154 TURNED 



and reached the gap whilst the unsuspecting prey 

 was yet a dozen yards from it. The fate of the 

 hare was apparently sealed. But Grey Fox was 

 not content to trust his ears to apprise him of 

 the hare's approach ; in his eagerness he could 

 not resist peeping round the corner. This 

 betrayed him : the hare saw his long snout, 

 turned and made down the hill, the breathless 

 foxes following as fast as they could. In the 

 descent the hare gained quite a good lead, but 

 it seemed all to no purpose, for his line of 

 flight was leading him directly towards a quarry 

 which cut off all escape. 



Yet on he galloped straight to the brink, 

 and reaching it, leapt headlong into the great 

 drift that rose half-way up its sheer wall. 



The foxes checked themselves on the very 

 verge and stood gazing at the snow marked 

 by the cleanly - cut hole made by the hare 

 as he fell. ** Done after all," was the meaning 

 of the expression on Grey Fox's mask. But 

 he was not to be thus deprived of his prey if 

 search could avail, and to this end he and the 

 vixen made their way down to the base of the 

 quarry and were lost to sight in the drift as 

 they worked towards the spot where they ex- 

 pected to find the hare lying dead. 



Far from being dead, however, he was not 



