THE PROVINCES 



been a fool they would never have hesitated for 

 a moment, and when they ran into him under 

 Crag's-end, there wasn't a man-jack of them 

 missing. Not one — that's what I call a pack of 

 hounds ! 



"The best part of it? So much depends on 

 whether you young fellows go out to hunt, or to 

 ride. For the first half-hour or so we were never 

 off the grass — there's not a ploughed field all the 

 way up the valley till you come to Shifner's 

 allotments, orchard and meadow, meadow and 

 orchard, fetlock-deep in grass, even at this time 

 of year. Why, it carries a side-scent, like the 

 heather on a moor ! I suppose you'd have called 

 that the best part. I didn't, though I saw it well 

 from the lane with Matthew and the rest of us, 

 all but the Vicar, who went into every field with 

 the hounds — I thought he was rather hard on 

 them amongst those great blind, tangled fences ; 

 but he's such a good fellow, I hadn't the heart to 

 holloa at him — it's very wrong, though, and a man 

 in his profession ought to know better. 



" I can't say they checked exactly in the 

 allotments, but the manure and rubbish, weeds 

 burning, and what not, brought them to their 

 noses. That's where Matthew made such a fool 

 of himself; but, as I told you. Charmer put us 

 all right. The fox had crossed into Combe- 

 Bampton and was rising the hill for the downs. 



217 



