98 Studies in Rat Catching, [ch. vi. 



side with Chance and a young one, and I 

 will do this side with the other dogs. Hie 

 in, dogs ! Search him out, lads ! And on 

 we go, but in two miles we only kill a water- 

 hen that Pepper catches as it rises out of 

 some sedges, and which goes into my bag 

 to replenish the ferrets' larder. The mist 

 hangs low, the bushes are wet, the ground 

 soft, and there is a dreary sigh in the wind. 

 The cattle are eating fast, as they always do 

 before rain ; and the sheep, startled by the 

 sight of the dogs, caper and jump as they 

 gallop all down the meadow ; and again their 

 playfulness warns me of a wet tramp home. 

 Some young colts stand at the door of an 

 open shed, dull and depressed looking, and 

 the horses ploughing on the sides of the hill 

 send up a thick steam. No birds twitter or 

 sing, no insects hum, distant sounds are 

 muffled and indistinct. The teams in the 

 waggons on the road hard by creep along 



