DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 31 



make an archway for the httle river that sings so 

 sweetly on its way. 



We fished the meadows with much success and 

 enjoyed the shade of an enveloping wood for a length- 

 ened time, but vre got lost in an undergrowth much 

 above our heads, and wondered which way it would 

 be best to go. A straw may tell where the wind is, 

 and a sparrow suggest that you are near some dwelling, 

 but it was the bark of a dog that said, 'Come this way.' 

 To beat down the thorns and nettles and make a path 

 that brought us to an orchard hedge was warming work, 

 and it was no easy task to follow the hedge until we 

 found a breach that enabled us to tread the turf 

 beneath the apple-burdened trees. The farm-house that 

 came to view was above the average in outward 

 appearance, and the barnyard was full of contented 

 life. In the meadows beyond was a herd of Devon 

 ca.ttle, and the stackyard, through which we made 

 our way, had bulky ricks of hay and com. 



A happy-faced girl answered our timorous knock, 

 and in a sweet voice said, ' 'Ess sure we will. Please 

 come in; mother's making tea.' We followed into 

 a spacious kitchen to where a woman was pouring water 

 from a kettle that hung over a wood fire and, as she 

 turned in answer to her daughter's voice announcing 

 us and our wish, we saw a real picture of a Devon 

 farmer's wife. The other occupant of the room was 

 a very aged man, eighty-nine he told me, still clear of 

 intellect, and, as I afterwards discovered, brimming 

 over with tales of Napoleon's time. 



'I think it only fair to tell you,' said Nell, 'that 

 we have been trespassing and catching your hsh; 

 but perhaps you will not be angry, for we have been 

 very careful not to damage the standing crops and 

 have safely shut the gates. We are staying at Simons- 

 bath and taking drives to fishing places. To-day we 

 chanced to come this way, and I was so very thirsty 

 that it made me bold to beg for a cup of tea? 



