The whole party then moved off, and the hounds were put into a covert. Five minutes later, a whimper was heard. It soon spread into a chorus, and then a fox dashed out from the opposite side; followed, in a couple of minutes, by the whole pack.
"Well, that is fun, is it not, Captain Bullen?" said a girl, to whom he was talking, in one of the carriages.
"It is a pretty sight," he said, "and if the fox always got away, I should like it. As it is, I say honestly that I don't."
The meet now broke up, and the carriages dispersed. Hallett and Lisle accepted an invitation to lunch with the ladies to whom they were talking. Two hours later, Lisle was on the point of leaving, when a groom rode up at full speed.
"Is Captain Bullen here?" he asked.
With a presentiment of evil, Lisle went out.
"The colonel has had a bad accident, sir. He was brought in, half an hour ago, by the servants. I understand that he asked for you; and three of us at once rode off, in different directions, to find you."
Lisle called Hallett and, in five minutes, they were mounted and dashed off. As they entered the house, they were met by the surgeon.
"Is he badly hurt'?" Lisle asked, anxiously.
"I fear that he is hurt to death, Captain Bullen. His horse slipped as it was taking a fence, and fell on the top of him. He has suffered severe internal injuries, and I greatly fear that there is not the least hope for him."