Horse Companionship 283 



"Hello, Whip; where are you bound for?' : No answer. 

 " I say, Whip, where are you going next ? " "I beg 

 pardon, sir; I thought you were addressing your remarks 

 to your hunting-crop," comes the reply at last. 



Don't ask questions as to what is to be done next. You 

 are out not to chase a ball across a field, but to hunt. 

 It is passing strange that some men never see the thing in 

 this light. It is as rude to ask a huntsman what he is 

 going to do next as it would be to lean over the shoulder 

 of a professional chess-player and ask him what move he is 

 going to make next. The probabilities are the huntsman 

 does not know himself; if he did, he would not be hesitat- 

 ing. He may be waiting for some hounds that are left in 

 covert, and if he should answer the question he might be 

 asked next how it happened the hounds were left. How 

 many times has one seen a huntsman move out of a rider's 

 way whom he saw approaching with questions in his eye ! 

 "Won't you have a cigar, huntsman?" said a novice 

 once in my hearing. The huntsman of course does n't like 

 to be rude, but such a thing can annoy him wonderfully. 

 Fancy a huntsman smoking a cigar while hunting a fox ! 



Don't take any man who is out for the ride for your 

 pilot, nor the huntsman nor whippers-in. The first sees 

 little and cares less for the hunting, being there only to 

 outride some other hard rider; and the huntsman or 

 whippers-in would be seriously annoyed. Let the pack be 

 your pilot; keep the hounds in sight. If they turn right 

 or left you are in the best possible position to cut corners, 

 fences permitting. You will see everything and be in at 

 the death with a single horse, while the hard-riding men 



