL 



decided shifting of the wind from the north- 

 west to the north-east, whence at nightfall it 

 blew with wintry coldness. 



Had it been a dry wind the hare would have 

 enjoyed its keenness, but it brought showers of 

 sleet which wetted him through and through, 

 making his days miserable. At night also these 

 showers greatly inconvenienced him, inasmuch 

 as he had to be continually shaking himself 

 or galloping to and fro on the moorland tracks 

 to keep his coat dry when he should have 

 been at his pasture. He disliked the sleet 

 more than the rain, and the hail more than 

 the sleet, for the stones beat in his face and eyes ; 

 worse still, they lashed his ears and made them 

 burn as he sat in the form, when his body 

 shivered with cold from the dampness of the 

 underfur. 



During this inclement time he continued to 

 use the seat on Chapel Carn Brea, the retreat 

 under the drooping fronds drawing him as did 

 no other. True, he could have found shelter 

 beneath the chantry, but since lying there 

 he had seen Grey Fox brush close by the 

 opening which was the only way out ; from 

 that moment he abandoned all idea of repair- 

 ing thither again, for fear of being cornered. 

 He did give a thought to the cave in Brahan 



