178 THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 



she devoutly hoped that Mrs. Binkie would be out — to do 

 so. In her heart of hearts, Lady Comely — an aristocrat to 

 the finger-tips — didn't relish the idea of what she called 

 * hob-nobbing ' with Mrs. Septimus, but having accepted a 

 favour at her hands, in the person of Adela, she was far 

 too much of a gentlew^oman to leave so great a social debt 

 unpaid. 



The whole of the assembled cohort went into the field, by 

 covert-side, with the exception of the carriages. All of these 

 drove farther on up the road, except the Catchem Court vehicle, 

 which, for the express purpose of keeping Travers in view, was 

 stationed at the gateway ; a distant sight of the horsemen 

 could still be obtained from this vantage point, and Miss 

 Lumpkin leant well over the side of the carriage, gazing, 

 in order to show her deep interest in our friend. Mr. Binkie 

 stuck his toes well out, made a hollow in his back, and tipped 

 his hat knowingly over his right eye. Presently the wood 

 got musical. Binkie didn't feel quite so comfortable, as he 

 had hoped in his heart that they wouldn't find at all. Whilst 

 the ' pow-wow ' was going on, he gently cantered up to the 

 carriage again. 



" And now, I suppose, like all the rest of the hunting-men, 

 you're letting your eye rove round in search of the biggest 

 places in the hedge to jump? " cooed Miss Lumpkin, looking 

 up into Travers's vacant face. 



Binkie grinned like a sick monkey. Whilst he tacitly 

 accepted this implied compliment to his boundless audacity as 

 a cross-country rider, he entertained in private his own opinion 

 on the subject of jumping big, or in fact, any other ' places.' 

 Cart-ropes and wild horses shouldn't drag him over a fence 



