254 THE HUNTING FIELD 



"But," continued he, after a pause, during which 

 he adjusted the end of the cigar, "you great 

 landowners should know these things much better 

 than me." 



Piggy had now got near hand, and after a snort 

 and semi-circular dart on meeting the hounds, had 

 adopted the grass siding of the road, and was 

 advancing in that sort of retrograding way that makes 

 one congratulate oneself upon not being a pig-driver. 



" It will bring down the price of bacon, too," 

 observed the Captain, eyeing the bristling little 

 beggar as it squeaked and tugged at the cord. 

 "There's a nice little pig," continued he, pointing 

 it out to Pappington. "What price would you set 

 upon it?" 



Pappington looked at it with a most sagacious eye, 

 as if he was in the habit of valuing whole droves every 

 day. 



" Thirty shillings," said he, with the greatest con- 

 fidence. 



" What do you say, Mr. Brown? " asked the Captain. 



" I say five-and-twenty," replied Brown. 



" Let us make a sovereign sweepstakes," said the 

 Captain, "for the nearest guesser." 



" Done," rejoined Pappington. 



"Will you be in?" asked the Captain of Sam 

 Tubbs, who was just passing, to whom he explained 

 the purport of the venture. 



Tubbs, who was a judge of pigs, joined and priced 

 the pig at four-and-twenty shillings. 



The Captain guessed three-and-twenty. 



" What did you give for your pig, my good woman ? " 

 inquired Pappington, riding up. 



" Five-and-twenty shillings," replied the woman. 



She had been hoaxing the man. 



That was a spec deserving of a better result. We 

 shall now exhibit our Captain in the more genial 

 field of horse dealing. 



