84 HOUND AND HORN 



getting old now, and only comes out on ^near-hand' 

 days, and often takes half a day only. Tom the 

 feeder told me that last month, at Wolfelee, he had 

 a fast run that blew and distressed him greatly, 

 followed by a subterranean battle of ten minutes. 

 When hounds were moving off for the afternoon 

 draw, Jock repaired to the hilltop, sat down and 

 watched the direction in which they were going, and 

 seeing them pointing away from home, he turned 

 tail and trotted away off to kennel. Intelligent ! 

 Why, they are wiser than most men. Jock knows 

 every earth, drain, and hole in the country-side, 

 and the shortest way to them, and often in a chase 

 guesses where it is to lead to and is waiting there 

 to receive us. It is a fact that on one occasion 

 the hunted fox went into a drain just in front of 

 hounds and was immediately ejected by Jock, who 

 had got there before him ; and more than once, on 

 our arrival at an earth, we have heard the mufQed 

 yap-yapping coming from it that told us he was 

 at work. He does not seem to feel punishment, 

 and the more he is mauled the prouder he seems 

 when taken notice of. Scamp has a custom of 

 going home with hounds after hunting unless he 

 has been punished. If this is so, he comes down 

 to the house of his own accord to have his face 

 bathed and sponged. This is done by one of the 

 maids who is very fond of him, and Scamp remains 

 for one, two, or three days till his wounds are healed, 

 then returns to the kennels. He has been known 

 to do a cute thing more than once. If he wishes 

 to find me or a particular member of the family, 

 or a special horse, he soon gets tired of running 



