THE TUNNEL RUNNERS 215 



torn of his burrow and lay there trembling. 

 His companion, on the other hand, holding 

 different views as to the proper place of safety, 

 darted from the burrow, wriggled through 

 the thorny stems of the rose-thicket, and 

 plunged into the water, where she hid herself 

 close under the opposite bank. The noise and 

 the darting knives glided almost over the 

 mouth of the burrow, and the thumping heart 

 of the brown mouse almost burst itself with 

 terror. But they passed. Slowly they 

 marched away. And when they had grown 

 comparatively faint, far down at the foot of the 

 meadow, beside the dyke, the brown mouse, 

 recovering himself, dared to peep forth. He 

 was astonished to see a long breadth of grass 

 lying prostrate, with bewildered bumble-bees 

 and grasshoppers striving to extricate them- 

 selves from the ruins. Having a valiant heart 

 and a quick eye for opportunity, he sprang 

 out of his hole and began pouncing on the 

 confused and helpless insects. This, for 

 a few minutes, was a profitable game, and 

 a safe one, too, for the strident noise, with 

 the presence of the men and horses, had 

 driven hawks and crows to a discreet dis- 

 tance. But presently the cry of the scarlet 

 thing, which had turned at the dyke and 

 was moving straight up the middle of the 



