FOX-HUNTING.  171

Even  then  it  was  very  loa.th  to  die  ;  and  it  took  a  good
deal  of  thorough  "pounding"  to  finish  it.
Tom  dragged  it  along  to  the  barge.
Its  body  was  nearly  four  feet  long,  but  rather  slini.
The  legs  were  short,  with  large  feet,  and  very  long,  sharp
claws.  The  head  was  rather  long  than  round,  with
small  ears.  The  tail  was  long  and  bushy.  In  fact,  the
whole  body  was  shaggy,  being  covered  with  long  hair  of
a  dull  black  color.
Tom  and  Kit  pronounced  it  a  "  fisher."

The  girls  eyed  it  with  large-eyed  horror.  The  sight
of  its  unclosed  eyes  and  gory  head  made  them  shudder,
almost  shriek.
"  Oh  the  fearful  creature ! "  quavered  Miss  Kate.
"  What  were  such  dreadful  things  created  for  ?  "

"  To  catch  hares,"  suggested  Kit  ingenuously.
Jule  burst  out  laughing :  for  her  part,  she  did  not
"  care  for  it,  now  it  was  dead."

But  Miss  Nell  wouldn't  believe  it  was  dead,  because
it  had  its  eyes  open ;  and  Miss  Elsie  felt  very  sure  it
would  yet  "  come  to  life  again,"  and  jump  at  us.
By  way  of  satisfying  them,  Wash  fired  another  bullet
through  its  head.  Upon  that  they  called  him  a  horrid
cruel  fellow ;  and  they  would  neither  look  at  him  nor  the
"poor  abused  creature  another  single  moment."

That's  what  he  got  for  trying  to  quiet  their  fears.
And  "  Oh,  no-no-no! "  they  would  not  let  Kit  and  Tom
put  it  in  the  hind-part  of  the  barge.  They  wouldn't
ride  with  the  horrid,  poor  thing !  Two  bullets  through
its  skull  and  a  dozen  buck-shot  in  its  body  were  no
proper  guaranty  that  it  wouldn't  get  up  and  bite  any
moment.
172  FOX-HUNTING.
