THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 219 



Miss Lumpkin looked outraged, and muttered behind her 

 race-card something about "vulgar old women," and just 

 then the competitors turned to canter up, and jump the 

 preliminary hurdles. 



Ronald, finding that Marmion was rapidly getting excited, 

 and in two minds whether to try a bolt or to savage the 

 horse next to him, gave him his head and let him stride along 

 quickly at the hurdles, over which he led the way with a 

 jump which would have cleared a navigable river. Then 

 away he went, as hard as he could lay legs to the ground, 

 and for half a minute Ronald thought that the impetuous son 

 of Capulet had got away with him in earnest. However, 

 Ronny's frame and arms were muscled in a way calculated 

 to stop any animal who possessed a mouth at all, and 

 Marmion, bolter though he was, had a mouth — the only thing 

 really wrong about him was that he became quite beside 

 himself with excitement; so at the end of this impromptu 

 gallop the good chestnut submitted to be stopped and slowly 

 ridden down to the starting-post, sweating and lathering, and 

 altogether looking rather as if he had been dragged through 

 a pond. The gallop, however, had steadied him down a bit, 

 and although he still yawed his head about, and took sundry 

 snatches at the bridle, he was under complete control by the 

 time the advance flag was hoisted. 



The course was a very sporting one. Starting in the 

 straight run-in, nearly opposite the enclosure and Stand, a 

 gentle ascent of about two hundred yards led into a succession 

 of small grass enclosures, pretty stiffly fenced by nature. At 

 the end of these, and just as the course began to turn, left- 

 handed, down the hill, came a somewhat formidable obstacle 



