MISS BADSWORTH, M.F.H. 309 



Lavvy acknowledged the receipt of the intelligence with 

 an upward movement of her whip, and then she laughed 

 at the reminiscence of the pompous Silas. 



The hunt was not a success ; hounds were anything but 

 keen, as the fox in a strange land dodged about aimlessly, 

 but by dint of holloas from people in the rides, and perse- 

 verance on Lavvy's part (Ned had said " He's mangy, 

 ma'am," as he passed), the end came. 



" Put him down a rabbit hole, they won't break him up," 

 Lavvy said, and then mounted and rode slowly out of the 

 covert. 



At the gate, Silas Tucker, anything but comfortable on a 

 heavy underbred horse, exclaimed : — 



" Ah ! What did I tell you, Miss Lavvy ? " 



" You were quite right, Mr. Tucker," Lavvy replied in a 

 clear voice that all could hear. " I wouldn't pay for him, if I 

 were you ; he was mangy. Here's the address in case you 

 want it again. We are going to Hoxton Wood." 



Silas turned purple as Lavvy held out the card. Fortun- 

 ately Mr. Tucker's mount at the moment bucked so vigor- 

 ously that it was only by clinging desperately to the pommel 

 of his saddle the old gentleman saved a separation. Perhaps 

 that was why people laughed. 



Of the middle of that day there is little to chronicle be- 

 yond the fact that clouds banked up in the south-west and 

 the wind gradually increased. A half-hearted fox in Hoxton 

 refused to leave, and after much perseverance on Lavvy's 

 part was marked to ground and eventually evicted by "the 

 Reformer ". Southerby was blank, and a fox from Tick- 

 ler's Gorse disappeared mysteriously. Rain began to fall, 

 the wind continued to rise, and the day promised to close 

 down early. Lavvy did not like her last day to end like 

 this. She would draw once more. 



From no one knew where a fox suddenly appeared, and 

 hounds ran merrily back to Southerby. It was a nice gallop, 

 and easy fences and good going enabled everybody to reach 

 that covert in safety. 



