THE OTTER AND HIS WAYS. 293 



'That's a cat for certain,' said my old friend, the Rev. 

 Harry Fortescue, ' that terrier is always at riot.' 



But in another instant Rattler threw his tongue like a tenor 

 bell announcing a find, and all knew at once the long-looked-for 

 otter was at length found. To the river we then rushed, not 

 fifty yards from the barn, and great was our amazement to 

 view not one but a brace of fine otters glide rapidly from under 

 a broad stone slab that bridged a dyke running into the stream 

 below. But the terriers Prince and Fox, usually on the back 

 of a bolting otter, did not appear ; they had been stopped by 

 the dyke water that covered to the depth of a foot the mouth 

 of the drain leading up to the old barn. Here then was the 

 mystery solved ; countless times had the hounds carried the 

 drag up and down that dyke, but the submerged mouth of the 

 drain baffled all their inquiries. 



The result is soon told ; the otters, male and female of 

 course, on reaching the main stream parted at once. The dog 

 turned downwards and made a desperate effort to gain the 

 cliffs, but was pulled down while crossing a shallow only a 

 short distance from his stronghold. The other, my lady, with 

 a couple of hounds in close pursuit succeeded in gaining a long 

 deep mill pond in the meadows above, where, on following up, 

 we found Tyrant and Wakefield hard at her and making the 

 valley ring with their music, as they worked her to and fro 

 from one hover to another. At length she got under a bridge 

 which was flooded up to its very keystone, the pond being a 

 bumper at the time ; and here taking rest and recovering her 

 wind she might ultimately have beaten us, for the swimming 

 and marking being incessant it was beginning to tell upon the 

 hounds and terriers, not one of which could get under the 

 archway and so bolt her. 



Happily, however, the jolly miller who had joined the chase 

 came to the rescue ; he ran home for a crowbar, lifted a flood- 

 hatch, and in half an hour so lowered the water that the terriers 

 went in and thenceforth never gave her a moment's rest. The 

 otter now landed, and taking to the dense scrub on the comb 



