“Now then, Harriers, peel!” said the whipper-in, when the hares had disappeared from view, and his watch showed seven minutes to have elapsed.
Our heroes nervously obeyed the order, and confided their outer vesture to Aspinall’s custody.
Then steeling their ears and hearts to the final sparks of chaff which greeted the action, they moved forward with the other hounds and waited Cresswell’s signal to go.
It seemed ages before those three minutes crawled out. But at last the whipper-in put his watch back, and blew a blast on his bugle.
“Forward!” shouted everybody.
And the hunt was begun.