SANCREED BEACON 97 



Croft, but could not bring himself to sit there ; 

 to the hut by the fowling-pool and to the 

 linhay on Brea Farm, which presented themselves 

 to his mind, he had still greater objection ; whilst 

 the rabbits' holes which proffered their shelter 

 were altogether beneath his dignity, and indeed 

 against his nature, to which no other roof but 

 the sky was acceptable. 



At last he had to abandon Chapel Carn 

 Brea, on account of the water which lodged in 

 the form and rendered it untenantable. 



It was in pouring rain that the hare ran- 

 sacked the country in search of new quarters, 

 which he at last found in a plantation on the 

 western slope of Sancreed Beacon. On reaching 

 it, he remained awhile on the outskirts hesi- 

 tating to commit himself to such a strange 

 place, for so the wood with its array of trees 

 seemed to him after the naked hills and barren 

 moorland he was alone used to. Presently, 

 with tremulous steps, he moved in and looked 

 about him for a suitable seat. In selecting 

 it he showed that he had his wits about him, 

 for the spot he chose was as free from the drip- 

 pings of the pines as any within his ken. After 

 scratching a slight hollow amongst the fallen 

 needles, he sat with his face to the hill taking 

 in his surroundings. No undergrowth impeded 



