CHAPTER FOURTEEN ON DOGS 



sending for him; one of the sportsmen, who had never seen 

 him engaged in this kind of duty.sarcasticallysaid, "What, 

 that dog who followed us to-day, as we rode up? He can be 

 no use; helooks more fitto kill cats or pin a bull." Our host, 

 however, who wasbetteracquainted with his merits, thought 

 otherwise; and when the bulldog came wagging his tail and 

 jumping up on me, I took him to the track and sent him 

 upon it; down went his nose and away he went as hard as 

 he could go, and quite silently. The wood was so close and 

 thick that we could not keep him in sight, so I proposed 

 that we should commence our next beat, as the dog would 

 find me wherever I was, and the strangers did not seem 

 much to expect any success in getting the wounded stag. 

 During the following beat we saw the dog for a moment or 

 two pass an opening, and the next instant two deer came 

 out from the thicket into which he had gone. "He is on the 

 wrong scent, after all," said the shooter, who stood next to 

 me. "Wait, and we will see," was my answer. 



We had finished this beat and were consulting what to 

 do, when the dog appeared in the middle of us, appearing 

 very well satisfied with himself though covered with blood, 

 and with an ugly tear in his skin all along one side. "Ah!" 

 said some one, "he has got beaten off by the deer." Look- 

 ing at him, I saw that most of the blood was not his own, 

 the wound not being at all deep; I also knew that once 

 having had hold of the deer, he would not have let go as 

 long as he had life in him. "Where is he, old boy.-* take us 

 to him," said I; the dog perfectly understanding me, looked 

 up in my face, and set off slowly with a whine of delight. 

 He led us through a great extent of wood, stopping every 

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