A HOLIDAY WITH THE WARD 83 



by the main road adjoining the village of Ashbourne. A 

 very small circle he made westward, while the !)iilk of a 

 field of fifty or sixty remained sensibly in the road till 

 hounds swept back to them, at the spot where he had 

 been viewed across. The chief — indeed, only — objects, 

 apparently, for which he had made this detour were to 

 assure us that but little frost remained in the ground, and 

 that by sample of two atrocious-looking gulfs he had a 

 strong country in view for our benefit. The second was 

 into the road wherein clustered the majority of the horse- 

 men, a whole gallery of cars and other vehicles, and a 

 complete army of wreckers. Personally, I consider I only 

 just escaped becoming prey to the last named by exer- 

 cising a judicious flank movement, and jumping into a 

 lane at right angles — for, as I galloped up the road a 

 few seconds afterwards, there were three horses' heads 

 gaping upwards on the bank, like crocodiles at the 

 Zoo pushing forward to be fed ; there were three sorrow- 

 stricken sportsmen hauling helplessly at their bridles ; 

 and, as vultures to a feast, a cloud of loafers fluttered 

 hurriedly up. 



Leaving the road in the wake of the flying crew, now 

 fairly embarked upon the wide green sea stretching east- 

 ward, I found the iron gate through which they had 

 passed into the first grass field. But a spalpeen was hold- 

 ing it ajar, demanding toll of stragglers as they came. It 

 was no time to fumble with gloved hand for the coin of 

 extortion : it was still less a moment at which a man, 

 already more or less in the lurch, cared to be hindered 

 by a blackmailer. So, fortunately catching the gate's 

 upright with my outstretched foot, I went through almost 

 at speed, leaving the extortioner loudly anathematising 

 his own iron trap and me. 



Hounds had checked a moment, and among a network 

 i)f ditches and deceptive narrowbacks I found many people 

 riding up and down, and eventually swallowing necessity 

 — none of them turning back, but most of them preferring 

 evidently to look long before they leaped (as well they 

 might do, according to my own terrified estimate of these 

 great gullies and double-scrambles) — while the leaders 



