46 In Scarlet and Silk 



the 29tli of January, the ferret got into a 

 fox - earth, and paid the penalty with his 

 life. Then, seizing up one cub, the vixen 

 made a bolt with it, leaving another behind 

 her which, on examination, appeared to be 

 about three weeks old. One or two other 

 early litters have also been discovered, l)ut 

 none, that I have heard of, quite so soon in 

 the year as this. 



The ruthless builder is slowly, but none 

 the less surely, exterminating foxes and fox- 

 hunting in Kent and Surrey, and, alas ! also 

 in many parts of Sussex where I have en- 

 joyed many a good gallop, notably with the 

 Crawley and Horsham Foxhounds. Here, as 

 a boy, I obtained (and deserved) the undying 

 hatred of everybody in the field by riding 

 a horse I could no more hold than I could 

 have stopped a steam-roller. But good old 

 George Loader — a better huntsman never 

 lived — always refrained from using " cuss- 

 words" at me, and said he "liked to see 

 the young 'uns going." With only about 

 seven stone on his back, the old steeplechase 



