A MANOR HOUSE IN DEER LAND. 181 



do this the lurcher must be swift, else the hare 

 can distance him. If he succeeds and drives 

 her that way the instant she is in the net the 

 poacher falls on it and secures her. Hares 

 struggle hard, and if he stayed to catch hold 

 with his hands she might be gone, but by 

 falling bodily on the net he is certain of 

 getting her, and prevents her too from 

 screaming, as hares will in the most heart- 

 rending manner. By moving on from gate- 

 way to gateway, where he has previously 

 ascertained hares are usually out at night, 

 the poacher may catch four or five or more 

 in a little while. 



But it sometimes happens that a hare 

 escapes from the net, not getting sufficiently 

 entangled, and she remembers it ever after- 

 wards, and tries hard the next time for her 

 life. The marks of the struggle are plainly 

 visible on the wet ground next morning 

 — the marks of her pads as she raced round 

 and round the field, refusing to be driven by 

 the lurcher through the gateway, where she 



