THE FOX 65 



that Reynard came and took the geese from under 

 their very noses. One morning they went off and 

 stayed till the afternoon of the next day ; they 

 ran the fox all day and all night, the hounds 

 baying at every jump, the cur-dog silent and 

 tenacious. When the trio returned they came 

 dragging themselves along, stiff, foot-sore, gaunt, 

 and hungry. For a day or two afterward they 

 lay about the kennels, seeming to dread nothing 

 so much as the having to move. The stolen hunt 

 was their " spree," and of course they must take 

 time to get over it. 



Some old hunters think the fox enjoys the 

 chase as much as the hound, especially when the 

 latter runs slowly, as the best hounds do. The 

 fox will wait for the hound, will sit down and 

 listen, or play about, crossing and recrossing and 

 doubling upon his track, as if enjoying a mis- 

 chievous consciousness of the perplexity he would 

 presently cause his pursuer. It is evident, how- 

 ever, that the fox does not always have his share 

 of the fun : before a swift dog, or in a deep 

 snow, or on a wet day when his tail gets heavy, 

 he must put his best foot forward. As a last 

 resort he " holes up." Sometimes he resorts to 

 numerous devices to mislead and escape the dog 

 altogether. He will walk in the bed of a small 

 creek, or on a rail-fence. I heard of an instance 



