"TALLY-HO!"
The year passed rapidly away, and the hunting season was in full swing.
The Rushshire hounds were to meet at Hazelwell, and Ulick saw the
fixture in the paper.
"By Jove! I should like to have a spin with them again," he said to
himself; "it is more than two years since I had a rousing gallop over
our country. I cannot go to Hazelwell, but I have a good mind to join
them as they pass through Helton village on the way to Brecon Wood. I'll
write to Eli and ask him to put me up for the night, and he will be able
to give me a mount. My father will be out with the hounds, and many
people will recognise me, but I can vanish when the hunt is over. It
will be amusing to see how the good folks take it, and whether they
object to my presence."
He wrote to Eli, who was in a flutter of excitement when he received the
letter. Of course, he would give him a bed, and be glad to see him. "If
I could only get Random for him to ride," he said to himself, "that
would be a treat. I'll try it on, anyway."
He rode over to Anselm Manor and fortunately found Irene alone. To her
he showed Ulick's letter and she was delighted to hear he was coming
down.
"I have come to ask a favour of you," said Eli.
"I shall have much pleasure in granting it, if I can," she replied, with
a smile.
"Will you lend me Random to mount him on?" he asked.
"I shall be delighted," she replied. Then she wondered what Warren would
say, as he would be sure to inquire where the horse was. She could tell
him she had lent him to Eli for a friend to ride, as she did not intend
to hunt that day, but merely to be at the breakfast at Hazelwell.
"You can take him back with you now; one of the grooms can ride over,"
she said.
Eli was delighted at the success of his plan, and as he looked at Random
in his box, said--
"You will be surprised to have your old master on your back, but I
expect you will know him again."
Ulick arrived at the Hazelwell stud farm, and Eli greeted him heartily.
"Something tells me you will not leave us again," he said.
"You are wrong, Eli; I cannot go to Hazelwell yet, not until----" he
hesitated.
"Not until what?" asked Eli.
"Until the man who ran away with Janet thinks fit to confess to my
father," said Ulick.
"Then you will have to wait a long time," said Eli, "for he has not got
it in him."
"You know him!" exclaimed Ulick.
"Not for certain, but I have a very good idea. We will not talk about
that. Have you heard anything of Janet?"
"Yes," said Ulick. "She is well, and I know is leading a respectable
life, but she cannot come home at present, and does not wish you to see
her until she has asked you to forgive her."
"I am glad to hear that, it is good news; but I should like to have her
here again. If you know where she is, tell her I have forgiven her long
ago." He did not ask why she did not come home, but her refusal to do so
confirmed his suspicions, and he thought he understood her reason for
remaining away, and approved of it.
"I have a good mount for you," said Eli. "Would you like to see him, or
will you wait until the morning?"
"We may as well look at him now," said Ulick, "and then I can dream of
one of the best runs on record."
They went out and across the yard, Eli lighting the way with a lantern.
He opened the door of a box near to that in which Ulick entered the
night he gave him such a surprise.
Holding up the light, Eli said--
"He's not a bad sort, is he?"
At first Ulick did not recognise the horse, as the light was not
particularly good. He stepped up to his side, and Random sniffed and
pushed his head against him.
"He seems to know me," said Ulick. Then, as he took another look at him,
he exclaimed--
"Why it's Random! Good old Random; where on earth did he spring from?"
He patted the horse, and it was quite like the meeting of two friends
after a long separation.
"I borrowed him," said Eli.
"From Mrs. Courtly?"
"Yes, and she was delighted to lend him."
"Will she be at the meet to-morrow?"
"No, only at the breakfast."
"I wonder what Warren will think when he sees me on him?" thought Ulick.
"I expect she will merely explain that she lent him to Eli, and not
mention my name."
He looked forward eagerly to riding his old favourite at a meet of the
Rushshire hounds again, and yet he had strange misgivings when he was
dressing, that something was about to happen which would change the
whole course of his life. He had no inkling as to what it was, but the
impression was there, and he could not get rid of it. He said nothing to
Eli, and was as cheerful as usual at breakfast, and when he mounted
Random he almost wished the day was over. He rode towards Helton, and
met several people on horseback going to Hazelwell. Some of them
recognised him, others he fancied did so but avoided looking in his
direction.
James Bard, the veterinary surgeon, gave him a hearty welcome, and
insisted on riding back with him to his house in the village.
"I am right glad to see you again," he said, briskly. "You have been
away from us so long. I hope you have returned to stay."
"Not yet," replied Ulick. "I have not been to Hazelwell; I am going to
join them as they pass through the village; they are sure to draw Brecon
Wood first."
"Then I remain with you," said James Bard.
"You must go to Hazelwell; my father will miss you at the breakfast, and
will be angry."
"Not when he learns why I remained away," replied Bard.
They rode together to James Bard's house, and remained there until the
hounds came in sight. They stood at the window and watched them pass,
and there was a large muster at the meet, the Hazelwell hunt breakfast
always drawing a big crowd.
"It will be comparatively easy to remain unrecognised amongst that lot,"
said Ulick. "I did not see my father."
"The Squire has been down with the gout," said Bard, "and Dr. Harding
has made him rest. I expect he will chafe a good deal at having to
remain at home to-day."
Ulick was sorry his father had the gout, yet was glad he was absent from
the hunt.
When the party cleared the village, James Bard and Ulick rode after
them, in the direction of Brecon Wood.
As they neared the well-known haunt of the best foxes in Rushshire, they
heard the hounds making music, and in a few minutes the well-known cry
was heard, and they had "gone away" after the fox.
Ulick set Random going, and, followed by James Bard, quickly came in
sight of the field. In front, well ahead, the hounds were streaming away
over some open pastures, the fox going at a great pace, and the field in
straggling order.
"He's got a capital start," said Ulick. "We are in for a good run."
"If it's the 'old dog' we went after last season, he'll make it hot. We
shall soon tell, he generally doubles round and makes for Hazelwell
Coppice at the other side of Glen church."
"Sixteen miles if it's a yard," said Ulick.
"And good going all the way, but there are some stiff fences, and we
shall have to face the Tone river."
"Swim it or leap it?" laughed Ulick.
"You'll get over it on that fellow. I don't know about mine. I fancy I
have seen yours before."
"So you have. It's Random."
"Good gracious, so it is. You'll have nothing to fear, and if anyone is
in at the death, it will be yourself," said Bard.
It was not long before Random left the veterinary surgeon in the rear,
and carried Ulick well to the front of the field. The horse fenced
splendidly, and had a good rider on his back.
Warren Courtly inquired where Random was, and Irene told him she had
lent him to Eli for a friend of his to ride, and with this he was
satisfied, and did not ask who he was, much to her relief.
Ulick saw Warren ahead of him on a big Irish grey, a strong puller, but
a good fencer, rather a dangerous horse to ride when his blood was up.
"He'll be surprised when he sees me on Random," thought Ulick, who had
by this time forgotten all about his early-morning presentiment in the
excitement of the chase.
They were galloping over a ploughed field, and the going was heavy,
beyond was a meadow, and in the distance the river Tone could be seen.
It was narrow in some parts, and not deep, but the banks were
treacherous, and often brought riders to grief.
Out of the plough into the meadow they went at a fast pace. The old fox
knew his way about, and bore away to the left. There was an old tree
fallen, three parts of the way across the river, and he headed for it.
Racing along the huge trunk with sure steps, he reached the end, made a
long jump, and scrambled up the opposite side, and raced away up the
steep incline towards Hazelwell Spinney and Glen church.
Warren set the grey at the water, and he cleared it gallantly. Ulick
flew over on Random, and as they galloped up the hill got ahead of him,
but was not within shouting distance as he passed him. At first Warren
did not see him, but presently he recognised Random, and then Ulick.
He was never more surprised in his life than to see Ulick on Random at
that particular moment. It staggered him for a few minutes, and when he
recovered from the shock he was extremely angry.
"So it was to him she lent Random," he muttered savagely. "She knew he
was here, at Helton. I wonder if they met when I was out. You shall
suffer for this, Irene. Perhaps he thinks I am a coward; I'll show him
who is the better man to-day. Damn him, I'll beat him, or know the
reason why."
He rode the grey roughly, and the horse resented it. He pulled harder
than ever, and the wild Irish blood in him revolted at his rider's
handling.
Only half-a-dozen horsemen were near them, the bulk of the field had cut
across country, knowing where the fox was making for. All the men
following the track of the hounds were hard riders, and would have
scorned to adopt such tactics.
"That's Ulick Maynard," muttered the huntsman. "I'm glad to see him out
again, and on Random too. I wonder what he's done with old Eli's girl?
She was a pretty wench. It was a bit rough on Eli, that was, and I
didn't think Mr. Ulick was the man to do it. However, there's no telling
what will happen when there's a woman in the case."
Ulick was thoroughly enjoying himself. He loved following the hounds,
and had done so ever since he was a boy. He knew the country well, and
was aware it would take Random all his time to keep going to the finish
at this pace.
They were nearing Glen church, and beyond, in the distance, was
Hazelwell Coppice, the house being hidden amongst the trees a couple of
miles away.
Ulick took in the well-remembered scene at a glance. He called to mind
how he had galloped over this country with the Squire and Irene, and how
they had found it a difficult task to keep up with his father. He wished
Irene was there now, so that he could give her a lead over that big,
stiff-set hedge a hundred yards ahead of him. He forgot all about Warren
on the grey. There were the hounds scrambling through the bars of the
gate, dashing through the holes in the hedge near the bank. Once he
caught sight of the fox streaking along with his tail straight out, his
head down, and his body almost level with the ground.
"He's not half done yet," thought Ulick. "He deserves to get away, and I
hope he will save his brush."
The fox meant doing so if possible, there could be no doubt about that.
Round Glen church was a high, rough stone wall, built in the old style,
stone piled upon stone, not bound together in any way, except by the
pressure of one upon another. The coping on the top was loose, and in
places big stones had rolled off on to the grass, for the church stood
in a field, and was approached by a footpath.
The fox seemed of a pious turn of mind, for he headed straight for the
church, as though hoping to find sanctuary there from his desperate
pursuers.
Ulick expected to see him run round the churchyard, but instead of that
he scrambled up the wall and made his way amongst the tombstones and
over the graves of men who had hunted his ancestors in years gone by.
"If you think I am going to follow you over there you are mistaken,"
said Ulick. "I have no desire to join the silent residents in that
locality. I'll ride round and catch you up on the other side, it is not
far out of the way."
He watched the hounds scrambling over the rough wall, which stood on a
rise on the ground, and saw from their movements they were well-nigh
beaten.
Warren Courtly was not far behind. He saw Ulick check his mount, and
then make for the corner of the churchyard. He was near enough to be
heard, if he shouted, and he called out--
"Follow me over the wall, if you have pluck enough; don't sneak round
that way."