28 HORSES 



or before many hours have passed there will be a 

 craving in that region which will entirely spoil 

 your pleasure. 



It is a morning in early September, and, as you 

 ride out of the stable-yard, the sun has not yet 

 risen, but there is a glow in the east that is already 

 dispersing the darkness of night. A slight chilli- 

 ness in the atmosphere will make you button your 

 coat, but a few minutes' jogging in the saddle will 

 warm the blood. It was rather a drag turning out 

 of bed at such an early hour, but now that you 

 have once started, you wonder why you have 

 wasted such precious time between the sheets. 

 There is an invigorating freshness in the air, and 

 the birds greet you with the full sweetness of their 

 early morning song. The hedges that border the 

 lanes are still full of leaf and are glistening with 

 dew. Perhaps you may be too young to notice 

 these things, but you drink in the beauty of them 

 unconsciously, and they have an exhilarating effect 

 on the spirit. 



A six-mile jog lands you at the covert, a wood of 

 twenty acres ; at the same moment hounds arrive. 

 The sun is now over the horizon, and no delay is 

 made in putting the pack into covert. You will 

 make acquaintance with the huntsman, and he 

 may perhaps entrust you with the important office 

 of watching a ride.^ Let me impress on you here, 

 when you undertake this task, never to take your 

 eyes off the ride for one second, for, if you do, at 



^ i.e. a path through the wood. 



