32 THE LIFE OF A FOX 



just arrived, suspecting that I had purloined his 

 meat, flew at me the instant he saw me with such 

 fury that he knocked me over and over again with- 

 out getting hold of me. He then turned, and was 

 in the act of securing me with his teeth, when I 

 griped one of his legs and bit it through ; the pain 

 which he suffered prevented him from more than 

 mumbhng me with his teeth ; so I got off, and made 

 the best of my way to the covert that evening. 



I felt next day that, bruised as I was, I could 

 not have escaped for ten minutes from a pack of 

 hounds had they found me ; I therefore lost no 

 time in reaching a main earth, into which I got 

 before the earth -stopper had put to ; but I had 

 scarcely done so when he came at daylight, and to 

 my great dismay stopped it up. I remained there 

 all day and till late at night, and no one came to 

 open it, and had I not contrived to scratch my 

 way out, I know not how long I might have re- 

 mained there, for I have reason to know that many 

 of us are stopped up in rocky earths and drains for 

 weeks, and starved to death, owing to the forget- 

 fulness or sheer cruelty of the stoppers. I have 

 heard such sad tales as — but just now it would 

 interrupt my story to tell them. 



It so happened, my friends, that for some time 



