54 THE LIFE OF A FOX 



these well -nosed hounds got on my scent, there 

 called " the drag." This fine old huntsman believ- 

 ing that a fox was near, persevered for an unusual 

 length of time in trying to find one, and owing to 

 one or two hounds occasionally throwing their 

 tongues, waited in an agony of expectation. At 

 length being led to the covert which I had just left, 

 they soon got on the hne which I had taken when 

 I came from my kennel two hours before, and which 

 they had great difficulty in hunting. By this time 

 I thought it right to leave the wood where I had 

 stopped. A man saw me go away, and hallooed 

 loudly, but still the hounds were not allowed to be 

 brought on ; and they continued a walking pace 

 until they got to the spot where I had waited, at 

 the extremity of the wood, and where, though at 

 some distance, I heard the cry of the hounds fol- 

 lowing me too closely to be despised by me as they 

 had hitherto been. It seemed that they Avere left 

 entirely to themselves, for I heard no men's voices 

 cheering them on, as in other countries when run- 

 ning in the same way. As they continued without 

 any stopping, I resorted to the only means then in 

 my power, and ran through a herd of deer, with 

 which the forest abounds. This plan succeeded, 

 and probably saved my life ; for when the deer 



