ROUaH WOUDS FROM A ROUGH RIDER. 93 



of the night did not quite tally with Sir Wheeler's 

 humour ; but no objection being raised, we were 

 up and dressing by candle-light the next morning, 

 and reached the covert side by dawn of day — a 

 thick plantation on the side of a hill, where Lord 

 Ducie and his pack were quickly at work, stirring 

 up the cubs ; Sir Wheeler and myself taking up 

 our station in an old truckway above it, at some 

 distance from each other, so that we might view 

 any fox that crossed our path. 



The foxes showing great disinclination to shift 

 their quarters, my Lord and his pack soon found it 

 pretty hot work, as the sun had now risen full 

 against the hill-side ; but after being knocked about 

 for some considerable time, one fox the hounds 

 were hunting poked his nose out at top, when, 

 unfortunately catching sight of Sir Wheeler's nose, 

 he popped his own back again into covert. Up 

 came the hounds all alive, with their huntsman in 

 close attendance, and swinging over the road, were 

 of course at fault. 



" Where's he gone ?" screamed the Master, 

 peppery hot. 



" Headed back into covert," replied Sir Wheeler. 



" So I thought," was the rejoinder, '' at seeing 

 such a confounded old fool stuck up in the middle 

 of the road !" 



