He feared to try any more of his old devices against these new and too numerous foes; he simply ran straight on, trusting to find some novel way out of his trouble. The hounds were less noisy now, having no breath to spare for music; and this encouraged him 5 a little. Through the thickets he raced, and through a little pasture which offered no suggestion of escape. The pasture was bounded on the farther side by a massive stone wall, extending as far as he could see in each direction. What there might be on the other 10 side of that wall he had no idea; but, whatever there was, it could not be worse than what there was on this side. With hardly strength enough left for the leap, he sprang to the top of the wall, and dropped down the other side. 15 It was in a dusty road winding between stone walls and stiff rows of trees on each side that Red Fox now found himself. For perhaps twenty yards, he ran on, down the middle of the road, where he knew the dry, hard earth would not hold his scent. Then the jog 20 trot and jangle of a team approaching caught his ear, and he hid himself in a clump of tall woods to let it go by. His tongue was hanging far out. He heard the voices of the pack in the woods just across the pasture. The approaching team, as it came around a turn of the road, proved to be a big farm wagon, drawn by two horses, with the driver half asleep on the seat. The roomy body of the wagon was filled with boxes 25 and a barrel, several bags of feed, a bundle of dry salt codfish, and a bale of some kind of coarse cloth. The sight reminded Red Fox of the things which had accompanied his crate on the journey from the settlement 5 to the station. In that wagon he had been safe. Why not so in this one? There was no time for indecision; the voices of the pack were already loud in the open pasture. One noiseless leap as the wagon passed, and he had climbed in softly, and had curled himself down 10 out of sight behind a bag of feed. Not two minutes later, the pack arrived, and came tumbling over the wall into the road. Fifty yards away in his hiding place, Red Fox heard the sudden change in their voices as they found themselves at 15 fault. Around and around, up and down, and over the wall on the other side, they quested for the lost trail, whimpering in bewildered disappointment. Here was the trail, faint but unmistakable, right in the middle of the road, and here it ended, as if Red Fox had grown 20 wings and had sprung into the air. The pack, being very wise in the wiles of foxes, now scattered, some running in one direction, and some in the other, along the tops of both walls. In this way, they felt sure of picking up the trail, and, failing in this, they were 25 overwhelmed with confusion. Presently, the field came hurrying up, all excitement; and the babble and wonder grew. But Red Fox, meanwhile, curled up small behind the bag of feed, was being carried farther and farther away from the fate that had so nearly clutched him; and at last the baleful voices died upon his ears. Once more his destiny and his wits had worked together to save him. For hours the big wagon rumbled and jolted on, in 5 no haste; and all the time Red Fox lay quite still, recovering his strength. He wanted to be carried as far as possible from the skilled pack and those terrible scarlet hunters. At last, however, the wagon stopped, and the driver heavily dismounted. Red Fox peered 10 forth and found the wagon standing in the middle of a well-kept barnyard. About twenty paces away, however, was a garden thick with shrubbery, - and beyond the garden he saw a patch of woods; noiselessly he dropped from the wagon. The driver, a big fellow, 15 with a wide straw hat, happening to turn his head at the moment, was astonished to see what passenger he had been carrying. In the next instant, Red Fox had disappeared. Darting through the currant bushes and tall holly20 hock clumps of the garden, he presently gained the trees, which proved to be but a narrow belt of woodland. Beyond the woodland was an open pasture field, full of hillocks and knolls, and dotted with red cattle feeding peacefully. Very near, however, and 25 straight ahead across the pasture, he saw the mountains. They were rough with rocky shoulders, and dark with pine, very dark and safe-looking; and there, said his heart, was where he must be. Then he pressed on, ever climbing, till he came out |