THE HERON 
It was in September however that matters 
came to a head. At the beginning of the 
month the Ballyoughter hounds came to 
Ballongarry, and in spite of many hints to the 
contrary Andy went round and " stopped " 
the earths on the preceding night. In the 
darkness he tumbled over a heap of newly 
turned earth, and, digging deeper, exhumed a 
fine fox cub with a hole blown in his spine. 
Then he knew what the report of a gun early 
that morning had meant. 
To draw the woods, the hunt rode by Thomp- 
son's gibbet, an elm-tree laden with unwhole- 
some fruit a garland of stoats, a cat or two, 
and shattered magpies in a row. Thompson 
himself plodded in the rear with Andy Hogan 
and the crowd of country boys 
whom news of the hunt had 
brought together. Suddenly 
there was an outcry among the 
hounds ahead, and the horses 
jostled back in the narrow lane. 
The men behind could see noth- 
ing of the reason for the com- 
motion, but they heard the Mas- 
ter say stiffly : " It is most 
satisfactory for the hunt to know 
that the Ballongarry keepers do 
their work so thoroughly." The 
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