THE FOX. 67 



wood. Her tongue was lolling, so assuredly it 

 was she the dogs had followed, though by some 

 trick she had now successfully thrown them off 

 the scent. 



Next day the keeper repeated the performance, 

 this time taking up his station at the point where 

 the fox had emerged. Exactly the same thing 

 happened the fox was viewed by the dogs, led 

 them on a wild-goose chase for some minutes, 

 then tricked them. A minute later Reynard 

 appeared on the wall-top, crossing at exactly the 

 same place as yesterday, and, of course, met its 

 fate. On going up, the keeper was surprised to 

 find that it was the dog-fox he had shot 1 



A Highland keeper told me that one day, when 

 crossing a moor, he was much mystified on seeing 

 two foxes running apparently aimlessly round and 

 round a boulder. He thought they were chasing 

 each other for amusement, and forthwith proceeded 

 to stalk them. Almost immediately, and without 

 looking in his direction, the foxes made off, 

 keeping together for a short distance, then sepa- 

 rating. The keeper urged his dogs in pursuit, and 

 was about to make his way to a point of observa- 

 tion, from which a chance shot might be obtained, 

 when it occurred to him to look round the boulder 

 where he had first seen the foxes, for clear it 

 was that they had seen him before he saw them. 

 Going to the place, what was his surprise to find 

 a solitary little cub seated under the rock, so 

 young that its eyes were hardly open 1 The man 

 could not find it in his heart to kill the lonely 

 little wean apparently the sole charge of its 

 parents, who, the man now realised, were busy, 

 when he first saw them, scattering their own 

 scent about the place so as to overwhelm that 



