DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 29 



in our goings and comings and were frequently at 

 their doors to see us start upon our journeyings. 



Our hostess was most anxious to aid us in 

 determining the routes to take and would frequently 

 be with us before breakfast was over to say : 

 "Now, where be going to go to-day, me dears? 

 The pony be in the stable doing nort and I won't 

 have 'ee coming home too tired to ate." 



So I was often to be seen driving a conspicuously 

 white, and conspicuously slow, pony, a demure lady 

 by my side, with her hands across each other in her 

 lap, smiling at my vain efforts to keep the darned 

 thing straight. Do what I would I could not get 

 him from his zigzag course to and from the peopled 

 doorsteps. I could pull his head round until it 

 pointed in the desired direction, but the body of the 

 animal drifted as his will desired, until I felt that I 

 was lapsing into a wish to use my tongue as I had 

 heard my father's men do to jibbing horses. 



" Please, Phil, don't whip him so. Where is the 

 need for hurrying past ? Am I not looking nice ? " 



" This animal seems to think you are looking 

 more than nice and is determined to show you 

 round." 



The pony went fairly well in the uninhabited 

 portions of our drives, but stop he would when 

 he met anyone he knew, and he seemed to know 

 everyone we met. His best paces were reserved 

 for coming home, and we soon found out that he 

 would turn his head the other way so as not to see 

 individuals with whom he would have desired to 

 stop and speak on his outward journey. I had 

 ridden and driven a number of Exmoor ponies 

 but this one had more tricks than the whole bunch, 



