REDPAD THE FOX 35 
he did not give them a second thought until he 
came to the far side of the field, when a little cry 
in the fern made him pause with pad upraised. 
He snuffed his way cautiously under the wall ; and 
there, sheltered by a boulder from the cold wind, 
lay a newly dropped lamb. It was one of a couple, 
but being sickly, it had not risen and followed 
the dam to the rest of the flock as its fellow did. 
It was too weak to stand, and could only lie and 
shiver as the fox crept up. Redpad was ravenous 
starving, in fact and far and near the country- 
side was empty in the night. The old ewe was 
not at hand ; nothing watched him but the hungry 
stars overhead. He seized the lamb by the shoulder, 
and it did not even bleat as he swung it over the 
wall, and cantered with it to Knockdane. That 
night, for the first time for many days, Redpad 
was full-fed, and slept soundly. 
The theft might have remained undiscovered, 
but unluckily the sheep belonged to Jack Skehan ; 
and twice a day, during the lambing time, he went 
along a certain path in Knockdane to visit the 
flock. The next morning, when on his usual round, 
his dog ran on ahead, and presently returned 
carrying the woolly leg of a lamb. On the path 
were unmistakable traces of Redpad's last night's 
meal ; and worst of all, in the soft earth where he 
