60 THE IMAGE OF WAE 



Hounds were stopped and the whip sent to eject 

 him. 



He evidently took the crack of the whip which he 

 received as an intimation to put his best foot fore- 

 most, for he took us at a rare pace to Chil worth, and 

 then turned up over the downs to Merrow. 



I don't think I ever saw hounds run faster than 

 they did here. Without a fence of any kind to stop 

 us, the little beauties (fox-hound bitches, by the way) 

 ran clean away from us all on the open downs. But 

 we soon overtook them puzzling out the line in some 

 coverts above Merrow. From Merrow village the 

 deer ran on to Clandon Station, following roughly 

 the line of the (then) new railway. This part of 

 the run was rather woodland and a good deal slower. 

 Finally, we took our deer in the outhouse to a keeper's 

 cottage at Clandon Common. 



Next day the Chiddingfold were at Puttenham. 

 They found at Pepperharrow, and ran for an hour 

 and a quarter in those great woodlands till the fox 

 got to ground, when, feeling an attack of my old 

 enemy, the gout, coming on, I left them. 



In spite of my having passed a sleepless night, the 

 morning of Saturday, the 29th, saw me in the saddle 

 again early, for I had a long jog before me to meet 

 the H.H at Sutton Common. 



Winny Copse, as usual, was good for a fox, and, 

 equally as usual, our fox made for Weston Common 

 and thence to Froyle Park, where he beat them. 

 About this period the gout beat me too, although 

 I had only one boot and one gaiter on, and reluctantly 

 enough I turned my horse's head for home. 



Now, have I not made out some case for North 

 Hants ? Here in a week, or rather eight days^ I 



