A RECORD DAY 145 



little doing, and one hedge and rail with a ditch to 

 us took toll of two or three impetuous spirits and 

 steadied the rash ones, so that after fifteen glorious 

 minutes we were on good terms with the hounds, 

 and on the best with each other and our horses, 

 and I was able to see which hounds were cutting 

 out the work. 



Tom Telfer and Billy Kerr and two hard-riding 

 farmers, brothers, on young horses, were prominent 

 in front, and close in our wake thundered and crashed 

 a score or more of the best and boldest of Border 

 sportsmen. The pace was kept for another twenty 

 minutes or so, over larger enclosures with fewer 

 fences and an occasional gate to open, which was 

 usually done by the brothers alternately ; though 

 Tom, and a hill-man on a grey pony, seemed to be 

 going out of their way to jump stone walls. 



There was no perceptible change of scent, though 

 hounds were slightly more packed than at first, 

 and were pointing towards a hill rising straight in 

 front of us and standing outside the range of higher 

 hills behind it. As they got on to the base of it, 

 we could hear there were few, if any, silent throats 

 among them, and we realised that they had been 

 going faster than was apparent, and we felt we 

 might have to take from our horses all that they 

 had to give us. 



I watched the pack swarming up the slope straight 



for the summit, too steep for horses to climb. Which 



way round ? Will the fox sink the wind, or will he 



keep on up wind ? Having had a good start, and 



having had time and opportunity to make his point, 



and not being unduly pressed, he will likely do the 



K 



