His Own Petard 97 



half an acre of water the scent abruptly stopped. That 

 clay at least no one suspected the truth. Some time 

 afterwards, when Perkmson had given up the Grange 

 and left the country, and when Charlton had accepted 

 the mastership, to the great satisfaction of everybody, a 

 rumour oozed out that Bob Couples and an old earth- 

 stopper, who had long been connected with the hunt, 

 were responsible for that excellent five-and-twenty 

 minutes, and that the drag had been carefully laid on 

 firm ground, passing the worst bit of bog in the district, 

 however, on the outer side of the curve which hounds 

 ran. "What was Bob's explanation to Perkinson, and 

 whether he had in the course of the run expressed to 

 Hedworth his conviction that the fox was pointing for 

 Hightree Hill, thereby inducing him to keep well to the 

 left of the line — these are points upon which it is im- 

 possible to obtain accurate information. It is certain, 

 however, that a smile twinkles in the corner of Bob's eye 

 when references are made to the run from the Cross 

 Eoads, and he is believed on one festive occasion to have 

 said that the best fun he ever saw in his life was Mr. 

 Perkinson flopping over his horse's head into the blackest 

 and deepest bog in the Heatherley, to which he had, 

 little suspecting, been carefully directed. 



