Parkhurst Boys | Page 6

short cut might seem.
It was after a very wide circuit, ending up on the top of a moderate rise,
that we first caught sight of our pursuers. As they were a full six
minutes behind us, we agreed to sit down under cover for a minute and
watch them.
At that moment they had evidently lost the scent, and were ferreting
about among some low trees and bushes in search of it. We saw the flag
of the whipper-in marking the spot where it was last visible, and round
this, on all sides, the hounds were exploring busily in search of the
"new departure." Then, presently, came a cry of "Forward!" and off
they all started in our direction; and as the scent after that seemed to lie
pretty clear we considered it high time for us to resume our flight.
So we made off again, and being refreshed by our brief halt, made over
a couple of ploughed fields, which Birch suggested "would make a few
of the hounds look foolish"; and so on till we reached the first water we
had encountered since the start. This was a trout-stream, well known to
some of us who were fond of fishing--nowhere more than half a foot
deep, and in some places easily passable, dry shod, on stepping-stones.
Birch, however, avoided these, and boldly splashing into the stream
over his ankles, bade me follow.
"We'll soon dry up," he said, "and this will gain us a minute or two."
Instead of going straight across, the wily hare began to paddle up the
middle of the stream for twenty or thirty yards, and, of course, in so
doing our scent was soon drifted away down the current. So we
flattered ourselves, when we at last did make the opposite bank, that
our pursuers would be puzzled for a minute or two to know what had
become of us.

After a further quarter of a mile we thought we might venture to take
another brief halt on the strength of this last manoeuvre. We were
unable to do so where we could command a view of the hounds, but as
we reckoned we had at least gained three minutes, we felt we could
quite afford to take it easy for that length of time.
Fancy, then, our horror when, after about a couple of minutes, we heard
a cry of "Forward!" close to us, and evidently on this side of the stream.
Off we dashed like mad, in a regular panic, and never checked our pace
till we had put three ploughed fields and a couple of wide ditches to our
credit. We did not discover till it was all over how it was our cunning
scheme to perplex the hounds had thus miscarried. Then we were told
that some of the scent, instead of dropping into the water, as we
intended, had lodged on the top of some stones in mid-stream, and this
had at once betrayed our dodge to the practised eyes of the foremost
hounds. It was a caution to be more careful another time.
We had to work hard to make up for the ground we had lost by this
mistake, but our next sight of the hounds showed that we were fairly
ahead again, and that the ploughed fields had (as Birch predicted) told
on a good portion of the pack, who now (at least, those of them who
were at all well up) scarcely numbered a dozen.
Half a mile farther brought us to Wincot village, down the main street
of which we sped, greatly to the admiration of the inhabitants, who
turned out in force to see the sport.
By this time we had fairly got our "second winds," and began to realise
the benefit of the steady training of the past fortnight. At an ordinary
pace, with the second wind well laid on, we felt we ought to be able to
hold out for the run home, unless some very unexpected accident
should intervene.
Past the village, we rattled on till we came to the railway embankment,
across which we trespassed, not without some difficulty, as it was steep
and railed off on either side by high palisades. Once over this, we
turned at right angles, and ran for half a mile close alongside the line,

and past Wincot station. Here it was necessary to recross the line (down
a cutting this time), and as we were doing so we caught sight, on our
left, of the leading hounds scrambling to the top of the embankment,
which we had passed only a minute or two before.
Clear of the railway, there remained a good steady piece of work cut
out for us to reach home, across an awful country, full of hedges and
ditches, and