172 A FIRST DAY'S EXERCISE 



bring 'em into anything like sleeping order ; and to my 

 mind we'd better trot 'em over the downs to Charbury." 



This being about ten miles further as the crow flies, 

 the old Squire (who felt a little wheezy after his quick 

 jolting along the road) began to demur, when Jem gained 

 his point by adding — " Just as you pleases, sir ; only 

 biding awake two nights aren't very pleasant." 



This settled the business forthwith, without further 

 controversy ; and Jem was directed to take the lead, 

 in the hope of preventing more outbreaks. The party 

 proceeded in very orderly array, with the exception of 

 Fencer and Jumper, who tried to break away after a 

 rook skimming over the open, from which they were 

 stopped by Jem knocking over Fencer, whose attention 

 was at that moment diverted another way. With this 

 solitary attempt at escape they had approached within 

 a mile of Charbourg Park, when, on passing a farm, a 

 brown nanny-goat was grazing with some cattle. The 

 attention of the pack was instantly arrested by this 

 object, taking it for a deer, with which, inter alia, they 

 had finished the previous season's sport. Jumper bolted 

 fairly away at once ; but the goat showed fight, standing 

 on her hind legs, until Foreman, catching her by the 

 tail, with a loud ba-ah she started for the farm yard 

 with the pack at her heels — Jem rating and swearing, 

 cows bellowing, with twisted tails erect in the air, and the 

 old Squire bringing up the rear, in dreadful anticipation 

 of the result, muttering to himself as usual, " Good 

 heavens ! what will they do next ? " 



Round and round the farm yard they tore (the gates 

 being closed), the goat ba-ah-ing, women screaming, 

 cocks and hens cackling, the farmer and his men with 

 pitchforks vainly attempting to knock them over — when 



