40 HOUND AND HORN 



considerably, so there was nothing for it but to go 

 back home with her. Seven miles took an hour and 

 a half to do, when at eleven o'clock I again set out 

 on a fresh horse to look for the pack. 



I found one hound near where I had turned back, 

 evidently working homewards on the back trail, which 

 confirmed the shepherd lad's information, and jogging 

 along for another six miles towards a large wood- 

 land in enclosed country, a gamekeeper gave the 

 news that a certain young farmer had got hold of 

 the hounds, had taken them on to his farm and 

 shut them up in his straw barn. There I found 

 them a little footsore, and one couple only short, and 

 heard Paton's story. 



At about 10.30 A.M. he was riding in to the market 

 town. While off his horse to open a gate on the 

 edge of the moor, he saw a fox crossing a grass 

 field. Not dreaming of hounds, and seeing the 

 fox was very tired, he kept perfectly still and 

 watched. The animal made three attempts to jump 

 a wall before succeeding, and then he saw him 

 creep towards the mouth of a stone drain, slowly 

 and deliberately walk past it to a manure heap. 

 On this he rolled, after which he came back by a 

 series of jumps down wind and disappeared into 

 the drain just as leading hounds crossed the wall 

 sixty yards behind him. The drain, which was 

 usually protected by an iron grating, was fully 

 half a mile long, and led to a threshing-mill pond, 

 and had many side branches ; and though large 

 enough to admit a terrier, it was considered by 

 the Duke's people, in whose country it was, too 

 strong to allow of bolting. 



