Foremost of them all were Christian
and Larry, filled with an elation beyond the power of words to convey.
The hounds were holding steadily right-handed across the bog, and were
ever widening the distance between them and the riders, but it was
enough for these two children to be able to keep their proud place,
next after the Master, and to know that no one, not even Cottingham,
could deprive them of it. It may gravely be questioned if Tommy, the
stout bay cob, and Harry, the residue of a hunt horse, appreciated a
position to which they were so little accustomed. Harry, whose heart,
indisputably in the right place, was possibly the only sound item in
his outfit, pounded gallantly on, roaring as he went, like a lion
seeking after his prey; but Tommy, whose labours were, as a rule,
limited to mild harness-work, was kept going mainly by stress of
circumstances, in which category Larry's spurs took a prominent part.
The bog-track at length became merged in a rushy field, and then
indeed did the pent waters of the hunt break forth. Major Dick's tall
chestnut had gradually increased his lead, and by the time the track
was clear of riders, he was two fields ahead, with Cottingham not far
behind, and a few indignant young men riding like maniacs to overtake
them. To have been held back by a schoolboy and a little girl is an
indignity not easily to be borne.
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