lOO . THE RABBIT 



and another, serve to announce that the sport has 

 now fairly started. Rabbits are everywhere on the 

 move, working towards the rides down or across which 

 they scamper in their haste to avoid the dogs, yet 

 giving (if they only knew it) to the sportsmen a better 

 chance of killing them than if they had remained in 

 the furze. The dogs are in ecstasies of delight — the 

 place is full of rabbits, and their pursuers are per- 

 petually changing the quarry. But steadily the line is 

 advancing, and every rabbit must, if possible, go for- 

 ward, or break to the right or left across a ride in 

 which a gun is posted. A dozen yards from where 

 we stand, a little brown head peeps out, a large dark 

 eye regards us wistfully, the owner of which is 

 evidently speculating on his chance of crossing the 

 ride in safety ; his ears twitch nervously ; he ' bucks 

 up,' and we instinctively grasp the gun-stock tighter in 

 the expectation of an immediate shot. But his dis- 

 cretion overcomes his valour ; we see the whisk of a 

 white tail, and in an instant he has turned back and 

 is lost to sight in the furze from which we fondly hoped 

 he was about to bolt. Whilst marking the spot and 

 wondering whether he will reappear (for a beater is 

 not far off), another little brown face peers out, this 

 time lower down the ride, and in an instant a brown 

 streak crossing within easy range offers so quick a 



