, recognising in a moment the dead day of the
underground saying. He knew where Bevis's hare had her form, and
immediately he raced across to her, though not clearly knowing what he
was going to do; but as he crossed the fields he saw the sportsman,
without any dogs and with an empty gun, leaning over the gate and gazing
at the eclipse. With a snarl the fox drove Ulu from her form, and so
worried her that she was obliged to run (to escape his teeth) right
under the sportsman's legs, and thus to fulfil the saying: "The hare
hunted the hunter".

Even yet the fox did not know what was going to happen, or why he was
doing this, for such is commonly the case during the progress of great
events. The actors do not recognise the importance of the part they are
playing. The age does not know what it is doing; posterity alone can
appreciate it. But after a while, as the fox drove the hare out of the
hedges, and met and faced her, and bewildered the poor creature, he
observed that her zig-zag course, entirely unpremeditated, was leading
them closer and closer to the orchard where Kapchack (whom he wished to
overthrow) had his palace.

Then beginning to see whither fate was carrying them, suddenly he darted
out and drove the hare into the drain, and for safety followed her
himself. He knew the drain very well, and that there was an outlet on
the other side, having frequently visited the spot in secret in order to
listen to what Kapchack was talking about. Ulu, quite beside herself
with terror, rushed through the drain, leaving pieces of her fur against
the projections of the stones, and escaped into the lane on the other
side, and so into the fields there. The fox remained in the drain to
hear what would happen.

The sportsman ran round, entered the gate, and saw the old farmer
trimming the prop, the ladder just placed against the tree, and caught
sight of the palace of King Kapchack. As he approached a missel-thrush
flew off--it was Eric; the farmer looked up at this, and saw the
stranger, and was at first inclined to be very angry, for he had never
been intruded upon before, but as the young gentleman at once began to
apologise for the liberty, he overlooked it, and listened with interest
to the story the sportsman told him of the vagaries of the hare. While
they were talking the sportsman looked up several times at the nest
above him, and felt an increasing curiosity to examine it. At last he
expressed his wish; the farmer de