Hooj Beats 



affected when Mr. Leffington once removed his 

 badge of office. There was not a better M. F. H. 

 in the state, or a man who knew his country half 

 so well, and Mr. Leffington being in a sense subtly, 

 yet modestly aware of the fact, generally, on days 

 of hunting appointments, wore his full regalia until 

 it was time for bed. It was not so much that Mr. 

 Leffington desired to flount his temporary superi- 

 ority over Mrs. Leffington upon these occasions, 

 as that he wished to bring her to a realization, two 

 or three times every week, that he, Richard 

 Leffington, was still a man, even though he was 

 her husband. And secretly of course, Mrs. 

 Leffington was fatuously proud of him and adoring 

 and Mr. Leffington being subtly aware of this, 

 let her run the house, and him, pretty much as 

 she pleased. 



And so on Monday morning very early, just 

 after the first gray light had come, Mr. Leffington 

 was up, scrupulously dressed, fussing nervously 

 about in the stable, and girting up the Nut-Crack- 

 er who swelled himself unconscionably, while Mrs. 

 Leffington and Mrs. Rexford called through the 

 halls to each other to hurry, and dropped hair-pins 

 and nets all over the floor, until at last all three 

 were mounted and cantering down the road to the 

 club. 



Mr. Leffington had a great deal on his mind this 

 108 



