222 THE HAUGHTYSHIRE HUNT. 



front at first. It is always poor policy to let an impetuous 

 horse exhaust his strength in fighting his jockey, when he 

 might, perhaps, quiet down if allowed to go to the head of 

 afiairs. Dennison, too, was an admirable judge of pace, 

 and knew just what to do with his horse. Dropping his 

 hands low, he let him stride along up the gentle rise to the 

 first fence, just before reaching which he glanced quickly 

 over his shoulder to see where the rest of the field were. 

 Then, speaking gently to the fretting, hard-pulling horse, he 

 went at the obstacle and cleared it, but not in the collected 

 way his backers would have liked to see, as the horse landed 

 stiff-legged, after what looked more a like ' buck over ' than 

 a plain leap. 



Eonald patted his neck, and again spoke to him, rather as 

 if he really liked this awkward and highly dangerous way of 

 negotiating a country, than otherwise ; and to these quiet 

 endearments the gallant chestnut presently paid heed. He 

 ceased pulling at his rider, got his head comfortably down 

 into its natural place, and hearing the thunder of the hoofs 

 now close behind him, evidently made up his mind not to 

 be caught if he could help it. Over the next four fences 

 he held a lead of some half-dozen lengths, Jackdaw, 

 Francis I., Jill, and The Monk following in a cluster, and 

 taking their fences almost side by side, next ; then came Jack 

 Dashwood on Sheldrake, going pleasantly and evidently 

 hardly out of a hand-gallop, followed at a couple of lengths' 

 distance by Fanatic, Mimosa, and Dorothy ; the rest, thus 

 early in the race, beginning to tail off\ 



As soon as Travers had recovered from his surprise at 

 seeing all the horses sprint off when the flag fell, he 



