i82 THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 



kicked his legs about, and murmured that he really hadn't 

 been able to resist the temptation when the time actually came. 



" And had you a fine run ? " asked Miss Lumpkin. 



" Oh, beautiful ! " replied Mr, Binkie, who had been with 

 hounds about three minutes in all. 



" And where did you run to ? " queried the fair one, really 

 imagining that she was pleasing him by seeming to take an 

 interest in hunting : " Where did you run to ? " 



Binkie hadn't the faintest notion, so he said vaguely that 

 they ' ran over a lot of fields, you know — some grass and some 

 plough — jumps? Oh, yes, awful jumps — what sort? Oh, 

 hedges and ditches and things — all that sort of thing, don't 

 you know. And now he really thought he'd go upstairs and 

 take off his hunting things, and get into something a bit more 

 comfortable, you know.' And under cover of this, he at length 

 escaped from Lucretia's slightly embarrassing questions. 



Mr. Binkie graciously acceded to his host's suggestion that 

 he should stay on with them over the Sunday, and not leave till 

 Monday at midday. He and the fair Lucretia sat in each other's 

 pockets all that evening, looking, from time to time, unutterable 

 things into each other's eyes. Mamma Lumpkin gazed at the 

 performance with evident approval, and after retiring for the 

 night she said impressively to her husband — 



"Toodle, I smell a rat!" 



"Do you, indeed, my dear? That's very unpleasant. I — I — " 

 (sniffing very hard) " I don't smell anything of the kind 

 myself." 



" No, no ! " exclaimed the lady impatiently, " I mean that 

 there's really something on the tajyis between that young 

 fellow and Luty." 



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