THE MASTER OF HOUNDS 8i 



before they had drawn it the master felt chilled and 

 decided to go home ; in fact, he never left the place 

 of meeting, and was out of sight when hounds came 

 out of covert, and had not asked any one to take his 

 place for the day. Well, as it happened, there were 

 three magnates of the hunt who owned coverts in the 

 neighbourhood of the first place drawn. One of these 

 men, realising what had happened, caught the hunts- 

 man as he called hounds out and told him that the 

 master had gone home, and that he was to go to his 

 (the magnate's) place, which was nearly three miles 

 off. 



Now there were other coverts, quite as good and 

 much nearer, and when magnates two and three found 

 out what was being done, they each suggested their 

 own coverts as the best draw. Meantime huntsman, 

 hounds, and whippers-in stood in the road, the hunts- 

 man merely observing, " Settle it amongst yourselves, 

 gentlemen, and then tell me where I am to go." The 

 three, however, argued the matter, and the argument 

 gradually worked up into a quarrel. Other members 

 of the hunt were appealed to, but declined to interfere, 

 and at length one of the quarrelling trio peremptorily 

 ordered the huntsman to go to the covert which he 

 had suggested. The owner of this covert was a pillar 

 of the hunt, a liberal subscriber, a committee man, 

 and a keen sportsman, but was also a domineering 

 man and not personally popular. His command was 

 promptly capped by similar loud-voiced commands by 

 each of the other parties to the quarrel, and thus the 

 huntsman was placed on the horns of a dilemma. He, 

 good, honest soul, tried to calm matters down, and 

 suggested that lots should be drawn ; but all the trio 

 had fairly lost their tempers by this time, and the 

 6 



