126 THE LIFE OF A FOX 



their liuntsman's system well enough to make it no 

 safe thing to be hunted by them. I soon left the 

 covert, and when they had pursued me for some 

 miles, and were getting nearer to me, they suddenly 

 came to a check ; on looking back, I saw the 

 huntsman almost immediately take them away 

 beyond the next large field, rather to the left of 

 where my line was hitherto pointing ; I suppose 

 either because there was a flock of sheep in that 

 field, or because he thought I had gone to a covert 

 in that direction. If the hounds had had their 

 time, they would have hit off the scent to the right 

 of the field. The upshot was, that I, thinking that 

 they had given me up, took the first opportunity of 

 getting out of sight, not because I was tired and 

 beaten, as some suppose must always be the case 

 when we seek such places of refuge ; which they 

 soon ascertained was the case, for nearly as soon as 

 the hounds had hunted up to the drain on one 

 side of the road, I started off on the other, and 

 though they had as good a start with me as they 

 could wish for, I contrived to run away from them, 

 owing to the scent not being good enough for 

 hounds to kill a stout fox without assistance ; and 

 probably to the huntsman repeating his former 

 mistake in making an injudicious forward cast 



