244 The Hunting Field With Horse and Hound 



Otter, Tally ho Otter" Hounds and followers rushed along 

 down stream to the view-halloo, then on further down to 

 another view. Now came a long wait with much swimming 

 and music from the hounds. Presently, from way up stream 

 came another view, and this time some distance above the 

 leaning tree, and so it went on for three whole hours, first up 

 stream, then down, then back to the holt. By this time the 

 followers were well strung out on either bank, for possibly 

 forty rods above, and as far below the slanting tree. Now the 

 Master cheers on the hounds and the game grows steadily in 

 interest and excitement. Views are now becoming more fre- 

 quent up stream, then down. Finally after a grand rally far 

 up stream, in which direction the Master was always endeavour- 

 ing to drive the enemy, on account of getting him into more 

 shallow water, a dozen men followers go into the stream 

 (standing side by side, forming a sort of fence to keep the 

 otter from again going down stream) . The water here was 

 about knee deep. From now on, the battle was a hand-to-hand 

 engagement. The otter was coming more often to the surface 

 to breathe, and excitement among followers and hounds was 

 very great. Finally, the otter came up in re^ch of a hound 

 called Regent, and such a struggle between beast and game I 

 have never seen. The otter went under and the hound went 

 with him and stayed with him until he brought him to the sur- 

 face. By this time the other hounds had gathered, and the 

 death struggle began. The followers were cheering, hounds 

 were furious, while the melee probably seemed greater than it 

 was, owing to its being in the water. In the tliickest of the 

 melee the little wire-haired terriers were ever present. In grit 

 and daring they were simply marvellous. Finally the Master 

 succeeded in getting the otter by the tail, while others were 

 engaged in whipping off the hounds, and when h-e pulled the 

 otter from the water and handed him up the bank by the tail the 

 two wire-hairs were hanging to the carcase like leeches, never 



