THE BOOK OF THE OTTER 



took to the wood. Hounds drove him round it, 

 and he once more took the water. Here he 

 entered a long but not very deep pool, and hounds 

 swam him down it, then he turned and hounds 

 checked. There was little or no cover on the 

 banks, but he got out without being seen, the first 

 warning we had of his departure being given by 

 a young, rough hound which hit off his line in the 

 wood. This time he ran straight out to the top of 

 the covert, turned left-handed and crossed the open 

 fields for more than a mile, just beating hounds 

 to a drain, the grating of which had been 

 moved, where he got in and was eventually 

 left. 



We viewed this otter several times at close 

 quarters, and estimated his weight at nearer 30 Ib. 

 than 25 Ib. 



He showed extraordinary running powers and 

 activity for so large an otter, and it was hard luck 

 on hounds that he beat them. 



There was a screaming scent on land, but when 



he took the water for the last time, hounds had 



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