HUNTING THE FOX 65 



on, over the road. What had probably happened 

 was that the Fox had seen the man in the trap, 

 turned three-quarters right about, and then crossed 

 the road to make his original point, — an eight- 

 mile point, and with the exception of the sharp 

 turn just described, nearly straight all the way. 

 The seemingly obvious down-wind cast would no 

 doubt have saved the Fox, while Mr. Smith's recipe 

 undoubtedly killed him. 



On another day Mr. Smith was almost forgotten, 

 and yet in spite of the fact that he was only tried 

 as an afterthought, the Fox was killed in a neigh- 

 bouring country after a fine run. The Hounds 

 had thrown up at a point marked X on the map, 

 at the end of a grass lane which was crossed by a 

 field road making a T-shaped junction of roads. 

 In the corner of a field, at the top of the T on the 

 left front, a flock of sheep had run together at a 

 point marked C on the map. The wind was blowing 

 from the west, or left of the line. The Huntsman 

 naturally held the Hounds beyond the sheep to 

 point C, but with no response. He should now 

 have held them up wind to the left nearly back to 

 the original line, and then have held them round 

 the front as far as the right rear to point B on the 

 map, so as to draw a complete cordon round X, 

 the spot where they last had the scent. Instead 

 of that he began with a down-wind cast only as 

 far as the point A on the map, and announced that 



F 



