326 ACCESSIBLE FIELD SPORTS. 



the reason of my not having turkey for a future day's 

 dinner. 



Tired, hungry, and bad tempered, I struck off direct 

 for my horse, expecting to have little more than a 

 mile to walk ; but with surprise, after having tra- 

 velled that distance, I found I was turned round and 

 lost. Already it was sunset, half an hour more would 

 make it dark, and the bottom land which I was now 

 wandering through, was as intricate, densely covered a 

 swamp as ever was inhabited by wild cat. The season 

 of the year> moreover, was not exactly the one to be 

 selected for making your couch on the surface of 

 mother earth, and visions of a good dinner, comfortable 

 fire, and dry clothes floated before me. Hark ! what 

 is that -a dog barking? And so it was. Forward I 

 pushed to the sound, and in doing so came across a 

 road, which, on inspection, I recognised as one we had 

 traversed in the morning. The rest of the programme 

 for that day was plain sailing. I found my pony 

 where he was left, my friend's horse being gone ; 

 so, concluding "Will had made tracks for home, I 

 mounted my fiery little nag, and with a sufficiently 

 tight rein to guard against accidents, rattled home, 

 almost at racing pace. It was nearly two hours after- 

 wards that Will turned up wet and exhausted down 

 upon his luck and deer in particular vowing that 



