IN EPIEUS 147 



his two spaniels, and my little dachshund "Vixen" 

 (of whom my readers may have read something in my 

 previous books), landed in the dinghy about nine. I 

 may here say that although the little bitch had only 

 had one evening to make the acquaintance of Lorenzo, 

 she readily went with him when told, and hunted all 

 day with his spaniels and the huge Albanian dogs, 

 till at night she could hardly crawl, and her ears 

 were completely hairless. Nevertheless she was just 

 as ready and keen on the third day. She died in 

 1913, aged 17. 



Half an hour's walk brought us to our stands, which 

 were pointed out by old Kollio, the Albanian so well 

 known to all who have ever shot here. The beat was 

 a short one. For a moment we had hopes, but the 

 shouts which reached my ear were only referable to 

 the successful efforts of a roe to break back, and all 

 that passed the guns was a fox, which H., hoping for 

 better things, very properly spared. We now started 

 back towards our landing-place, and in a bottom 

 Kollio posted us again, H. in a thicket, and myself 

 in an open glade beyond. 



By this time I had seen a good deal of the ground, 

 and practically made up my mind we were on a wild- 

 goose chase. It was not without some experience of 

 the matter that I thus expressed myself in a previous 

 work : " The boar loves quiet, and is assuredly not 

 to be found where flocks and herds wander." But 

 true as this is of the boar of Northern Europe, local 

 conditions on the Albanian coast have quite altered 

 the habits of the animal. Throughout this day we 

 were surrounded by live stock ; the infernal din of 

 their bells spoilt all my pleasure in most of the beats, 

 and yet seven or eight pig were forthcoming. But 



