CHAPTER IV 



A MORNING'S CUBBING 



" With nostrils opening wide, o'er hill, o'er dale 

 The vigorous hounds pursue, with evWy breath 



Inhale the grateful steam, quick pleasures sting 



Their tingling jterves, while they their thanks repay, 



A7id in triu7nphant melody confess 

 The titillating Joy" — Somervile. 



ti 



c 



OME on, Maister ! this is no time of day 

 to lie sweltering in bed," said Billy's cheery 

 voice. 



It was 4.10 A.M. on the morning of our first 

 cubbing, and swelter could barely be called an 

 accurate description of my condition. For when 

 I woke up half-an-hour previously, in time to stop 

 the alarum clock from going off, I had looked out and 

 had seen in the grey light a distinct rime on the 

 grass, and felt the atmosphere more than chilly. But 

 passing over this, I replied, " Thanks for waking me, 

 Bill ; please don't disturb the house, but slip down- 

 stairs and light up the coffee, like a good chap, 

 and I'll be with you in two twos." When, half-an- 

 hour later, I joined him at the stable door, he was 

 stamping his feet, thumping his hands, and sucking 

 impatiently at a black briar pipe. 



When the horses, old ** Safe Conveyance " and the 

 grey mare, wxre led out, their thin summer coats 



35 



