REMINISCENCES 



were just bending down to listen at the drain 

 mouth, when, without the slightest warning the 

 otter shot out, and leapt straight through the willow 

 tree, to land in the water with a splash like a sack 

 of oats. From where he took off, to the point 

 where he hit the river, constituted a remarkable 

 jump, and he must have been coming pretty fast 

 when he shot out of the drain. 



On another occasion at the same drain, which is 

 a favourite resort of otters, the terriers were at 

 work, and an opening had been made into the drain 

 at some distance from the river. We were watch- 

 ing the drain mouth, and after a bit the otter 

 showed himself, but went back. The bank where 

 we stood was high, and there was a certain amount 

 of rubbish in the way of dead branches, etc., 

 partially covering the drain mouth. Being below 

 the bank we could not see what was happening 

 in the field, and we were greatly astonished when 

 a big otter suddenly rushed over the edge of the 

 bank, nearly on top of us, scrambled through the 



branches, and disappeared up the drain. The 



145 K 



