THE CAT IN THE HOLE. 205 



Luckily, a cat does not take a line, and run straight 

 away, for otherwise the pack must have run clean 

 out of hearing, and the one before them seemed 

 rather to try and throw them off the scent by tree- 

 climbing, and springing from one tree to another, 

 than to outpace the hounds, and so escape. A pro- 

 longed baying, at length, told us that the cat had at 

 last ' treed,' or had sought some refuge from its pur- 

 suers ; and when we arrived, we found that it had 

 gone to earth, under the root of a large live oak tree. 



Our presence gave new courage to the dogs, and 

 one ventured to poke his head, and half his body, 

 into the hole. A scream of agony instantly suc- 

 ceeded, and told us that the plucky hound had caught 

 a Tartar ; and his struggles to escape and draw back 

 were wonderful. At last, he managed to tear loose, 

 emerging with his ears and shoulder scratched to 

 ribbons, and giving plain evidence that claws and teeth 

 had done their work. Without heeding the w^arm 

 reception given to his companion, another stunted 

 little hound forced his way into the hole. 



A mingled noise of howling and cat-swearing suc- 

 ceeded this new attack, and Ben K dismounting, 



forced his gauntleted hand under the dog's belly, 

 and thrusting his arm as far up as he could, caught 

 the cat by the throat, and dragged back both hounds 

 and varmint. The cat huno^ on to the dog: until it 

 discovered the rest of his enemy's friends, when it 



