232 MISS BADSWORTH, M.F.H. 



to hold his infernal tongue and try and find any manners 

 he might have left about. 



Mr. Tucker turned, and in a moment his air of authority 

 left him ; it might have been Hugo Badsworth himself who 

 sat mopping his face with a silk handkerchief, and for Hugo 

 Badsworth he had had feelings of respect when it came to a 

 war of words. 



*' Who are you ? " he asked. 



" Field-master for the time being, owing to Miss Bads- 

 worth's indisposition, and that's my daughter," pointing to 

 Lavvy, " whom you have been treating to such choice lan- 

 guage. You shut yourself in here with wire like a damned 

 poll parrot in a cage, and think you are everybody. Well, 

 you aren't. What are you going to do about it ? " 



Silas Tucker evaporated. '* Your daughter ! " he ex- 

 claimed. 



Somehow the expression on Mr. Tucker's face appealed 

 to Lavvy, he seemed so utterly knocked out of time with 

 astonishment. 



" Mr. Tucker made a mistake, dad," she said. " I don't 

 think he is to be blamed for it. Ned, give me that brush. 

 I'm sure you ought to have this, sir" (handing the flimsy 

 piece of fur which had whisked so gallantly earlier in the 

 day), "you were nearest when we caught him." 



Silas Tucker took the trophy automatically and looked the 

 girl up and down from her velvet cap to the neat top-boots ; 

 then he glanced up at Charles Badsworth and said : — 



**Your daughter! A girl! Well, I'm — blessed. Come 

 down to the 'ouse and get some refreshment. I saw her 

 jump those three gates." 



Lavvy walked alongside the old man with the hounds 

 around her ; she knew that she would have to go through 

 the ordeal of inspection by Mrs. Tucker and her daughters 

 if they happened to be at home, but, at the same time, she 

 had an idea that this cantankerous old man would be in 

 future more of an ally than an enemy. Twice Mr. Tucker 

 stopped and looked at her, and muttered " You a girl, bless 



