46 HOUND AND HORN 



A few minutes' digging disclosed our cub. 



" Whoop — whoo-oop — whoo-oo-oop ! " screamed 

 Billy. 



*' Worry — worry — worry — too-too-too — too-too-too 

 — too-too-too-too-oo ! " went the horn. 



*' Must have a pad in memory of first blood." 



" Dead, dead, dead ; leave it, hounds," said my 

 amateur first whip. 



" Very good ; but don't lay your whip about you 

 so ; don't frighten young hounds ; let them break him 

 up outside the cover and eat him." 



Jack whipped off the brush and one pad, and 

 holding the carcase up high before tossing it to the 

 hounds, we screamed to our hearts' content. 



" All up, sir," said Jack, as Lawless, a rather timid 

 puppy, came in. 



We saved a few scraps, pads and tit-bits, for the 

 young hounds, and were coaxing them to taste them, 

 when the boy riding my second horse came with the 

 information that he had seen a fox leave the lower 

 end of the plantation two minutes ago. So, before 

 hounds had recovered their wind, we were cantering 

 round, and soon had the satisfaction of seeing them 

 dash away and settle down to run as if they meant 

 business. A nice wide ring over sound lea heather 

 ground brought us in a quarter of an hour, with one 

 slight check where sheep had crossed the line, to 

 a fair-sized stream, down the bed of which hounds 

 hunted very closely, and where I saw two of the 

 puppies very keen, as they were led to cross and 

 recross the stream. Half a mile lower down were the 

 buildings of a hill farm, a dwelling-house with out- 

 houses behind, standing in an angle formed by the 



