A Curious 'Turnpike* 33 



loop— the slip-knot, as it might be called — was at the 

 same time eased in order to run quicker and take a 

 closer grip. Experiments with the hand proved that 

 this style of wire would bear a great strain, and 

 immediately answered to a sudden jerk. The running , 

 noose slipped the more easily because the wires were 

 smooth ; when twisted the strands checked the noose, 

 the friction causing a slight sound. The wire itself 

 seemed nearly perfect ; but still no rabbit was 

 caught. 



Various runs were tried in succession ; the size of 

 the loop, too, was now enlarged and now decreased ; 

 for once it seemed as if a rabbit's ears had struck it 

 aside, and on another as if, the loop being too large or 

 too low down, one of the fore feet had entered and 

 drawn it. Had it been the hind leg the noose would 

 have held, because of the crook of the leg ; but the 

 forefoot came through, leaving the noose drawn up to 

 a size not much larger than a finger-ring. To decide 

 the point accurately, a full-grown rabbit was shot, and 

 Orion held it in a position as near as possible to that 

 taken in running, while I adjusted the wire to fit 

 exactly. Still no success. 



At last the secret was revealed by a hare. One 

 day, walking up the lane with the gun, and peeping 

 over into the ploughed field, I saw a hare about sixty 



D 



