A HILL DAY 133 



" He'll never make the heights ; they're bound to 

 turn in. Come on." 



'^ Lord preserve us," he cried in his excitement, 

 '^ they must be running in view, and here's that 

 blasted wire fence — the march between Todlaw and 

 Softhope — tightened up and renewed. We'll have to 

 get through it ; there's not a gate for miles." 



He brought his pony alongside the fence, stepped 

 off and stood on the top wire, balancing himself 

 with his hands on the saddle, dancing and swinging 

 and stamping till a staple flew ; then moved along 

 to the next post, and the next one or two, repeating 

 the operation. Then jumping down, he bound the 

 loosened wires tight together with his stirrup leather, 

 and laying his coat on them, he led his pony over, 

 the sensible beast quietly lifting one leg at a time. 



" Safety " played the fool, hanging back and planting 

 her toes in the ground, breasting the fence anywhere 

 but the right where, and at last leaping so suddenly 

 and so high in the air as almost to land on the top 

 of me. 



Sounder ground enabled us to canter round the 

 base of the hill to a point overlooking the whole 

 of the wide hope below, which we eagerly scanned, 

 but without seeing a sign of the chase. 



" They can't be down into Softhope burn below us, 

 or we would hear them, and they haven't had time 

 to get over Red Cleugh heights ; they must have 

 put him to ground again," said Sandy. 



Emerging from the bed of the stream higher up 

 we now saw Davie Oliver on his white pony, with 

 a few followers, moving in an uncertain way, and 

 apparently as much at a loss as we were ourselves. 



