52 



THE FOX 



pack, saw him, and of course holloaed, and back 

 came the hounds. A very pretty gallop this fox gave 

 us, which I enjoyed with a clear conscience, having 

 resisted all temptation to holloa. The fox went away, 

 was lost, came back in due time to his old haunts, 

 and tried the same trick ; but the next time, of course, 

 the huntsman knew of it, and bringing hounds round 

 between the fox and the wood, started close to his 

 victim and killed him in twenty-five minutes. 



But if the fox cannot strike out a new line on the 

 moment, he can and does learn certain things by his 

 experience of being hunted. Everyone must have 

 noticed that foxes nearly always manage to leave a 

 covert when hounds are on the further side. The 

 fox perhaps realises the advantage of going away with 

 a start, more probably he chooses the quiet side from 

 his desire to escape notice — how clever he is at this 

 we all know. Mr. Fernie's famous Glooston Wood 

 fox slipped away at the top end of the wood on his 

 last journey — crept unseen past one of the most ex- 

 perienced hunting farmers of the Midlands and the 

 first whipper-in. Hounds took a line up to the fence. 

 ' Seen him ? ' said the huntsman. ' No,' — when an old 

 bitch that never went wrong squeezed under the gate 

 and promptly hit him off. There followed a famous 

 gallop, and many of those out had to train back from 



