126 STAGHUNTING WITH THE 



to water, crashing through the bracken and the 

 thorn bushes, A few more dodges and rushes, 

 and he falls into the Nutscale Water, and the 

 good hounds fall over him. Now, quick and 

 help drag him out, put your foot on his off 

 antler, and keep back the hounds and Anthony 

 will be here in a moment. It is just three 

 hours exactly since the pack was laid on at 

 Robber's Bridge, and the hounds haye covered 

 a point measuring twenty and a-half miles on the 

 map, to say nothing of their ascents and descents 

 and their turnings and twistings round the shoul- 

 ders of the combes and aiong the bends of the 

 moorland streams. The stag has brow, bay and 

 tray on the oft" horn, with a long upright and 

 an offer, and on the near horn has brow, tray 

 and two atop. He is a good galloping four- 

 year-old, and as fat as ever he can be. He 

 is the fifth deer alreadv killed this season. 



Thus did Colonel Hornby inaugurate his 

 tenure of otffce in a wet and chilly July with 

 a three hours' gallop of the very best and with 

 five deer taken on bv-davs. The open moor 

 held but few deer in those days and Culbone 

 and Horner stags were chary of crossing the 

 Weir water, still, when once a real forester 

 was afoot, the sport ruled all the better in 

 consequence. Colonel Hornby's best runs, 

 however, as in this instance and the following 

 one, were generally with young deer. A few 



