"He"s not a racehorse, is he?" I nervously asked.
"He"s done a good deal of steeplechasing, and ran once or twice in the early part of this season. It makes a horse rush his fences rather, perhaps; but you young fellows like that, I know."
"His----eye appears slightly blood-shot, doesn"t it?" I hazarded; for he was exhibiting a large amount of what I imagine should have been white, in an unsuccessful attempt to look at his tail without turning his head round. "Is he quiet with hounds?"
"Playful--a little playful," was his not a.s.suring reply. "But we must be off, gentlemen. It"s three miles to Blackbrook, and it won"t do to be late!" And he led the way to the Hall, where I selected my virgin whip from the rack, and swallowing a nip of orange-brandy, which a servant providentially handed to me at that moment, went forth to meet my fate.
Laura, declining offers of a.s.sistance from the crowd of pink-coated young gentlemen who were sucking cigars in the porch, was put into the saddle by her own groom. I think she looked to me for aid, but I was constrained to stare studiously in the opposite direction, having a very vague idea of the method by which young ladies are placed in their saddles. Then I commenced, and ultimately effected, the ascent of The Sultan: a process which appeared to me precisely identical with climbing to the deck of a man-of-war.
"Stirrups all right, sir?" asked the groom.
"This one"s rather too long.--No, it"s the _other_ one, I think."
One of them didn"t seem right, but it was impossible to say which in the agony of the moment.
He surveyed me critically from the front, and then took up one stirrup to a degree that brought my knee into close proximity with my waistcoat: The Sultan meanwhile exhibiting an uncertainty of temperament which caused me very considerable anxiety. Luckily I had presence of mind to say that he had shortened the leather too much, and there was not much difference between the two, when, with Laura and some seven companions, I started down the avenue in front of the house.
The fundamental principles of horsemanship are three: keep your heels down; stick in your knees; and try to look as if you liked it. So I am informed, and I am at a loss to say which of the three is the most difficult of execution. The fact that The Sultan started jerkily, some little time before I was ready to begin, thereby considerably deranging such plans as I was forming for guidance, is to be deplored; for my hat was not on very firmly, and it was extremely awkward to find a hand to restore it to its place when it displayed a tendency to come over my eyes. Conversation, under these circ.u.mstances, is peculiarly difficult; and I fear that Laura found my remarks somewhat curt and strangely punctuated. The Sultan"s behaviour, however, had become meritorious to a high degree; and I was just beginning to think that hunting was not so many degrees worse than the treadmill, when we approached the scene of action.
Before us, as we rounded a turning in the road, a group of some thirty hors.e.m.e.n--to which fresh accessions were constantly being made--chatted together and watched a hilly descent to the right down which the pack of hounds, escorted by several officials, was approaching. The Major and his party were cordially greeted, and no doubt like civilities would have been extended to me had I been in a position to receive them; but, unfortunately, I was not; for, on seeing the hounds, the "playfulness" of The Sultan vigorously manifested itself, and he commenced a series of gymnastic exercises to which his previous performances had been a mere farce. I lost my head, but mysteriously kept what was more important--my seat, until the tempest of his playfulness had in some measure abated; and then he stood still, shaking with excitement. I sat still, shaking--from other causes.
"Keep your horse"s head to the hounds, will you, sir?" was the salutation which the master bestowed on me, cantering up as the pack defiled through a gate; and indeed The Sultan seemed anxious to kill a hound or two to begin with. "Infernal c.o.c.kney!" was, I fancy, the term of endearment he used as he rode on; but I don"t think Laura caught any of this short but forcible utterance, for just at this moment a cry was raised in the wood to the left, and the men charged through the gate and along the narrow cart-track with a wild rush. Again The Sultan urged on his wild career--half-breaking my leg against the gate-post, as I was very courteously endeavouring to get out of the way of an irascible gentleman behind me, who appeared to be in a hurry, and then plunging me into the midst of a struggling pushing throng of men and horses.
If the other n.o.ble sportsmen were not enjoying themselves more than I, it was certainly a pity that they had not stayed at home. Where was this going to end? and--but what was the matter in front? They paused, and then suddenly all turned round and charged back along the narrow path. I was taken by surprise, and got out of the way as best I could, pulling my horse back amongst the trees, and the whole cavalcade rushed past me. Out of the wood; across the road; over the opposite hedge, most of them--some turn off towards a gate to the right--and away up the rise beyond; pa.s.sing over which they were soon out of sight.
That The Sultan"s efforts to follow them had been vigorous I need not say; but I felt that it was a moment for action, and pulled and tugged and sawed at his mouth to make him keep his head turned away from temptation. He struggled about amongst the trees, and I felt that, under the circ.u.mstances, I should be justified in hitting him on the head. I did so; and shortly afterwards--it was not exactly that I was _thrown_, but circ.u.mstances induced me to _get of rather suddenly_.
My foot was on my native heath. I was alone, appreciating the charms of solitude in a degree I had never before experienced; but after a few minutes of thankfulness, the necessity of action forced itself on my mind. Clearly, I must not be seen standing at my horse"s head gazing smilingly at the prospect--that would never do, for the whole hunt might reappear as quickly as they had gone; so, smoothing out the most troublesome creases in my nether garments, I proceeded to mount. I say "proceeded," for it was a difficult and very gradual operation, but was eventually managed through the instrumentality of a little boy, who held The Sultan"s head, and addressed him in a series of forcible epithets that I should never have dared to use: language, however, which, though reprehensible from a moral point of view, seemed to appeal to the animal"s feelings, and to be successful.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "I proceeded to mount. I say proceeded, for it was a difficult and very gradual operation, but was eventually managed through the instrumentality of a little boy, who held The Sultan"s head, and addressed him in a series of forcible epithets that I should never have dared to use."--_Page 280._]
He danced a good deal when I was once more on his back, and seemed to like going in a series of small bounds, which were peculiarly irritating to sit. But I did not so much mind now, for no critical eye was near to watch my hand wandering to the convenient pommel, or to note my taking such other little precautions as the exigencies of the situation, and the necessity for carrying out the first law of nature, seemed to suggest.
Hunting, in this way, wasn"t really so very bad. There did not appear to be so very much danger, the morning air was refreshing and pleasant, and the country looked bright. There always seemed to be a gate to each field, which, though troublesome to open at first, ultimately yielded to patience and perseverance and the handle of my whip. I might get home safely after all; and as for my desertion, where everyone was looking after himself, it was scarcely likely they could have observed my defection. No; this was not altogether bad fun. I could say with truth for the rest of my life that I "had hunted." It would add a zest to the perusal of sporting literature, and, above all, extend the range of my charity by making me sincerely appreciate men who really rode.
But alas! though clear of the trees practically, I was, metaphorically, very far from being out of the wood. When just endeavouring to make up my mind to come out again some day, I heard a noise, and, looking behind me, saw the whole fearful concourse rapidly approaching the hedge which led into the ploughed field next to me on the right.
Helter-skelter, on they came! Hounds popping through, and scrambling over. Then a man in pink topping the fence, and on again over the plough; then one in black over with a rush; two, three, four more in different places. Another by himself who came up rapidly, and, parting company with his horse, shot over like a rocket!
All this I noted in a second. There was no time to watch, for The Sultan had seen the opportunity of making up for his lost day, and started off with the rush of an express train. We flew over the field; neared the fence. I was shot into the air like a shuttlec.o.c.k from a battledore--a moment of dread--then, a fearful shock which landed me lopsidedly, somewhere on the animal"s neck. He gives a spring which shakes me into the saddle again, and is tearing over the gra.s.s field beyond. I am conscious that I am in the same field as the Major, and some three or four other men. We fly on at frightful speed--there is a line of willows in front of us which we are rapidly nearing. It means water, I know. We get--or rather _it comes_ nearer--nearer--nearer--ah-h-h!
An agony of semi-unconsciousness--a splash, a fearful splash--a struggle....
I am on his back, somewhere in the neighbourhood of the saddle: without stirrups, but grimly clutching a confused ma.s.s of reins as The Sultan gently canters up the ascent to where the hounds are howling and barking round a man in pink, who waves something brown in the air before throwing it to them. I have no sooner reached the group than the master arrives, followed by some four or five men, conspicuous among whom is the Major.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "An agony of semi-unconsciousness--a splash, a fearful splash--a struggle.... I am on his back, somewhere in the neighbourhood of the saddle; without stirrups, but grimly clutching a confused ma.s.s of reins as The Sultan gently canters up the ascent to where the hounds are howling."--_Page 283._]
He hastens to me. To denounce me as an impostor? Have I done anything wrong, or injured the horse?
"I congratulate you, Smoothley,--I congratulate you! I promised you a run, and you"ve had one, and, by Jove! taken the shine out of some of us. My Lord"--to the master--"let me present my friend, Mr Smoothley, to you. Did you see him take the water? You and I made for the Narrows, but he didn"t turn away, and went at it as if Sousemere were a puddle.
Eighteen feet of water if it"s an inch, and with such a take-off and such a landing, there"s not a man in the hunt who"d attempt it! Well, Heathertopper! Laura, my dear,"--for she and the bulky Baronet at this moment arrived at the head of a straggling detachment of followers--"you missed a treat in not seeing Smoothley charge the brook:
"Down in the hollow there, sluggish and idle, Runs the dark stream where the willow trees grow, Harden your heart, and catch hold of your bridle-- Steady him--rouse him--and over we go!"
"Isn"t that it? It was beautiful!"
It might have been in his opinion; in mine it was simply an act of unconscious insanity, which I had rather die than intentionally repeat.
"I didn"t see you all the time, Mr Smoothley; where were you?" Laura asked.
"Where was he?" cried the Major. "Not following you, my dear. He took his own line, and, by Jove! it was a right one!"
It was not in these terms that I had expected to hear the Major addressing me, and it was rather bewildering. Still I trust that I was not puffed up with an unseemly vanity as Laura rode back by my side.
She looked lovely with the flush of exercise on her cheek, and the sparkle of excitement in her eyes; and as we pa.s.sed homewards through the quiet country lanes I forgot the painful creases that were afflicting me, and with as much eloquence as was compatible with the motion of my steed--I ventured!
The blushes deepen on her cheek. She consents on one condition: I must give up hunting.
"You are so rash and daring," she says, softly--_very_ softly, "that I should never be happy when you were out."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "I trust I was not puffed up with an unseemly vanity, as Laura rode back by my side.... "You are so rash and daring," she says softly, "that I should never be happy when you were out.""--_Pages 284-5._]
Can I refuse her anything--even _this_? Impossible!
I promise: vowing fervently to myself to keep my word; and on no account do anything to increase the reputation I made at Huntingcrop Hall.
A DOG HUNT ON THE BERWYNS
Thanks to the columns of the sporting papers, every Englishman, whatever his occupation, is sufficiently familiar with the details of fox-hunting, and all other kinds of hunting usually practised in merry England; but few, I fancy, have either seen or heard of a dog-hunt. It has fallen to my lot to partic.i.p.ate in such a hunt; one, too, which was quite as exciting as a wolf-hunt must have been in the olden time, or as that most glorious of sports, otter-hunting, is now. Imagine to yourself a three days" chase after a fierce and savage dog, a confirmed sheep worrier, and that in the midst of the picturesque ruggedness and grandeur of the Welsh hills.
Some three or four miles east from Bala, the Berwyn Mountains raise their heathery summits in the midst of a solitude broken only by the plaintive bleat of a lost sheep or the shouts of men in search of it.
For miles the purple moorland rolls on without a moving creature to break the stillness. Deep ravines run down on either hand through green, ferny sheep-walks, dotted with innumerable sheep. These ravines in winter time, when the snow lies deep on the hills, are, when not frost-bound, roaring torrents. In the summer, huge blocks of stone are scattered about in strange confusion, and a tiny stream can scarcely find its way between them. Lower down still can be seen, here and there, a farm-house, in some sheltered glen, kept green all the year round by the trickling moisture. Further off still, in the valleys, are villages and hamlets tenanted by hardy Welsh sheep-farmers and dealers.
In the least-exposed corners of the sheep-walks are folds built of loose, unmortared stones, in which the sheep huddle to find shelter from the fury of the frequent storms which sweep over the mountains.
As the wealth of the hill farmers consists chiefly of sheep, if a dog once takes to worrying them, he is either kept in durance vile, or killed. The habit once acquired is never got rid of; and after a sheep-dog has once tasted blood, it becomes practically useless to the farmer. The quant.i.ty of sheep that can be killed by such a dog in a short time is almost incredible.
It may be imagined, therefore, with what feelings the Berwyn farmers heard of sheep after sheep being killed on their own and neighbouring farms, by a dog which n.o.body owned, and which ran loose on the mountains catering for itself. Descending from the lonelier parts of the hills, it would visit the sheep-walks and kill, as it appeared, for the pure love of killing; in most cases leaving the mangled bodies on the spot.
Month after month ran by, and it still eluded the vengeance of the indignant hillmen. The most exaggerated accounts were current respecting its size and ferocity. No two versions agreed as to its colour, though all gave it enormous size. As it afterwards turned out, it was a black and white foxhound b.i.t.c.h.
Everybody carried a gun, but on the few occasions that the dog came within shot, it appeared to be shot proof. The loss of numerous sheep was becoming serious; in some instances the farmers suffered heavily.
It was the staple topic of conversation. From time to time, paragraphs, such as the following, appeared in the papers published in the neighbouring towns:--
"THE RAPACIOUS DOG.--The noted sheep destroyer on the Berwyn hills still continues to commit his depredations, in spite of all efforts to kill him.
"The last that was seen of him was on Sunday morning, by Mr Jones on the Syria sheep-walk, when the dog was in the act of killing a lamb. Mr Jones was armed with a gun at the time, and tried to get within gunshot range; but it seems that the animal can scent a man approaching him from a long distance, so he made off immediately. After it became known to the farmers and inhabitants of Llandrillo that he had been seen, a large party went up to the mountain at once, and were on the hills all day, but nothing more was heard of him till late in the evening, when he was again seen on Hendwr sheep-walk, and again entirely lost. On Monday a number of foxhounds were expected from Tanybwlch, and if a sight of him can be obtained, no doubt he will be hunted down and captured, and receive what he is fully ent.i.tled to--capital punishment."