GETTING TO WORK 59 



hounds, and were delighted to report any incident 

 they had observed. 



They seldom spoke of the fox as such by his 

 name. An old road-mender, bent double with rheu- 

 matism and leaning on two sticks, said one day : 

 ^' Oo had a veesit frae yin o' yer freen's last nicht, 

 sir. He liftit twae duicks till us. The wife's kinda 

 compleenin', but A'm no sayin' a word masel." Or : 

 " A saw him the nicht afore last i' the grey derk ; 

 he was a yalla yin ! eh, he was a muckle yalla yin ! 

 no' the little reed yin A tell't ye o' afore." 



Great was the disappointment of the folk if a fox 

 was not found on their own farm. 



'' Hae ye no raised him yet, sir ? " said a jolly- 

 looking farm steward, as I was blowing hounds out 

 after a blank draw. 



'^ Not yet, Sandy." 



" Did ye try Braeside whin, an' no raise him 

 there ? " 



'' No, Sandy." 



*' Dod, that bates a', an' me saw twae there the 

 other Sunday. A dander oot maist every Sunday 

 efternuin to see if A can see him." 



A good type of hill farmer was Tom Telfer, by 

 his own inclination and desire, endorsed by common 

 consent and unanimous selection, official First Whip 

 to the Hunt. Born and brought up in the hills, he 

 knew every yard of ground on both sides of the 

 Border line in a twenty-mile radius from home, had 

 early developed a liking for field sports, and soon 

 acquired a faculty for crossing a rough country that 

 was remarkable even in a community of hard riders. 

 He was always well mounted ; but, indeed, what- 



