78 /;/ Scarlet and Silk 



warded " in relentless fashion by a wicked 

 one at the end of a long and fatiguing 

 gallop. One particularly amusing scene I 

 witnessed some eight or nine seasons back. 

 Our stag had " soiled," or taken to the water, 

 in a mill-dam. The water was shallow, and 

 the stag set his hind quarters against the 

 mill wall, and with lowering eye waited for 

 the coming struggle. Hounds, whose valour 

 exceeded their discretion, plunged in, and 

 half swam, half waded, towards the quarry. 

 One after the other they retired howling, as 

 they were struck and beaten off, the stag 

 seeming to enjoy the fun. Our second whip 

 — whom we will call Tommy — made a lasso 

 of the thong of his crop, and leaning as far 

 as he could over the wall, dropped his noose 

 securely over the animal's head. At that 

 moment another hound attacked the foe in 

 front, and the said foe suddenly lowered his 

 head to give him a warm reception. Poor 

 Tommy, who hadn't allowed for this action, 

 was forcibly jerked off his precarious perch 

 on the wall, and fell neck and crop over 



