WOODLAND STORIES 



815 



go there, and if I can't reach them I'll 

 hunt the gorse by Meadowbank for 

 rabbits." 



" Why not take the family of rabbits 

 only a few 3'ards away if j'ou don't want 

 to go far ? " suggested the dog Fox. " The 

 stop can't be \'ery dee]-) ; ^-ou could dig 

 it out in an hour and kill the lot." 



" Just so," replied the M.F.H. care- 

 lessly, as if he had his doubts but did 

 not care to argue the point. " Where 

 cUd you say you saw that htter of 

 cubs ? " 



" On the edge of the clearing in the 

 Heron Wood," said the Squire. " The 

 old ones weren't about, so there's no 



A YOUNG RABBIT HIDING. 



Photograpli by li. Hanky. 



" Not yet, dear," said the Vixen, licking 

 her lips. '-I've counted them — eight and 

 the mother. They won't be grown 

 sufficiently for another three or four 

 weeks, and it's well to have some reserve 

 food near home in case of trouble. Let 

 them ])lay with the children until they 

 are bigger," and she licked her hps again, 

 as she followed her lord and master over 

 the dew-drenched grass. 



On the verandah at the Hall, the 

 Squire sat with his friend the M.F.H. 

 They were smoking and listening to the 

 nightingale. 



" How peaceful everything is ! " said 

 the Squire. " There's nothing better 

 than a late April night in England." 



danger of the vixen shifting them, and 

 I've given strict orders that nobody is 

 to go near the place. When cub hunt- 

 ing starts we ought to have a certain 

 find there." 



"Yes," said the M.F.H. "They al- 

 ways hke that bit of light land. Four, 

 you said ? That will blood hounds nicely 

 Hai^k, do you hear that call ? " 



In the distance the dog fox was calling 

 lovingly to his mate across the deserted 

 fields. " There's an old one," remarked the 

 M.F.H., as he flicked the ash of his cigar 

 o\-er the verandah. " How early the violets 

 s.poilt the scent this year," he added after 

 a pause. " And how far away November 

 seems just now ! " 



S. L. Bensusan. 



