CHAPTER XXXII, 



Miss Badsworth was rapidly learning the lesson that the 

 duties of a master are not limited by the possession of a 

 pack of hounds, in fact that there were times when she had 

 to assert her authority and give decisions on important 

 questions at a moment's notice. Fortunately for her she 

 was not above sinking the prejudices of the past and 

 acknowledging that in some things the opinions of others 

 were better than her own. 



She had gone her best in Jack Morgan's wake until that 

 gentleman, oblivious of the lady who was following and 

 concentrating his energies on the little figure in the red coat 

 and black cap in front, negotiated a big double at the exact 

 spot where the said figure had disappeared momentarily a 

 minute before. Then it was that Miss Badsworth, left to 

 her own devices, with many others got farther and farther 

 behind, until open gates and deeply scarred turf were the 

 only proofs of the line the chase had taken. 



Miss Lavvy was two miles or more on her homeward 

 route when she fell in with her aunt and many stragglers, 

 who, under the guidance of Major Creswell (who altered his 

 opinion of what was best to do every five minutes), had 

 taken to the road on the sound decision that " hounds being 

 out of their country were bound to come back to draw 

 again ". The only question was, which way ? 



Lavvy pulled up and beckoned her aunt, with the result that 

 after a conference in low voices, Miss Badsworth said aloud 

 and with decision : — 



"You don't say so! Take the hounds home at once, 

 Lavvy. Some trick has been played," she added to the 



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