FLUFF-BUTTON THE RABBIT 73 
with his terrier blood. He did not give tongue, 
but ran silently with his nose to the ground. With 
his pursuer so close behind, Fluff-Button dared 
not try any of those elaborate dodges and twists 
which every rabbit knows, but he tore down the 
field like an arrow. The slope was in Cur Dog's 
favour, for a rabbit never runs his best downhill. 
He decreased his distance by a foot or two, but he 
came no nearer, for Fluff-Button strained every 
sinew, and buttoned down his ears and whiskers, that 
nothing might hinder him in the race. 
Thus they reached the fence, and Fluff-Button 
cunningly slipped between two saplings, hoping that 
his enemy would dash into them in the dark, but 
Cur Dog was fortunate, and came through un- 
scratched. Then began a long series of turns and 
twists among fern stumps and trees. Several 
times Fluff-Button thought that he had shaken off 
his pursuer, but every time a yelp from behind 
told him that the latter was still hot on the line. 
In a long chase the odds are against the rabbit. 
He is not accustomed to sustained efforts, and 
although only a swift dog can catch him in a dash 
to the burrow's mouth, yet if hunted far he soon 
tires. Fluff-Button longed for a bramble brake, 
but there was none near. His heart thumped 
against his ribs until he felt as though it must burst, 
