1881—82.] THE RIDERLESS RUN. 419 



hounds flew along its lower border, and rounding the village of 

 Willoughhy, with their small following just able to keep them 

 in sight in the mist}' atmosphere. Turning leftward beyond 

 the village, the}'' crossed the grass-sided road which leads to 

 Melton ; and, running alongside it for nearly two miles, gave 

 such horsemen as were within hail an excellent chance of re- 

 covering ground. Thus Captain ]Middleton, and subsequently 

 the Duke and Mr. Adair, were enabled to get alongside, and 

 jump into the fields to join them, with the other few men who 

 had been with hounds to Willoughby Gorse. Ere reaching 

 the Fosse Road, the pack bore away still more to the left as if 

 for Upper Broughton in the distance ; and then, when running 

 their hardest, suddenly left the pleasant grass meadows for a, 

 short succession of deep little fields of plough. Over this they 

 could travel far faster than horses ; and, as the fog thickened, 

 they grew less and less distinct, till at length it was only by 

 their piping voices that their direction could be followed at all. 

 Even the sound grew less tangible as the arable was left, and 

 men were once more ridmg on sound grass. The tinkle of the 

 music was no longer in front : it Avas dimly audible now and 

 again, somewhere — apparently to the right. But difficult as 

 it is to ride by ear even in a woodland, it is ten times more 

 difficult in a stiff country ; and though those who could catch 

 the sound rode on in desperation, they rode in baffled uncer- 

 tainty — skirmishing in every direction, and shouting now and 

 again to one another for help or suggestion. To bring matters 

 to a culminating point of difficulty, they siuddenl}- found them- 

 selves confronted with another fenced stream that could not 

 have been jumped — had hounds been visible fifty yards beyond 

 and all Leicestersliire burning to be with them. To break 

 down some strong rails at one point, to tear down the barri- 

 caded gate of a broken bridge at another, was all a work of 

 time — and led onh' to the blank acknowledgment that tlie pack 

 was now utterly lost to both view and hearing. A sharp, 

 sndden turn to the right had carried the hounds off in the 

 du'ection of Old Dalby, just at the moment when the few men 



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