THE STOAT PACK 161 



fleet were his movements : surely In all his 

 life he never sped more swiftly than then. 



But though he revelled in the exercise of his 

 unencumbered limbs, he had a keen eye to his 

 safety : the most wily of hunted creatures could 

 not have been more alert and vigilant than he. 

 Once from the solitary rock, again and again 

 from knoll and barrow he surveyed the waste 

 to learn whether any enemies were in sight, 

 for he was well aware of their famished condi- 

 tion, and understood that they would employ 

 the greatest stealth in attempting his capture. 

 He kept a sharp look-out for Grey Fox, care- 

 fully examining every object that excited his 

 least suspicion, and in his great dread of a stoat 

 pack he repeatedly scrutinised the surface for 

 the sinuous living line that would apprise him 

 of its approach. 



Once he thought he detected the eerie 

 serpentine movement characteristic of the stoat ; 

 but he was mistaken, the three packs which 

 infested his beats were miles away at the time. 

 Though all were terrible scourges to the animals 

 that supplied them with blood, the most for- 

 midable, on account of the sagacity and en- 

 durance of its leader, was the pack, numbering 

 fourteen in all, whose main stronghold was 

 the Lamorna cliffs. Even this pack was in 



