148 THE PURSUIT 



yard ready to spring the moment the hare made 

 off. Then the hind came and saw to the cattle, 

 and as he presently returned to the house, hare 

 and foxes gathered themselves for the work before 

 them. 



With a mighty bound the hare reached the 

 yard and made for the gate, through which he 

 passed to the front of the house with the foxes 

 in close pursuit. The light from the window 

 fell on the fleeting forms of all three as they 

 rounded the corner by the beehives on their 

 way back to the bridle-track, which the hare 

 followed to the point where it bends. There, 

 instead of swinging round in the direction of 

 the hamlet, he set his face straight for Chapel 

 Carn Brea. 



Now, as at all times, he looked to the hill 

 to escape his pursuers, but it was no longer the 

 familiar place it had been, for the pits filled by 

 the snow were level with the runways. Conse- 

 quently the surface was treacherous, and therein 

 lay the hope of the foxes, a hope immediately 

 realised. Twice during the ascent the hare fell 

 into blind holes, from which he managed to 

 extricate himself only just in time to avoid 

 being seized by Grey Fox. Though he escaped 

 capture he lost the lead he had gained ; abreast 

 of the chantry he was so dangerously close to his 



