The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-03-03

that he had lost his fortune there. At
any rate he owned ten hunters and rode
very straight to hounds at Warrington
so who cared?
There had been many who had come
and gone at Warrington whose reputa-
tons were not spoken OF. They bought
horses and paid for them. so the country
side asked no questions
Now, two or three more Joined the
party. Mrs. Jumper, the masters wife,
had been lifted into the saddle the NJ L.
H. was soon up; the hounds We're cIamor-
ing TO get loose, and, as everything seem
cd to be in readiness, the word was given
to let the pack out of the kennels. With
a rush they came FORTH bowling and
yelping with delight and looking up into
the faces Of the hUntsman and whip with
that kindly gaze which only he who
has fed, cared for, and lived with his
hounds can know They were "A fine
looking lot Of American chasers. Smaller
than the heavy English hounds, they
We're uniformly of black and tan color.
Apparently enough English blood had
been infused into their veins TO make
them bonier than the average American
foXhOund. They looked ready for bust
ness and fully competent TO run Brother
Reynard 10 earth.
AS the cayalcade rode out Of the great
stone gateway, with its massive pillars,
1t was beautiful sight First came the
huntsman. mounted on a chestnut thor
oughbTed He was a small man weigh
ing scarcely more than one hundred and
thirty pounds His velvet huntsman's cap
fitted snugly to his closely cropped head
His pink coat glistened in the early morn
ing sunlight. His white trousers were i'm
maculate, and his top boots We're fairly
shining from vigorous polishing. a pair Of
silver spurs dug gently. on occasions. into
his horses TANKS and kept him well
ahead of the hounds
Behind the eager fOXhOunds came the
whip and master both on faultless
mounts: Horses that can only be bred on
bluegrass pasture land. where the limpid
streams of limy water run cool and fresh
across the meadows Each was dress
ed in pink coat and velvet cap. And fol-
lowing them was the field. ten or more
men and women IN neatly-fitting riding
clothes, their horses Chafing uneasily at
the bit as if more than anxious 10 Join
In the chase at once.
Up through the little village street they
went. unlocked at. save by an early
rising field hand. who did not care. Yet
there WIS one " llD SAN LLG4A Wiz EaLEu
with admiration and delight. On the
steps Of the hotel stood the fellow, his
eyes glued upon the passing field with
the admiring glance Of a connoisseur.
He was a good-looking chap. Possibly
his uncareworn face had seen thirty-hve
summers; it hardly looked as if it had
seen twenty. In one eve was monocle
which remained iu place with the ease
that comes of long and continued prac-
tice. Dressed faUltlessly in a light tweed
suit his clothes showed care and atteu-
ton 4 crease in his tTOuser legs looked
keen enough 20 be used as a knife. His
tan boots reflected polish that no dar1ey
at the hotel could have ever produced. II
was the newcomer: the young English
man who wanted a .'bawth'
'Deyilish good place, this" he remarked
as the hunt passed out of sight. Think
that III like Warrington. Plenty of good
sport. here and splendid hunters. Just
the spot for you, Ryder, old boy. Wen
try It a while and see how she suits"
He turned and walked down the road TO
watch the hounds and huntsman as they
fled off toward a ridge IN the blue
mountains, dimly seen in the far distance.
a most devilish good place, this" he
again murmured, as the cavalcsde passed
from view; and turning on his heel he
strOlled slowly back to the hotel
Meanwhile the hunt had gone some dis
tance into the country. For three or four
miles the riders kept straight along the
winding and rocky road. fording the little
watercourses that continually traversed
the thoroughfare, and heading finally
toward some thick woods in the west At
length they reached a broad meadow, on
the further side Of which was a scrubby
woodland. In the center of the meadow
"a turbulent creek ran noisily over limy,
brown stones.
This was Goose Creek. and in the
shadowy recesses of the wood lived as
willy red fox as ever ran to earth in
Fauquier Forward went the huntsmen
calling cheeriiy to the hounds. who now
began to spread and TO sniff eagerly at
the moist earth. The riders collected
near the edge Of the woodland waiting
expectantly for the fox to be started and
listening eagerly 10 the hounds, who
would occasionally give tongue as they
struck the cold trail Of the Goose Creek
fox
Fainter and fainter grew the baying Of
the trailers as they worked their wav
into the woodland. The horses grew m
easy and began TO move restlessly about.
Tncy champed their bits and fought at
the bridle-reins as If eager TO follow into
the woods itself Suddenly the hounds
began 20 give tongue with far greater
frequency They were working more
closely on Mr.. FOxs trail. In q moment
more came a fond. triumphant howl
old NiXen's got him uD,' yelled the
Master, swinging his hat in the air
Now, step lively, gentlemen and ladies.
he viii soon break cover"
All the hounds were giving good tongue
They were working back again. and ap-
parenuy much faster than before. They
broke into a rush as they came nearer.
and as the music grew close and more
distinct. a little red ball of fur darted
from the covert side toward the creek.
There he goes" cried half dozen. as
the fox crossed the open space between
the woodland and the water And Just as
he reached the edge he stopped for a mo-
ment. lifted one paw from the ground
and looked back al the hounds as they
broke from the woods. hot upon the fresh
scent.
For a moment only he stopped. and
then went away across the undulating
pastureIand. 1t was easy to ford the
creek, but when the field was once across
there were several fences between them
anu tttl iftoN btli4ttlB HriNht ISet NttlS Was
what the timber-topper was for First
the huntsman led OF, over a four-foot
snake fence. He was followed by the
first whip and n. f. H. Miss Scarlet s
Triumphant flew the timber as if it were
nothing and each well-schOoled animal
crossed the palings as if it were childs
play.
Now they hurdled two more snake
fences and then a stone wall All was
going nicely. The fox had. strangely
enough. taken to the open. and was Civ
ing them the very gallop that they craved.
On across the open country they few,
each horse doing his best to catch the