“She made it sound like an exciting sport, all right, yet nothing I thought I’d ever go in keenly for.  It didn’t seem like anything I’d get up in the night to indulge myself in.  And I agreed with her that if her chits found beagling too adventurous, then all hope was gone and she might as well let ’em die peacefully in their beds.

“Two days later the costumes come along and I was kindly sent word to show up the next morning if I wanted to see some ripping sport that I’d be quite mad about and go in for keenly, and all that sort of thing, by Jove!  Of course I go over, on account of this dame’s atrocities never yet having failed to interest me, and I didn’t think she’d fall down now.  I felt strangely out of it, though, when I seen the costumes.  Ma and sister had, from the top down, black velvet jockey caps; green velvet coats with gold buttons; white pique skirts, coming to the knee; black silk stockings; and neat black shoes with white spats.  Brother had been abused the same, barring the white skirt, which left him looking like something out of a collection called The Dolls of All Nations.

“I saw right off that all these clothes must be necessary—­they looked so careful and expensive.  Yes, Sir; that lady would no more of went out beagling without being draped for it than she’d of gone steer hunting without a vanity-box lashed to her saddle horn.

“I sort of hung back with the awe-stricken help when the start was made.  They was all out in front except the butler, who lurked in the entry looking like he’d passed a night of grief at the new-made grave of his mother.

“The beagles surged all over the place the minute they was let loose, and then made for down in the willows below the house.  And, sure enough, they started a cottontail down there and went in for him keenly, followed by ma and brother and sister.  Brother started to yell ’Yoicks!  Yoicks!’ But ma shut him off with a good deal of severity that caused him to blush at his words.  It seems Yoicks is a cry you give at some other critical juncture in life.  When beagles start you must yell ’Gone away!’ in a clear, ringing voice.  Brother meant well, but didn’t know.

“Anyhow, they followed those pups, and I trailed along at a decent distance on my horse; and pretty soon they got the rabbit which had been fool enough to come round in a wide circle back to where it started from.  Say!  It was mere child’s play for that plucky little band of nine dogs to clean up that rabbit.  They never had a minute’s fear of it and the rabbit didn’t have the least chance of winning the fight, not at any stage.  Yes, sir! any time you see nine beagles setting on a tuckered rabbit—­I don’t care how wild he is—­you’ll know how to put your money down.