THE LIFE OF A FOXHOUND. 55 



** And what was the finish of this attack 

 on Ned Adams? " inquired I. 



" But for his lusty lungs for help," replied 

 Trimbush, ** it might have gone hard with 

 him. However, Will Sykes, Tom Holt, and 

 Old Mark quickly made their appearance, 

 and put an end to the fray with little 

 difficulty. As for our new companion, we 

 never saw him afterwards." 



" He was sent away, I suppose? " 

 remarked I. 



" Yes," returned Trimbush, " to dance in 

 the air with a hempen cord round his 

 throttle." 



" And no wonder, either," added I, '* for 

 such an offence." 



Breaking up a whipper-in is certainly no 

 joke," said my companion. " But there was 

 one picked as clean as ivory once, without any 

 unpleasant interruption to the spread." 



** Gracious powers ! " ejaculated I, " what 

 do you mean? " 



" Simply what I have said," replied Trim- 

 bush, licking his jaws with a peculiar relish, 

 and coolly adding, ** I had a hand in the 

 supper." 



You? " I exclaimed. 



(( 



