HUNTING ON THE FELLS 83 



are figures standing about it, so his entrance will 

 be barred. 



You lose sight of him, then a view- halloa rings 

 out, and a whip cracks sharply. He has swerved 

 from the figures on the earth and hounds are 

 gaining fast. Gradually they edge him lower and 

 lower, until the last rock left behind, he is threading 

 a narrow trod amongst the bracken. It is " all 

 over bar the shouting," as you dash down the 

 long grass slope, clear the intervening wall, and 

 drop panting into the allotment on the other side. 

 A scramble through a stony beck, ending with a 

 sharp run, brings you in sight of hounds, racing 

 from scent to view. A sharp turn, a gleam of 

 white fangs, and Stormer rolls him over, to be 

 buried beneath a living avalanche of white, and 

 black and tan. Who-hoop ! Who-hoop ! 



Such is a day worth living for with a fell pack. 

 A quick find, a fast hunt, a good place to see it 

 from, and a kill in the open ; what more could the 

 heart of hunter desire ? The man who does much 

 fell hunting will get his share of such days, and 

 when they come they amply repay him for any 

 past disappointments. 



The regular followers of the fell packs consist 

 chiefly of shepherds, dalesmen and the like, com- 

 paratively few of the local " gentrj^ " being suffi- 

 ciently keen to take more than a passing interest 

 in the sport. The fine air on the tops, and the 



