THE BOOK OF THE OTTER 



crasies, and have in addition a fair knowledge of 



the habits of your quarry, there should be little 



excuse for a blank day, provided you start early 



enough in the morning to afford your hounds the 



chance of picking up and sticking to a decent 



drag. The surest way of finding an otter is to drag 



up to him, any other method, at any rate on rivers, 



holds an enormous element of chance. On a lake 



or a tarn, which you yourself know is inhabited by 



otters, it is a different matter, for you can then 



throw off in the reed-beds or other undergrowth 



bordering the water, with a good hope of putting 



your otter down before hounds have been long 



at work. 



No fixed rules are applicable to otter-hunting, or 



any other kind of hunting for that matter, but it 



is safe to say that the Master who is a trier, and 



keeps on trying, will be the one to bring to hand 



most otters. Being himself of the " never say die '' 



order, he will inculcate the same spirit in his 



hounds, for a slack huntsman makes a slack pack, 



and vice versa. 



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