262 NEIGHBOURS UNKNOWN 



ful hope that the rabbit might come out, he 

 resumed his journey. He had no idea, of 

 course, where he wanted to go, but he felt 

 that there must be a place somewhere where 

 there were plenty of rabbits and no bramble- 

 thickets. 



Late in the afternoon he came upon the 

 fringes of a settlement, which he skirted 

 with caution. In a remote pasture-field, 

 among rough hillocks and gnarled, fire- 

 scarred stumps, he ran suddenly into a 

 flock of sheep. For a moment he was puzzled 

 at the sight ; but the prompt flight of the 

 startled animals suggested pursuit. In a 

 moment he had borne down the hindermost. 

 To reach for its throat was a sure instinct ; 

 and he feasted, with a growing zest of savag- 

 ery, upon the hot flesh. Before he realized 

 it, he was dragging the substantial remnant 

 of his meal to a place of hiding under an over- 

 hanging rock. Then, well content with him- 

 self, he crept into a dark thicket and slept 

 for several hours. 



When he awoke, a new risen moon was 

 shining, with something in her light which 

 half bewildered him, half stung him to uncom- 

 prehended desires. Skulking to the crest 

 of a naked knoll, he saw the landscape spread 

 out all around him, with the few twinkling 



