OVER BANK AND TIMBER. 109 



not get out of the field any other way he at 

 last put his horse at it. The horse fell and 

 parted company with his rider, who remained 

 seated on the ground till the farmer ran up 

 to see what had happened. Mr Drax then 

 shook his fist at him with considerable energy, 

 and remarked, " I tell you what, sir, you need 

 a fresh landlord. How dare you put up a thing 

 like that?" 



The remark about funking the brook, how- 

 ever, rankled, and it was not very long before 

 I had a try at it. I had been out on Countess 

 with the Cattistock, but we had done nothing, 

 and hounds had gone home early. On my way 

 home I met Mr Marwood Yeatman, who in his 

 usual way was sallying forth just after luncheon 

 to pick up hounds. " You don't mean to say 

 you are going home ! " he exclaimed in surprise. 

 " How is your horse ? Have you done any- 

 thing ? " and on my telling him, he rejoined, 

 " Then let us take a bee-line home." To this 

 I agreed. " Now, don't speak to me for five 

 minutes," he went on. "Let me consider the 

 best line." So he sat perfectly still on his 

 horse, with his nose in the air, while I waited. 

 He had a perfectly marvellous memory for a 

 country he had ridden over, and knew every 

 fence and every inch of country in the Vale. 

 When riding with him he could always tell 

 you what sort of fence you were coming to. 

 " I have it," he said presently ; " we will go 



