142 PINK AND SCARLET 



wish to pass us ; must carefully avoid letting our 

 horse (unless we can trust him absolutely not to 

 kick them) be heels towards any hounds which may 

 come near us, and, above all, we must keep quiet. 



So much for the etiquette of the chase. What 

 can we think about the covert as regards the 

 business of war ? 



Its rides — are they sound or not ? Wide enough 

 to take Infantry in fours or Cavalry in sections ? Is 

 the undergrowth penetrable or not? If so, by 

 Infantry only or by Cavalry also ? The trees — are 

 they thick and big enough to stop a bullet ? ^ Sup- 

 pose we had to defend, or to watch the far edge — 

 how should we do it ? Would our supports receive 

 any cover from rifle or shell fire if placed a little 

 way back from the edge ? 



The covert we are now drawing does not look 

 much like holding a fox ; it is so hollow, and there 

 is no lying for him. Ah ! there is a young hound 

 running a rabbit. We may venture to smack our 

 whip and rate him with a " ware rabbit ! " and 

 follow this with a " garaway boick ! " if there is no 

 Hunt Servant near by to do it. 



It's no go this time, for there is the Huntsman 

 blowing them out with that " Come, come, come, 

 come-away " note on the horn, to which the Whip 

 is maintaining with " Cor- way-coup, coup! coup! 

 cor-w-a-y," or " Heeawoy — heea-w-o-y!" 



^ It takes 42 inches of soft wood, such as fir, etc., and 24 

 inches of hard wood, such as oak, to stop a Lee-Metford bullet at 

 500 yards. 



