230 The Chase 



his pursuers far behind ; and leaping upon a rock 

 amid the woods, he sat erect and listening, with his 

 back to the hunter. For a moment compassion 

 restrained the latter's arm ; but that was a short- 

 lived mood, and as quick as thought can follow 

 thought his piece was levelled, and whang! — the 

 fox rolling over the rock lay dead on the ground. 

 The hunter still kept his place and listened to the 

 hounds. Still on they came, and now the near 

 woods resounded through all their aisles with their 

 demoniac cry. At length the old hound burst into 

 view with muzzle to the ground, and snapping the 

 air as if possessed, and ran directly to the rock ; but 

 spying the dead fox she suddenly ceased her hound- 

 ing, as if struck dumb with amazement, and walked 

 round and round him in silence ; and one by one 

 her pups arrived, and, like their mother, were sobered 

 into silence by the mystery. Then the hunter 

 came forward and stood in their midst, and the 

 mystery was solved. They waited in silence while 

 he skinned the fox, then followed the brush awhile, 

 and at length turned off into the woods again. 

 That evening a Weston Squire came to the Con- 

 cord hunter's cottage to inquire for his hounds, and 

 told how for a week they had been hunting on their 

 own account from Weston Woods. The Concord 

 hunter told him what he knew and offered him the 

 skin ; but the other declined it and departed. He 

 did not find his hounds that night, but the next day 

 learned that they had crossed the river and put up 

 at a farm-house for the night, whence having been 

 well fed, they took their departure early in the 

 morning. 



H. D, Thoreau. 



