76 A MEDLEY OF SPORT 



Denis, the white beaver flying behind him attached to 

 the end of a yard or so of black tape. With a grunt the 

 old mare half jumped, half tumbled over the obstacle, 

 her rider manfully and lovingly clinging round her ewe- 

 neck, for in spite of the fact that he had rammed his 

 bulky clogs hard home, he lost both stirrups in the 

 encounter. By a great effort he managed, however, to 

 clamber back into the saddle and, turning to his open- 

 mouthed friend McLoughlin, who was waiting to witness 

 the centaurlike manner in which Denis was to take the 

 fence, exclaimed, " Begorra, Micky, the ould mare'd 

 have put down Joe Widger himself over that one, for 

 she jumped big an' landed clane on her nose, an' meself 

 sittin' as grand an' tight as if I'd been in me ould arm- 

 chair at home. An' ye'U see betther before the day's 

 out," he added, as he once more settled himself in the 

 saddle, and with a cut of his old hammer-headed crop, 

 and a dig in her bony sides, sent his mount wheezing and 

 pounding along on the Une taken by the quickly dis- 

 appearing hounds. 



" Bad scran to the divils, for they're runnin' like 

 redshanks ! But sure I know the line iv the fox as well 

 as my way home, an' I'll soon be up with them, by the 

 short cut along the lane, but sorra the jump bigger nor 

 a watherfurow or a whin bush'll see me till I'm there, 

 when there's hard footin' convanient all the way," 

 soliloquised Denis, as he turned off at a tangent before 

 reaching the stiff double fence beyond which yawned 

 an eighteen-foot brook. 



