Fox -Ways. 7 



So he trots past you, still planning ; crosses the 

 wall by a certain stone that he has used ever since 

 he was a cub fox ; seems to float across an old pas- 

 ture, stopping only to run about a bit among some 

 cow tracks, to kill the scent ; and so on towards his 

 big hill. Before he gets there he will have a skilful 

 retreat planned, back to the ponds, in case old Roby 

 untangles his crisscross, or some young fool-hound 

 blunders too near the rock whereon he sits, watchinfr 

 the game. 



If you meet him now, face to face, you will see no 

 cjuiet assumption of superiority; unless perchance he 

 is a young fox, that has not learned what it means to 

 be met on a runway by a man with a gun when the 

 dogs are driving. With your first slightest move- 

 ment there is a flash of yellow fur, and he has van- 

 ished into the thickest bit of underbrush at hand. — 

 Don't run ; you will not see him again here. He 

 knows the old roads and paths far better than you 

 do, and can reach his big hill by any one of a dozen 

 routes where you would never dream of looking. 

 But if you want another glimpse of him, take the 

 shortest cut to the hill. He may take a nap, or sit 

 and listen a while to the dogs, or run round a swamp 

 before he gets there. Sit on the wall in plain sight ; 

 make a post of yourself ; keep still, and keep your 

 eyes open. 



