20 THE MASTER OF THE HOUNDS. 



make your guests feel happy and at home, and now I'm just in 

 the humour to hear how you managed to be in at the finish to- 

 day ; it's a mystery to me." 



" But easily solved," replied the squire, " as thus : — Having 

 viewed the fox across the drive in Parkwood, I knew his long 

 white tag to be the same we had followed twice last season to 

 the forest, when the owner thereof beat us ; and from his trying 

 at first to break at top of the covert, where the cigar men 

 headed him, I knew very well he would make good his point — 

 at least, if able to do so." 



" But why did he run to the furze-hills then 1 " 



" To turn up another of his family connections, perhaps, in 

 place of his own precious carcass, or to take second wind by dodg- 

 ing his pursuers in the thick gorse there. But when he broke the 

 second time, in a line for the Holt, thinks I to myself, he now 

 means the forest ; and turning into an old lane, I and Mark- 

 ham, having seen you go to the left, bore straight away for the 

 forest, as hard as we could go, and as it so haj^pened, we were 

 not far out in our reckoning. The fox entering the other side 

 of the Holt, threaded the whole length of those coverts, and 

 being down wind, we could hear the hounds turning towards us, 

 still we slackened not our pace until we reached a hard road, 

 which leads straight through the forest. Here we pulled up 

 for a few seconds, when hearing the horn outside the covert, 

 we again rode fast for a couple of miles to rising ground, from 

 which I caught sight of the hounds, running almost mute, with 

 the fox only two fields before them. My old blood boiled up 

 at the sight, and Highflier pricking up his ears, impatient to be 

 with them again, we bundled through the forest fence, and 

 forgetful of our years, stuck to them, as Charley said, 'like 

 good 'uns ; ' in fact, my horse's mettle was up, and go he would 

 at eveiything, until we pulled him down in the oj)en. Will, 

 Charley, and myself screaming in chorus, for the last two fields, 

 when they had him in view, as if the fiend possessed us ; and 

 whether a six-barred gate or a river had come in our way just 

 then, it would have been of little consequence. There, 

 Burnett, is the history of my adventures to-day ; now, what 

 were yours?" 



" My tale is soon told, Beauchamp. By being thrown out at 

 the first fence, my chance was over, barring checks ; but trying 

 to make up for lost ground, I pumped the wind out of Sky- 

 scraper, who in revenge gave me six falls in the first four miles, 

 and after leaving the Holt, a couple more ; in the last of which, 



