"It was not bad to-day. The hounds never left their scent after they found him. I think our hillsides carry the scent better than our grasses. If you want to ride, of course, it's rough. But if you like hunting, and don't mind a scramble, perhaps you may see it here as well as elsewhere."
"Better, a deal, from all I hear tell," said Patterson. "Did you ever hear any music like that in Leicestershire, my lord?"
"I don't know that ever I did," said Hampstead. "I enjoyed myself amazingly."
"I hope you'll come again," said the Master, "and that often."
"Certainly, if I remain here."
"I knew his lordship would like it," said Crocker, crowding in on a spot where it was possible for four to ride abreast. "I think it was quite extraordinary to see how a stranger like his lordship got over our country."
"Clever little 'orse his lordship's on," said Patterson.
"It's the man more than the beast, I think," said Crocker, trying to flatter.
"The best man in England," said Patterson, "can't ride to hounds without a tidy animal under him."
"Nor yet can't the best horse in England stick to hounds without a good man on top of him," said the determined Crocker. Patterson grunted,—hating flattery, and remembering that the man flattered was a lord.