maasna-mm i jo v warn 
The Tenant of the Giant’s Bed- 
Chamber.—III. 
Concluded from page 774. 
With the dawn they went up and off, Mow¬ 
bray to his station at the inside beach near the 
island; Fielding at the pines in the hollow of 
the road, as agreed upon the day before, while 
the others hastened forward, and the colonel 
kept with his hounds somewhat in the advance 
of all, and gradually increasing the distance that 
lay between them till by the time the bluffs of 
the outer beach were reached, he had long 
passed out of sight and was hidden from any 
chance view by the intervening grass-covered 
knolls and sand dunes which abounded every¬ 
where. 
The sun had risen and was about an hour 
high when all were comfortably ensconced in 
their allotted stations, silent and crouched to the 
earth with just the tops of their heads raised 
above the pointed tips of the clustering beach 
grass and huckleberry bushes with abundance 
of moss and “dog dittany’’* for a cushion. 
There they waited with eager eye and ear to 
catch the slightest sight or sound of the mellow 
chiding of the hounds. 
At length it came, far away in the distance 
from the quarter where the colonel had disap¬ 
peared, simultaneously the sound of the dogs 
on a start struck the ears of all. Anxiously 
they waited; nearer and nearer came the sound 
till the hunters were wrought up to the highest 
pitch of excitement and fingered nervously the 
locks of their guns, but nothing met their gaze. 
Finally the dogs appeared in sight, nose down 
and racing at top speed over the dunes. Then 
they knew well enough that master reynard had 
given them the slip again and was now far away 
down the beach. 
Truesdale without saying a word to anyone 
started out on his own responsibility to the in¬ 
side beach, hoping to be in at the death even if 
he got no shot, leaving his companions to chafe 
over the unexpected escape of the fox through 
their carefully planned positions as they might. 
Truesdale had not a doubt that he would find 
the fox somewhere in the vicinity of the beach 
by the time he reached the bay, and walked as 
fast as his legs would carry him, having in¬ 
jured self esteem to urge him on. 
Sure enough, as it turned out the fox had 
crossed to the bay shore, and following the 
curvature of the beach had subsequently crossed 
the flats to the Lieutenant’s Island. Truesdale 
was informed of this by Mowbray, whom he en¬ 
countered as he was making for the island. 
“Well, then, if that is the case,” exclaimed 
Truesdale, “I will have him sure. Let me dash 
over those flats, and if I don’t get stuck before 
reaching the island, by standing midway at this 
end, just by that stunted scrub oak you see there, 
I will be sure of a shot.” 
So saying Truesdale descended the slope of 
*This so-called dittanv is a sweet-smelling- herb of the 
mint family. The natives of Cape Cod call it “dog 
dittany.” 
the beach and plunged boldly into the miry flats. 
Mowbray watched his retreating figure till he 
saw him safely over and ensconced in his posi¬ 
tion near the tree where, upon crouching down, 
he was entirely concealed from sight. 
The dogs could be plainly heard all this while 
driving the fox merrily round the island, but 
as yet he had confined his gyrations to the upper 
end thereof and neither dog nor game appeared 
in view of the huntsmen. At length, after some 
twenty minutes of this kind of play, the fox 
decided to steal off and so adventured down the 
shore of the island from its upper end and at¬ 
tempted to cross behind Truesdale who could 
plainly see him, however, from his position, with 
the evident intention of betaking himself to the 
flats and recrossing to the mainland. 
Truesdale waited until the fox had got so 
far that he knew he would not turn back upon 
seeing him, and then arose from his recumbent 
position and started to run. The point at which 
he aimed to reach in order to get a shot was 
some thirty yards from the tree and he bid fair 
to be successful in his calculations, for he had 
actually arrived at the verge of the overhang¬ 
ing bluffs which were full sixty feet high at 
this point. All of his movements were plainly 
apparent to Mowbray, who watched him intently 
and with almost breathless excitement. But 
just as he arrived at the desired locality and 
was pitching his gun up to his shoulder, the 
fox being in full view and making play at a 
great rate on the beach below some four rods 
beyond the point Truesdale had reached, having 
accomplished the distance at the speed he was 
going in a marvelous short space of time, the 
treacherous sands gave way beneath his feet. 
Truesdale was sent spinning through the air in 
a series of unpremeditated, but none the less 
successfully executed somersaults which, after 
making his front and rear alternately acquainted 
in no very gentle manner with the decided 
solidity of the lowermost strata of which the 
bluffs were composed—and which of a surety 
was much denser and firmer than the top from 
whence he fell—finally landed him on his back 
at the bottom of the cliff. 
Truesdale, having with considerable difficulty 
recovered his footing—for he had been consider¬ 
ably shaken by his rapid evolutions—brushed the 
sand from his eyes, and his thoughts at once 
reverted to the fox and to the course he had 
been pursuing meanwhile. He turned toward 
Mowbray, when he saw the fox across the flats 
and about to reach the shore, which done, he 
turned to look around, paused a moment and 
then took an oblique course up the hills which, 
while bringing him in full view of Mowbray, 
would not afford him a shot in his present 
position. 
Truesdale was greatly vexed at this apparent 
probability of the fox escaping them after all, 
for he felt sure that he would have brought him 
down had it not been for his unexpected and 
unlooked for tumble. He accordingly called to 
Mowbray to run along the cliffs and endeavor 
to head off the fox before he reached the top, 
and then proceeded to look for his gun which 
during his somersault, had been shot out on ; 
self-guided journey he knew not where. 
At this moment the dogs came up, tongue: 
lolling out, panting and excited, and with anx 
ious whimpering set off across the flat. As the) 
went Truesdale saw that Mowbray had moved 
though whether in obedience to his call or fron 
his own conclusion that the course of the fo: 
would take him upon the upland without afford 
ing a shot, he was in doubt. Turning his atten 
tion to the recovery of his gun, Truesdale wa 
successful after some minutes’ delay in findinj 
it half buried in the sand, its muzzles choked 
This with some shaking and pounding he com 
pelled them to disgorge, and thereupon he turnec 
about and left the vicinity until he landed acros 
the flats fairly upon the mainland. He bade n< 
adieu, however, to the Lieutenant’s Island, eithe 
then or years afterward, for his incorrigibl 
companions continually reminded him of thi 
adventure. None of them ever affirmed tha 
Mowbray was their informant, but somehow the. 
got posted and Truesdale was forced to bear th 
brunt of their attacks with assumed equanimity 
As Truesdale was crossing the flats he ex 
pected each moment to hear the report of th 
gun, which should announce the downfall o 
reynard, but nothing struck his hearing til 
fairly on dry land, when he paused to stam 
his feet and wipe his reeking brow. Then, eve 
as the handkerchief was clutched in his extende 
hand, bang, bang, the full round reports of 
gun nearby proclaimed the story and told th 
knell of Sir Vulpes. The kerchief was thrus 
back in haste into his pocket, and then with in 
vigorated nerves and accelerated speed, Trues 
dale made a spurt up the precipitous banks whic 
rose before him and pressed with eager trea 
once more the miry beds of moss that grew i 
rich profusion around. 
At a little distance he beheld Mowbray wh' 
waved his hand to him and stooping, lifted th' 
carcass of the unfortunate fox which, after a 
his cunning schemes and wily ways, was the 
brought to bag—a victim to the watchful ey 
and steady hand of the still more wily Mow 
bray. At his feet reclined the dogs utterly ex 
hausted and worn out with their hard run. 
“There,” said Mowbray, as Truesdale cam 
up, “would you believe it, the capture of thi 
fox was a mere accident! Yet, so it was. Com 
and see the place of refuge into which he ha 
betaken himself and out of which he neve 1 
would have started had it been left for the dog 
to find him. I have no question that here is th 
spot where the dogs have lost the trail o 
previous occasions, and that this fox is non 
other than the identical one we first starte 
and have driven successively these three day 
and further that he is the tenant of the Giant’ 
Bed-Chamber.” 
So saying and again bidding Truesdale t 
come and look at the position he desired tjj 
point out, together they followed back the lirjj 
of bluffs some couple of hundred feet, Mou| 
bray expatiating on the way upon the mannf 
