he swift hounds would have
distanced him in a moment.

It must not be supposed that it was the intention of the boys to
follow up the hounds--that would have been worse than useless. Perhaps
the chase would continue for several hours. They had once hunted a fox
all day, without coming in sight of him. Reynard has ways and habits
of his own, which a person who has had experience in hunting him
understands. He always runs with the wind, and generally follows a
ridge. The hunters take advantage of this, and "run cross-lots" to
meet him, sometimes gaining on him several miles in this manner.

The moment the hounds had disappeared on the trail, Frank--who knew
all the "run-ways" of the game like a book--led the way through the
woods toward a ridge that lay about a mile distant, where they
expected the fox would pass.

A quarter of an hour's run brought them to this ridge, and they began
to conceal themselves behind trees and bushes, when Archie suddenly
exclaimed,

"We're dished, boys. The fox has already passed."

"Come on, then," said Frank. "No time to lose. We must try again."

And he again led the way, on a keen run, through a strip of woods,
across a wide meadow toward another ridge, that lay fully three miles
distant.

At length the baying of the hounds echoed through the woods, far below
them. Louder and louder it grew, and, in a few moments, they swept up
the ridge in full cry. The boys hurried on as rapidly as possible, and
reached the ridge in about an hour. Although they were accustomed to
such sport, they were pretty well tired out. They had run the greater
part of the way through thick woods, filled with fallen logs and
tangled bushes; but they now felt confident that the hunt was nearly
over. They knew they had gained considerably on the fox, and his
capture would be an ample reward for their trouble.

As soon as they reached the ridge, they threw themselves rapidly
across it in all directions, and, to their delight, discovered that
the fox had not yet passed. They stationed themselves in such a manner
that it would be impossible for him to pass on either side of them
without coming within reach of their guns, and patiently awaited his
appearance. They had not remained long in this position, when Archie,
who was stationed lowest down the ridge, exclaimed in a subdued voice,

"There they come, boys! Now, look sharp!"

The boys listened intently, and heard, faint and far off, the
well-known bay of S