CHAPTER XXIX. 



In the meantime Miss Lavvy had been patiently hunting 

 her fox in Hoxton Wood, unaware of the proceedings outside. 

 In the centre of the wood was an old quarry, whence tradi- 

 tion said the stone of which Berryhead House had been built 

 had been dug ; hard by, now carefully stopped, were the 

 main earths. 



Twice the hunted fox tried them in vain, the second time 

 going straight up the steep side and over the top. Even 

 after a considerable detour it was a bad scramble for horses, 

 and by the time Lavvy and Ned got up, hounds had tra- 

 versed half the covert on the other side and were running 

 hard up wind. 



Alf Diccox, the only custodian on the dangerous side now 

 left (for the general impression had prevailed that hounds 

 were gone in the opposite direction), viewed the fox away, 

 and vainly endeavoured to stop the hounds. He might as 

 well have tried to pen back Niagara. The scent had im- 

 proved, they were running up wind, and all that was left 

 for him to do was to signal the fact to the authorities, and 

 watch the water fly up where the little river Berry, dammed 

 up to serve Berry mill, formed a wide, deep and unjumpable 

 leat, two fields away. 



Lavvy was the first to come away, but Ned was in close 

 attendance, and from somewhere on the other side Jack 

 Morgan appeared. 



"The bridge is to the left, ma'am," Ned shouted, and 

 Jack cried " Quite unjumpable," so the trio made for the 

 bridge, and the hounds went for Berryhead at their best 

 pace. 



228 



