THE CHASE OF THE HIND. i8i 



horses hunting with his own hounds. The two brothers 

 reluctantly turn their heads homewards ; the one to- 

 wards Dulverton, the other towards Minehead. The 

 two wonderful ponies from Glenthorne have for once 

 in a way had enough, though their two riders, rarely 

 absent from the end even of the longest run, are keen 

 as ever. The veteran trots gently along the top of 

 the hill, and we who have second horses alone plunge 

 into the wooded valley after the hounds. Small blame 

 to the rest if they cannot follow us after two such 

 bursts as we have had. Our hind has taken advantage 

 of the shillety ground to double about a good deal, 

 and it is only after much twisting and turning that the 

 line is finally carried to the stream at the bottom, some 

 way down the valley. Here, as we are casting down, 

 there comes suddenly from a little way below us a 

 frantic yell of " Down the water, Arthur ! " in broadest 

 Devon. It is the sporting farmer of Porlock who, 

 always on the look out for hounds, has heard them in 

 the bottom, and riding up to meet us has viewed our 

 hind in the water. Arthur lifts the pack and hits the 

 line, and so the pack runs slowly (for another squall is 

 on us) across a deep combe and over a broad-shoul- 

 dered hill, carpeted with gorse, into the Horner covers. 

 Now or never we shall kill her in Horner Water, where 



