166 A WILD-CAT HUNT IN CAROLINA. 



to pursue ; while an almost unbroken line of pine, 

 oak, and bay-trees, intertwined with vines, made it 

 impracticable for horsemen. There were narrow 

 gaps, however, through which we expected to get 

 an occasional glimpse of him perhaps a shot. 

 The hounds pressed eagerly on, through all this 

 tangle, to the extremity of the skirt ; and when we 

 momently expected they would drive him out into 

 the open land, behold ! they had lost the track ! 

 We looked up at the trees, to see whether he had 

 secreted himself among their dense branches. We 

 tried, first this path, and then that ; we beat the 

 back track : all in vain hunter and hound stood 

 at complete fault. It was hard to say whose disap- 

 pointment was the greater. But what is Rowser 

 after ? See, he is running down the old field to the 

 extreme end of the thicket, where a fence crosses 

 from the wood. What does he there ? Shade of 

 Watts, Duncan and Hedge ! can he syllogize ? 

 Hark ! hark ! he has struck the trail listen to his 

 joyous cry, ."gvp^a!" He sounds the alarm; how 

 uproariously the whole pack second him. Saga- 

 gious animal, he has unmasked the stratagem of 

 the cat fairly countermined him ! 



While the hounds were running down the thicket, 

 the cat, it would appear, unseen by hunter or 

 hound, had executed a double, above their heads, 



