Ralph Duckworth of the Wild Farm. 143 



that they killed and left him directly they heard Ned's horn. 

 We both on us see half-a-dozen hunds leavin' the wood, 

 that's right enough ; but as for havin' killed, as he ses, 

 that's all nonsense, and so I told him. The old man 

 betted of us a new hat apiece that he's right, which Joe 

 and me accepted, and I'm blessed if we didn't leave the 

 poor old feller a pokin' about the wood, and vowin' and 

 swearin' as he wouldn't leave it until he found the dead 

 fox. I told him that he and his old rat-tailed 'oss 'ud lose 

 themselves if they didn't mind, like the babes in the wood, 

 and that some'un 'ud coom in the mornin' and find 'em 

 both covered with leaves by the robin-redbreastesses 

 doorin' the night." '' Haw ! haw ! haw ! " laughed the 

 hoary narrator, slapping his thigh with intense relish of 

 his own little joke. 



^' You see, sir," broke in old Joe, "■ Tom Tootler being 

 hill, and Ned Stumps not being quite in the way of it like, 

 the 'ouns I 'xpec' got a little out of his hand, and when 

 silly old Ralph heerd 'em, they was a runnin' hare, no 

 doubt. That's what they was a-doin', depend upon 

 it." 



Two days after this conversation, it chanced that we 

 made one of a shooting party engaged in beating these 

 identical woods. We had told the story of old Ralph and 

 his hunt for the dead fox to our host, who was much 

 amused thereat. His keeper, of course, knew all about 

 it, and had assisted, indeed, in the search, which, by his 

 manner, he evidently looked upon as a ''wild-goose chase." 

 Well, we were walking in line, beaters and all, in the 

 course of the morning, through some young wood, when 

 suddenly our host, who was on my right, shouted out to us 

 to '' come here !" We went accordingly, and there to our as- 



