Burr Junior Part 36

"I was expecting to hear some one shout after us every minute," he cried, as we now hurried steadily along. "Oh dear, how you do fancy things at a time like this!"

The evening was now delightful, and the fresh, sweet scent of the gra.s.s we crushed beneath our feet was supplemented every now and then by that of the abundant field camomile.

"Look out!" said Mercer; "there he goes. Isn't he early? I say, I wonder whether that's one of old Dawson's owls."

For, as we pa.s.sed along by the edge of the wood, a great white-breasted bird flew by, and went softly along by the side of the trees, till it disappeared far ahead.

"There's a rabbit," I said, as I caught sight of the white tuft of fur which so often betrays the presence of the little creatures, and directly after a sharp _rap, rap_--the warning given by them of danger-- was heard ahead, and a dozen ran rushing out of the field into the shelter of the wood.

"Look at them, how they swarm!" cried Mercer. "Why we might catch a hundred, and no one would be a bit the worse for it. Here, make haste, or I shall be shouting at them, and we ought to be quiet now."

"Close there, aren't we?" I said.

"Yes; just through that next patch, and we shall be there."

"And suppose Magg hasn't come?"

"Why, we'll catch some without him."

"Without the ferret?"

"Oh, how stupid I am!" cried Mercer, and he went on, now in silence, through some stunted firs, in and out by patches of gorse, with the character of the ground quite changed, and then up a hilly slope crowned with spruce trees, round which we skirted, to stop at last, breathless, at the bottom of the slope facing south, with the dark green, straight-stemmed trees above us; and Mercer gave his foot an angry stamp as he looked round at the deserted place, where the pine branches glowed of a ruddy bronze in the sunset light, and cried,--

"Oh, what a jolly shame!"

"Not here?" I said.

"No; and it's a nasty, mean trick to drag us all this way. I wish I had kept the ferret instead of trusting him."

"What's to be done?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied despondently. "It's always the way, when I've made up my mind for a bit of fun, something happens to stop it."

"Let's wait," I said. "He may come yet."

"Wait? Why, it'll be too dark to see to do anything in less than an hour. Oh, won't I pay him out for--"

"There he is," I whispered, for I had just caught sight of a figure lying down by a patch of furze; and we started off at a dog-trot, and soon reached the spot.

"Why, I thought you hadn't come, Magg," cried Mercer excitedly.

"That's what I was thinking," said the man. "There, chuck yourselves down; if you stand up like that, somebody may see you."

I did not like this, for it was going in for more hiding and secretiveness, but all the same it was fascinating, and, dropping on our knees in the short, wiry gra.s.s, we waited for our instructor in the art of ferreting rabbits to begin.

"Well," I said, as we stared at him, and he stared back at us, "aren't you going to begin?"

"No," he said coolly.

"Then what's the good of our coming?"

"Oh, do begin, Magg! We shall soon have to run back. Where's old longbody?"

"Yonder," said Magglin coolly, nodding his head at the slope just above us.

"Not loose?"

"Yes, he's loose."

"But--"

"Why, can't you see, lad? and do be quiet, or the rabbits won't bolt. I put him in one of the holes ten minutes ago."

A flush of excitement seemed to run through me now, as I noted that every here and there were places in the turfy bank where the sandy soil had been sc.r.a.ped out, and the next moment I saw what had escaped me before, that every hole I could see was covered with a fine net.

Mercer had seen it too, and I saw him rub his hands softly as if delighted with the promise of sport, but another ten minutes pa.s.sed, and the rabbits made no sign of being anxious to rush out and be caught, and I began to grow impatient.

"Hadn't you better try another place?" I whispered, but the man held up his hand, drew his knees under him, and crouched in an att.i.tude that was almost doglike in its animal aspect.

Then there was a rushing noise just above us, and Magglin scrambled forward and dashed his hands down upon a rabbit which came bounding out of a hole and rolled down the slope, tangled in the net.

The next minute it had received a chop on the back of the neck, ceased struggling, been transferred to Magglin's pocket, and the net was spread over the hole again.

"That's a bad farret, ain't it, Master Mercer?" said Magglin, showing his teeth. "You'd best sell un back to me; I should be glad on it for five shillings."

"Hush! I thought I heard one, Magg," whispered Mercer, ignoring the remark. "I say, let me catch the next."

"Either of you may if you can," he replied; and we waited again for some time.

"Try some fresh place," whispered Mercer.

"Nay; they all run one into another; the ground under here's like the rat-holes up at the old house. There goes one."

For a rabbit bolted from a hole higher up, turned on seeing us, and darted up toward the pines.

"Farret's working beautifully," said Magglin.

"How many holes have you covered?" I asked.

"'Bout four-and-twenty, and all my nets. You young gents ought to pay me for the use of them."

"Here's one!" cried Mercer, making a leap in a similar fashion to that of the under gardener, and he too caught an unfortunate rabbit, whose rush had been right into one of the little loose nets, in which it was tangled directly.

"Here, let me kill un for you," said Magglin.

"No; I know now. I can do it," said Mercer. Then I sprang to my feet, and my first impulse was to run, my second to stand fast, for how he got up to us so close from behind without being seen was a mystery to me; but there, just in the midst of the confusion and excitement of capturing the second rabbit, was Bob Hopley, the keeper, his big, st.u.r.dy form seeming to tower above us, and, caught, as we were in this nefarious act, filling me with dread.

"Got you this time then," he said gruffly.