, as though thrown by a
catapult. There we must leave him. Grindley, rejoicing greatly at
this discomfiture, made for the gate; but the country gentleman with
the fresh horse accomplished the rails, and was soon alongside of
Burgo.

"I didn't see you at the start," said Burgo.

"And I didn't see you," said the country gentleman; "so it's even."

Burgo did not see the thing in the same light, but he said no more.
Grindley and Tom were soon after them, Tom doing his utmost to shake
off the attorney. Pollock was coming on also; but the pace had been
too much for him, and though the ground rode light his poor beast
laboured and grunted sorely. The hounds were still veering somewhat
to the left, and Burgo, jumping over a small fence into the same
field with them, saw that there was a horseman ahead of him. This was
George Vavasor, who was going well, without any symptom of distress.

And now they were at Claydon's, having run over some seven miles of
ground in about thirty-five minutes. To those who do not know what
hunting is, this pace does not seem very extraordinary; but it had
been quite quick enough, as was testified by the horses which had
gone the distance. Our party entered Claydon's Park at back, through
a gate in the park palings that was open on hunting days; but a much
more numerous lot was there almost as soon as them, who had come in
by the main entrance. This lot was headed by Sir William, and our
friend Maxwell was with him.

"A jolly thing so far," said Burgo to Maxwell; "about the best we've
had this year."

"I didn't see a yard of it," said Maxwell. "I hadn't nerve to get off
the first road, and I haven't been off it ever since." Maxwell was a
man who never lied about his hunting, or had the slightest shame in
riding roads. "Who's been with you?" said he.

"There've been Tom and I;--and Calder Jones was there for a while.
I think he killed himself somewhere. And there was Pollock, and your
friend Grindley, and a chap whose name I don't know who dropped out
of heaven about half-way in the run; and there was another man whose
back I saw just now; there he is,--by heavens, it's Vavasor! I didn't
know he was here."

They hung about the Claydon covers for ten minutes, and then their
fox went off again,--their fox or another, as to which there was a
great discussion afterwards; but he who would have suggested the
idea of a new fox to Sir William would have been a bold man. A fox,
however, went off, t