o hear you say so,' replied Puffington. 'I'm glad to hear
you say so, for you understand these things--no man better; and I confess
I've a warm side to that Beaufort Justice blood.'

'Don't wonder at it,' replied Jack, laughing his waistcoat strings off.

'The great Mr. Warde,' continued Mr. Puffington, 'who was justly partial to
his own sort, had never any objection to breeding from the Beaufort
Justice.'

'No, nor nobody else that knew what he was about,' replied Jack, turning
away to conceal his laughter.

'We should be moving, I think, sir,' observed Bragg, anxious to put an end
to the conversation; 'we should be moving, I think, sir,' repeated he,
with a rap of his forefinger against his cap peak. 'It's past eleven,'
added he, looking at his gold watch, and shutting it against his cheek.

'What do you draw first?' asked Jack.

'Draw--draw--draw,' replied Puffington. 'Oh, we'll draw Rabbitborough
Gorse--that's a new cover I've inclosed on my pro-o-r-perty.'

'Sc-e-e-use me, sir,' replied Bragg, with a smile, and another rap of the
cap: 'sc-e-e-use me, sir, but I'm going to Hollyburn Hanger first.'

'Ah, well, Hollyburn Hanger,' replied Puffington, complacently; 'either
will do very well.'

If Puff had proposed Hollyburn Hanger, Bragg would have said Rabbitborough
Gorse.

The move of the hounds caused a rush of gentlemen to their horses, and
there was the usual scramblings up, and fidgetings, and funkings, and
who-o-hayings and drawing of girths, and taking up of curbs, and
lengthening and shortening of stirrups.

Captain Guano couldn't get his stirrups to his liking anyhow. ''Ord hang
these leathers,' roared he, clutching up a stirrup-iron; 'who the devil
would ever have sent one out a-huntin' with a pair of new
stirrup-leathers?'

'Hang you and the stirrup leathers,' growled the groom, as his master rode
away; 'you're always wantin' sumfin to find fault with. I'm blowed if it
arn't a disgrace to an oss to carry such a man,' added he, eyeing the
chestnut fidgeting and wincing as the captain worked away at the stirrups.

Mr. Bragg trotted briskly on with the hounds, preceded by Joe Banks the
first whip, and having Jack Swipes the second, and Tom Stot, riding
together behind him, to keep off the crowd.

Thus the cavalcade swept down the avenue, crossed the Swillingford
turnpike, and took through a well-kept field road, which speedily brought
them to the cover--rough, broomy, brushwood-covered banks, of