GETTING TO WORK 63 



there should be no noise, and that hounds should 

 work up to him, and pusi him up. Suddenly there 

 rose yells and shouts — '^ \ onder he is ; he's intae the 

 gairden ; shut the door an' they'll hev 'im," and a 

 group of pedestrian onlookers swept e?i masse to the 

 garden door as hounds poured through it. At the 

 head of this detachment rode an old man, wildly 

 waving his cap, and spurring his rough horse with his 

 one' spur, attached, to be more effective, upside down. 

 His face was beaming with delight, and he thundered 

 down a gravel path to the bottom of the garden 

 just in time to see the wretched fox scramble over 

 the high upright picket fence in front of a yelling 

 pack. On he clattered out at the avenue gate, up to 

 the hounds, through them, and away in front of them. 

 A high stiff gate across a narrow lane will surely 

 check him ; not a bit ; for flailing his willing horse he 

 rushed it, and with a terrible rattle landed clear on 

 the other side, just as hounds turned suddenly back 

 in pursuit of the doubling fox. 



A minute or two later they were in full chorus 

 through the policies again, our friend at the head 

 of affairs. I thought it was time to interfere, so 

 riding up, I began, " Hold hard ; hold hard, please. 

 Hi there, will you hold hard, please ? " Then get- 

 ting alongside I, nearly choking with rage, said, 

 " Can't you hear hounds are behind 3^ou ? " 



^' He hears nothing, sir," explained Jack. '* He's 

 stone deaf." 



The honest fellow turned round and showed a 

 face glowing with enjoyment and triumph, and as 

 I pulled the Omega mare back he shouted, ''They 

 were terrible near him at the gairden fit. Come on, 



