Richard, as he mounted one of Pip's hunters, a powerful bay, felt
the thrill of it all, and when he joined Eve and her party he found them
in an uproarious mood.

Presently over hills streamed a picturesque procession--the hounds in the
lead, the horses following with riders whose pink blazed against the
green of the pines, against the blue of the river, against the fainter
blue of the skies above.

And oh, the music of it, the sound of the horn, the bell-like baying, the
thud of flying feet!

Then, ahead of them all, as the hounds broke into full cry, a silent,
swift shadow--the old fox, Pete!

At first he ran easily. He had done it so often. He had thrown them off
after a chase which had stirred his blood. He would throw them off again.

In leisurely fashion he led them. As the morning advanced, however, he
found himself hard pushed. He was driven from one stronghold to another.
Tireless, the hounds followed and followed, until at last he knew himself
weary, seeking sanctuary.

He came with confidence to Crossroads. Beyond the garden was his den.
Once within and the thing would end.

Across the lawn he loped, and little Francois, anxious at the window,
spied him. "Will he get to it, will he get to it?" he said to Nancy, his
small face white with the fear of what might happen, "and when he gets
there will he be safe?"

"Yes," she assured him; "and when they have run him aground, they will
ride away."

But they did not ride away. It happened that those who were in the lead
were unaware of the tradition of the country, and so they began to dig
him out, this old king of foxes, who had felt himself secure in his
castle!

They set the dogs at one end, and fetched mattocks and spades from the
stable.

Pip and Eve were among them. Pip directing, Eve mad with the excitement
of it all.

Little Francois, watching, clung to Nancy. "Oh, they can't, they
mustn't!"

She soothed him, and at last sent Milly out, but they would not listen.

Nancy and Sulie were as white now as little Francois. "Oh, where is
Richard?" Nancy said. "It is like murder to do a thing like that. It is
bad enough in the open--but like a rat--in a trap."

The big bay was charging down the hill with Richard yelling at the top of
his voice. The bay had proved troublesome and had bolted in the wrong
direction, but Richard had brought him back to Crossroads just in time!

Francois screamed. "It is Dr. Dicky. He'll make them stop. He'll make
t