THE SAVAGE OUTLAW 109 



beast he is till he raises his head and peers sus- 

 piciously through the stems ; then the fierce, 

 restless eyes proclaim him a savage and an out- 

 law as he scans bar and cliff and creek. On the 

 bare patch on the hillside his glance rests a 

 moment — one would say the removal of the 

 furze was a matter of concern to him ; but soon, 

 apparently satisfied, he falls to grooming the 

 glossy coat which is his pride. He bestows 

 much care on the massive fore-limbs and on the 

 huge, splayed feet whose prints have stirred the 

 imagination of the neighbourhood. A bit of fur 

 on his grey waistcoat not being all he would have 

 it, he licks it again and again ; and so the after- 

 noon passes, till the starlings come flying in to 

 roost, the shadows creep over the furze, and the 

 mists gather on the mere. 



When night had quite closed in, he rose, 

 slipped into the water and, coming up a good 

 gunshot away, swam rapidly towards the beach. 

 In the shallows he turned his mask as if to make 

 sure the mist harboured no enemy, and then took 

 across the bar, spurning the pebbles and seaweed 

 as he ran. At the edge of the tide he looked 

 back again, but as nothing met his eyes save the 

 ridge and the stars that shone above it, he moved 

 leisurely down the shelving strand, plunged into 



