THE DISAPPOINTED MARSHMAN 171 



no remark ; though it caused an unconscious 

 quickening of the step up the long, heathery 

 slope, from whose brow the sea showed beyond 

 the hazy outline of the land. Wide on either 

 hand rose grim piles of rock, where down this 

 avenue of cairns the seven, comrades on many a 

 trail, sped in the wake of the pack towards the 

 Liddens, shimmering in the distance. 



But if the seven were elated as never before, 

 there was one on the far side of the moor who 

 was suffering a bitter disappointment. It was 

 the old marshman. He too had discovered the 

 tracks of the otter and, full of his tidings, had 

 driven to the mansion as fast as his Neddy could 

 cover the ground, only to learn from the butler 

 that squire and hounds had already been sum- 

 moned and gone off to the river. Staggering 

 though the blow was, he bore up till beyond 

 the gates ; but on the open moor he broke down, 

 said it was a judgment on him for tracking the 

 varmint in the snow, and let the donkey find the 

 way home as best it could. When they reached 

 the cottage he set the animal loose, tried in 

 vain to shake off his trouble by overhauling the 

 trimmers, and finally sat down on a bench, with 

 his back to the mud wall and his face to the 

 marsh. It was green and gold with the swords 



22—2 



