376 IN THE LAND OF THE BORA. 



and all crossed to the opposite slope. In a 

 minute Eex — mute except on the hottest of scent 

 — opened again, but I saw nothing. Meanwhile 

 Fox had returned as usual to my heels, but for 

 once not to stay there, for he went back behind 

 me, and not half a minute later he also opened — 

 for the first time in his life. Turning round, I 

 saw him coursing a hare straight to me ; in fact, 

 I had to wait till she turned a bit, or I should 

 have had the dog in line with her. Bang ! bang ! 

 and she disappears in the bottom. Two double 

 misses, the last at twenty yards' distance, puzzle 

 me altogether; but it must be so, for the boy 

 is shouting that he saw her go down the field 

 beyond the bottom, though hounds have all gone 

 to the little thorn covert where Rex opened last. 

 I follow them, and am relieved to find Fox and 

 Dorothy tugging at the hare. Who-whoop ! All 

 up except Harmony, so I proceed to blood them, 

 principally for the benefit of the puppies. 



It is now evident to me that the hare which 

 the lad saw going down the hill was Rex's second 

 find, so when Duran comes to take the dead one, 

 we go off in pursuit, picking up Harmony en route. 

 A furlong further on I meet an old Turk, who 

 politely informs me that he saw the hare go into 

 the little covert just below us ; so I cast the 

 hounds on. The information was correct, for 

 Harmony was soon " tonguing in a whisper," 



