MISS BADSWORTH, M.F.H. 213 



" Hold hard, sir ! " Alf exclaimed, holding up a hand. 



" Have you seen him ? Which way did he go ? Why 

 don't you holloa ?" the Captain asked excitedly. 



Diccox made no reply. The hounds were running towards 

 him as fast as the underwood would permit, and close to 

 them in the ride was Miss Lavvy. The chorus suddenly 

 ceased, and the girl pulled up her horse. Diccox made 

 a motion with his thumb across the ride, and looked with 

 mingled wonder and admiration at the slim figure before 

 him. Lavvy was already splashed with mud, and her white 

 buckskin breeches showed plainly how full of water the 

 overhanging bushes had been. 



" Hey ! Tally-ho over ! " she cried, turning the Banker 

 to one side ; as the leading hounds hit the line, she blew her 

 horn, cheered them forward, and disappeared in the direction 

 from whence she had come. 



*' By Jove, she's quick," Captain Majendie exclaimed as 

 he followed in her wake ; ** but it will be a different thing 

 when they get outside later on." 



Diccox made no comment but moved a little farther down 

 the ride. When he stopped to listen hounds had divided, 

 and were running in three lots. Had he known the first 

 lines of his C^sar he would not have been surprised that 

 such a thing should be possible. 



** Let 'em bustle them, ma'am," Joe Summers advised, as 

 Lavvy pulled up beside him, sorely puzzled as to what to do. 

 "Wait a bit and then look for the best chance of getting 

 them more together; there's a fine show of foxes. I saw 

 four of our youngsters at work as they came by." 



" Five," Lavvy replied, and she mentioned five names. 

 Joe Summers smiled. 



" That's right, ma'am, there were five," and as the girl 

 turned her horse the old man nodded approvingly at her back. 



For nearly an hour Lavvy had to possess her soul in 

 patience, traversing the length and breadth of the wood 

 several times before any opportunity offered of carrying out 

 Joe's instructions. 



