LORD MANNERS 81 



" Run number two, though short and ringing, 

 was a very brilHant burst. Thirty minutes and a 

 kill in the open afford sufficient eulogy and requires 

 no further comment. The field had become scattered 

 at the close of the first run — second horses, coffee- 

 housing, and loitering, each occupying some atten- 

 tion. So that when Firr proceeded to draw Grim- 

 stone Gorse there was only a small mustering in the 

 ride. The fox was soon away through Saxelby 

 Wood and pointing for Wartnaby. 



" If you are in the cover at starting you will 



have to gallop your hardest or be left a long way 



in the rear. Fortune favours you if you bear 



slightly to the right ; the pack hesitate for a second, 



then swing down across your front. A post-and-rail 



fence stretches across the field, but it is low, and a 



score of horses clear or rap it in as many different 



places. A gap in the corner is the only possible 



exit from this field in the right direction, so there 



is nothing for it but to wait your turn in patience. 



The next obstacle is the well-known bottom which 



runs down the valley from Wartnaby. There is a 



bridge on the left, but to scramble through in the 



wake of hounds is feasible — both take about the 



same time. The pack reach the Asfordby Road 



by themselves and for a moment dwell there. A 



man with his hat up catches Firr's eye down to 



the right, and hounds are going again faster than 



ever. Over the tunnel and flashing by Saxelby 



village they race along the tree-belted brook for the 



Shoby Lane. Some turnip pullers have turned the 



fox a yard or two from his course, but the pack 



don't waver an instant, doubling short up the 



hedgerow as their quarry doubled and then chasing 



6 



