was alone as soon as he would have
done but for his own glory. "He is the same as the others," said Harry
to himself. "Because that man has told a falsehood of me, and has had
the wit to surround it with circumstances, he thinks it becomes him to
ride away and cut me." Then he asked himself some foolish questions as
to himself and as to Joshua Thoroughbung, which he did not answer as he
should have done, had he remembered that he was then riding
Thoroughbung's horse, and that his sister was to become Thoroughbung's
wife.

After half an hour of triumphant ovation, Joshua remembered his
brother-in-law, and did fall back so as to pick him up. "What's the
matter, Harry? Why don't you come on and join us?"

"I'm sick of hearing of that infernal squabble."

"Well; as to a squabble, Mr. Harkaway behaved quite right. If a hunt is
to be kept up, the right of entering coverts must be preserved for the
hunt they belong to. There was no line shown. You must remember that
there isn't a doubt about that. The hounds were all astray when we
joined them. It's a great question whether they brought their fox into
that first covert. There are they who think that Bodkin was just riding
across the Puckeridge country in search of a fox." Bodkin was Mr.
Fairlawn's huntsman. "If you admit that kind of thing, where will you
be? As a hunting country, just nowhere. Then as a sportsman, where are
you? It is necessary to put down such gross fraud. My own impression is
that Mr. Fairlawn should be turned out from being master. I own I feel
very strongly about it. But then I always have been fond of hunting."

"Just so," said Harry, sulkily, who was not in the least interested as
to the matter on which Joshua was so eloquent.

Then Mr. Proctor rode by, the gentleman who in the early part of the day
disgusted Harry by calling him "mister." "Now, Mr. Proctor," continued
Joshua, "I appeal to you whether Mr. Harkaway was not quite right? If
you won't stick up for your rights in a hunting county--" But Mr.
Proctor rode on, wishing them good-night, very discourteously declining
to hear the remainder of the brewer's arguments. "He's in a hurry, I
suppose," said Joshua.

"You'd better follow him. You'll find that he'll listen to you then."

"I don't want him to listen to me particularly."

"I thought you did." Then for half an hour the two men rode on in
silence.

"What's the matter with you Harry?" said Joshua. "I can see there's
something up that