250 MISS BADSWORTH, M.F.H. 



She was not, however, emulating King Nebuchadnezzar 

 amongst the hanging gardens of Babylon ; she was only 

 discussing routes to what Buncombe had described as "Them 

 clumps where a fox was apt to lie now the leaf was falling," 

 and which were situated below the Ashbed. 



"You had better go and tell Miss Lavinia Badsworth," 

 Lady Flora said, pointing with her stick to Lavvy, towards 

 whom sundry of the field had gravitated. 



Lavvy displayed much outward calmness, though from 

 time to time she looked furtively for the signal from her aunt. 

 Buncombe delivered his message and stated his opinion, and 

 thus it was that when the hounds moved off across the park 

 they missed Alf Biccox on the road. 



Generations of sportsmen and sportswomen have observed 

 that if you don't trot on with the hounds you are speedily left 

 a mile behind ; still there is always a prevalent idea that 

 there is plenty of time, and to tell the truth there was a want 

 of faith in those who were aware that the keepers' clumps 

 were to be run through. Two larch rails on either side of 

 what was called "the green drive" in the park, over which 

 the Banker and the hunt servants' horses popped in a matter- 

 of-fact way, set others squibbing and bucking, and the amount 

 of daylight between rider and saddle in some cases empha- 

 sised the remark of Major Creswell that " small places often 

 gave bad falls " ; hence congestion at a neighbouring gate 

 and some strong words from the Buchess to a youth who 

 she said had taken unwarrantable precedence and had jostled 

 her daughter. So it came about that Lavvy had run the 

 hounds through two of the small plantations and had cracked 

 her whip outside the third and last ere the main body of the 

 field had done more than arrive within sight. Not a sound 

 beyond the girl's clear voice, not a whimper reached them, so 

 they made tracks for the Ashbed at once. 



Now it is difficult to ride with the hounds and run with the 

 hunted animal, be it what it may, at the same time, so the 

 two things must be treated separately. 



Bill Hart, when once he was off, was a good and persistent 



