54 REDPAD THE FOX 
condition and ran strongly, but he did not know 
the hiding-places in this part of the country as well 
as those of Knockdane, and was obliged to trust 
more to his legs and less to his wits than was his 
custom. 
Presently he turned to the right and climbed 
the steep hillside to the moor. There was a big 
rabbit hole in his path into which he tried to creep, 
but just below the surface it narrowed, and he was 
obliged to back out with his coat full of dust and 
several precious moments lost. He could see the 
hounds a pied patch on the fields below him. At 
that distance they appeared to be crawling along, but 
as a matter of fact they were racing at top speed. 
Just behind them rode a horseman on a great 
black horse, but the rest were further behind. 
Redpad ran on steadily, for he could see Knock- 
dane with its crest of trees in the distance. The 
moor was boggy, and he crossed 
patches of quagmire which trem- 
bled even under his light weight. 
A big grey heron burst out of a 
pool and swung skywards, and the 
snipe sprang up in every direction ; but Redpad never 
paused and the hounds never checked, until the men 
began to wonder if their horses would hold out, 
and took what short cuts they might. 
