140 THE FOX IN SUMMER 



silently as possible by the fox covert till I reached the 

 corner and could command a view of the ploughed 

 land. 



The bullocks grazing in the field, with the curiosity 

 of their species, would advance upon me slowly, but, 

 finding that I remained absolutely motionless, in- 

 variably continued their ruminations close around me, 

 and often formed a living screen from behind which 

 I could observe, without fear of detection, the 

 manoeuvres of the foxes. 



In the quiet twilight, while the cattle beside me 

 cropped close the green herbage, and the scent of 

 their breath gave an added sweetness to the evening 

 air, the rabbits hopped and squatted and played wild 

 games of romps in the fallows outside the gorse 

 bushes ; and in the silence one could hear the patter 

 of their paws on the ground. But the most sensitive 

 ear could catch no sound of footfall when a cub 

 appeared in the open as suddenly as if he had been 

 shot up from below. Shortly the whole litter of four 

 half-grown cubs would be seen, but of these and 

 their gambols the bunnies took scant notice ; nor did 

 the cubs appear much disposed to be aggressive till 

 the vixen came upon the scene. Then all was 

 changed : such bunnies as did not bolt at once into 

 the depths of the gorse squatted flat in terror, while 

 the cubs crowded round their parent with every 

 demonstration of joy. Then a curious sight could 

 be witnessed. As deliberately as a keeper places his 

 guns outside a pheasant covert, so did the vixen post 

 her cubs at intervals along the outside of the gorse, 

 and then proceeded to hunt the bit of ploughed land. 



