FAIR PLAY FOR THE OTTER 49 



were footing it as hard as they could go, and the glorious 

 music of the hounds was almost incessant. At last the 

 quarry was marked to a " holt," in the form of a drain 

 running from a gentleman's residence down to the river 

 bank. I happened to be on the wrong side of the river, 

 but both banks were crowded with the followers of the 

 hunt ; for, notwithstanding the fact that the pace and 

 going had reduced the ranks somewhat, I beheve there 

 could not have been less than a thousand ladies, under- 

 graduates and general onlookers, who had followed even 

 to that distance from Oxford. 



The terriers were put into the head of the drain near 

 the house, which was situate quite 100 yards from the 

 river. Soon the yapping of the httle dogs proclaimed the 

 fact that they had found the otter, and shortly after he 

 appeared at the mouth of the " holt " and promptly dived 

 into the stream. The terriers followed close on his heels, 

 and the appearance of the first led one to think that his 

 muzzle had been bitten off ; but this afterwards proved 

 not to be the case, although the terrier was severely 

 mauled about the head. 



For an hour and twenty minutes after the otter had 

 been bolted ensued a hunt in deep water, and hounds 

 killed their game in the river, close to the bank, at a spot 

 where a spinney ran down to the water's edge. 



The otter was taken into an adjoining meadow and 

 thrown to the hounds, who " worried " him again and 

 again ; but, " worry " him as they would, they could 

 not break his pelt. 



