HUNTING 237 



he is hauled out unhurt and popped into a 

 sack. Very often after the dog has found the 

 badger, and moved him about to various parts 

 of the earth, there is a long silence, and the 

 dog comes out completely baffled. What has 

 happened? Why, the badger, gaining an advan- 

 tage over the dog, has managed to "dig himself 

 in," viz. to open out some narrow passage in 

 his great castle and work along it, throwing up 

 loose sand in spadesful till he has blocked 

 completely the whole passage behind him, and 

 the place appears like a load of loose sand just 

 deposited. 



This is a truly artful manoeuvre, and requires 

 a clever dog to circumvent it. Perhaps the dog 

 that has been working the badger is an old 

 hand, and is pretty well aware of what has 

 happened. He may go back down to the block, 

 and bay there not at the badger, which he 

 cannot see and can hardly smell, but in order 

 to mark his knowledge of the way he has gone. 

 In fact we can hear him digging away in order 

 to follow his enemy. 



Now we quickly sink a shaft leading down 

 to where we can hear the dog working. And, 

 sure enough, we find him digging at a newly 

 blocked hole, and scratching out loose sand by 

 the spadeful. 



