FOLLOW MY LEADER 43 



fir trees, about twelve feet high, obstructed our progress. 

 There was no choice but to charge it at once, although 

 the landing was not over agreeable, right in the midst 

 of the branches of the prickly spruce ; but after working 

 our way through these, we had a stiff blackthorn hedge 

 to encounter, with bank and double ditch, or a high 

 five-barred gate, with thorns worked in between the 

 top rails. For a moment both of us were puzzled, seeing 

 no place for a horse to force himself through the fence, 

 jumping it being quite out of the question. 



" How are we to get out ? " asked the Squire ; *' we 

 are pounded here." 



" I shall take the gate," was my reply. 



" You cannot," said he ; " there is no room to go 

 at it." 



Without another word, I sprang from my saddle, 

 and finding the gate nailed up, got on to the top bar, 

 elbowing the thorns back on either side, and having 

 cleared a space sufficient to get over, I called my horse 

 to follow me, which he immediately did, by vaulting 

 over at a standing leap. 



" Well done ! " exclaimed the Squire, " you beat me 

 there ; my horse won't follow, so I must go lower down.'* 



By performing this trick so cleverly, my horse soon 

 carried his rider up to the hounds, which had met with 

 a trifling check ; but the Squire could not catch me 

 again until we killed our fox. One of Mr. Smith's 

 maxims was that a fox-hunter should never voluntarily 

 leave his saddle, either to drive or lead his horse over a 

 fence, and to this I agree as a general rule, but there 

 are places into which a horse may jump, without the 

 possibiHty of his jumping out of them with his rider on 

 his back ; and I maintain that a hunter ought to be 



