THE COURSING
Quite a moon went by before I recovered from Tom's shot. At first Ithought that I was going to die, for, although luckily none of my boneswere broken, the pain in my back was dreadful. When I tried to ease theagony by rubbing against roots it only became worse, for the fur felloff, leaving sores upon which flies settled. I could scarcely eat orsleep, and grew so thin that the bones nearly poked through my pelt.Indeed I wanted very much to die, but could not. On the contrary, bydegrees I recovered, till at last I was quite strong again and likeother hares, except for the six little grey tufts upon my back and onehole through my right ear.
Now all this while I had lived in the swamp near the sea, but when mystrength returned I thought of my old home, to which something seemedto draw me. Also there were no turnips near the swamp, and as the wintercame on I found very little to eat there. So one day, or rather onenight, I travelled back home.
As it happened the first hare that I met near the big wood was mysister. She was very glad to see me, although she had forgotten how wecame to part, and when I spoke of our father and mother these did notseem to interest her. Still from that time forward we lived togethermore or less till her end came.
One day--this was after we had made our home in the big wood, as haresoften do in winter--there was a great disturbance. When we tried to goout to feed at daylight we found little fires burning everywhere, andnear to them boys who beat themselves and shouted. So we went back intothe wood, where the pheasants were running to and fro in a great stateof mind.
Some hours later, when the sun was quite high, men began to marchabout and scores of shots were fired a long way off, also a woundedcock-pheasant fell near to us and fluttered away, making a queer noisein its throat. It looked very funny stumbling along on one leg with itsbeak gaping and two of the long feathers in its tail broken.
"I know what this is," I said to my sister. "Let's be gone before theyshoot us. I've had enough of being shot."
So off we went, rushing past a boy by his fire, who yelled and threw astick at us. But as it happened, on the borders of the property of theRed-faced Man there were poachers who knew that hares would come outof the wood on this day of the shooting and had made ready for us bysetting wire nooses in the gaps of the hedges through which we ran. Igot my foot into one of these but managed to shake it off. My sisterwas not so lucky, for her head went into another of them. She kicked andtore, but the more she struggled the tighter drew the noose.
I watched her for a little while until one of the poachers ran up with astick.
Then I went away, as I could not bear to see her beaten to death, andthat was the end of my sister. So now I was the only one left alive ofour family, except perhaps some younger brothers whom I did not know,though I think it was one of these that afterwards I saw shot quite deadby Giles. He went over and over and lay as still as though he had nevermoved in all his life. Death seems a very wonderful thing, Mahatma, butI won't ask you what it is because I perceive that you can't answer.
After this nothing happened to me for a long while. Indeed I had thebest time of my life and grew very strong and big, yes, the strongestand biggest hare of any that I ever saw, also the swiftest of foot.Twice I was chased by dogs; once by Giles's black beast, Nigger, andonce by that of a shepherd. Finding that I could run right away fromthem without exerting myself at all, I grew to despise dogs. Ah! littledid I know then that there are many different breeds of these animals.
One day in mid-winter, as the weather was very mild and open, I waslying on the rough grass field that I have spoken of which borders aflat stretch of moorland. On this moorland in summer grew tall ferns,but now these had died and been broken down by the wind. Suddenly I wokeup from my sleep to see a number of men walking and riding towards me.
They were tenants and others who, although the real coursing season hadnot yet begun in our neighbourhood, had been asked by Grampus to cometo try their greyhounds upon his land. Those of them who walked for themost part held two long, lean dogs on a string, while one or two carrieddead hares. They were dreadful-looking hares that seemed to have beenbitten all over; at least their coats were wet and broken. I shivered atthe sight of them, feeling sure that I was going to be put to some newkind of torture.
Besides the men on foot were those on horseback, among whom I recognisedthe Red-faced Man and my enemy, the dreadful Tom. Most of the otherswere people called farmers, who seemed very happy and excited and fromtime to time drank something out of little bottles which they passedto each other. Giles was not there. Now I know that this was because hehated coursing, which killed down hares. Hares, he thought, out to beshot, not coursed.
Whilst I watched, wondering what to do, there was a shout of "There shegoes!" and all the long dogs began to pull at their strings. Off thenecks of two of them the collars seemed to fall, and away they leaptpursuing a hare. The men on the horses galloped after them, but the menon foot remained where they were.
Now I was afraid to get up and run lest they should loose the other dogson me, so I lay still, till presently I saw the hare coming back towardsme, followed by the two dogs whose noses almost touched its tail. It wasexhausted and tried to twist and spring away to the right. But as it didso one of the dogs caught it in its mouth and bit it till it died.
"That was a rotten hare," said Tom, who cantered up just then, "it gaveno course at all."
"Yes," puffed Grampus. "Hope the next one will show better sport."
"Hope so too," answered Tom, "especially as it is Jack and Jill's turnto be slipped, and they are the best greyhounds for twenty miles round."
Then the Red-faced Man gave some orders and Jack and Jill were broughtforward by the man whose business it was to slip the dogs. One of themwas black and one yellow; I think Jack was the black one--a dreadful,sneaking-looking beast with a white tip to its tail, which ended in asort of curl.
"Forward now," said Grampus, "and go slow. There's sure to be anotherpuss or two in this rough grass."
Next second I was up and away, and before you could count twelve Jackand Jill were after me. I saw them standing on their hind legs strainingat the cord. Then the collars fell from them and they leapt forward likethe light. My thought was to get back to the wood, which was abouta minute's run behind me, but I did not dare to turn and head for itbecause of the long line of people through which I must pass if I triedto do so. So I ran straight for the moorland, hoping to turn there andreach the wood on its other side, although this meant a long journey.
For a while all went well with me, and having a good start I began tohope that I should outrun these beasts, as I had the shepherd's dog andthe retriever. But I did not know Jack and Jill. Just as I reached theborders of the moor I heard the patter of their feet behind me, andlooking back saw them coming up, about as far away as I was from Tomwhen he shot me.
They were running quite close together and behind them galloped thejudge and other men. There was a fence here and I bolted through a holein it. The greyhounds jumped over and for a moment lost sight of me, forI had turned and run down near the side of the fence. But Tom, who hadcome through a gap, saw me and waved his arm shouting, and next instantJack and Jill saw me too.
Then as the going was rough by the fence I took to the open moor, alwaystrying, however, to work round to the left in the hope that I might winthe shelter of the wood.
On we went like the wind, and now Jack and Jill were quite close behindme, though before they got there I had managed to circle so that at lastmy head pointed to the wood, which was more than half a mile away. Theirspeed was greater than mine, and I knew that I must soon be caught.
At last they were not more than two yards behind, and for the first timeI twisted so that they overshot me, which gave me another start. Threetimes they came up and three times I wrenched or twisted. The wood wasnot so far away now, but I was almost spent.
What was I to do! What was I to do! I saw a clump of furze to theleft, a big clump and thick, and remembered that there was a hare's
runthrough it. I reached it just as Jill was on the top of me, and oncemore they lost sight of me for a while as they ran round the clumpstaring and jumping. When they saw me again on the further side I wasthirty yards ahead of them and the wood was perhaps two hundred andfifty yards away. But now I could only run more slowly, for my heartseemed to be bursting, though luckily Jack and Jill were getting tiredalso. Still they soon came up, and now I must twist every few yards, orbe caught in their jaws.
I can't tell you what I felt, Mahatma, and until you have been hunted bygreyhounds you will never know. It was horrible. Yet I managed to twistand jump so that always Jack and Jill just missed me. The farmers on thehorses laughed to see my desperate leaps and wrenches.
But Tom did worse than laugh. Noting that I was getting quite near thewood, he rode between me and it, trying to turn me into the open, for hewished to see me killed.
"Don't do that! It isn't sportsmanlike," shouted the Red-faced Man."Give the poor beast a chance."
I don't know whether he obeyed or not, as just then I made my lastdouble, and felt Jill's teeth cut through the fur of my scut and heardthem snap. I had dodged Jill, but Jack was right on to me and the woodstill twenty yards away.
I could not twist any more, it was just which of us could get therefirst. I gathered all my remaining strength, for I was mad, mad withterror, and bounded forward.
After me came Jack, I felt his hot breath on my flank. I jumped theditch, yes, I found power to jump that ditch where there was a rabbitrun just by the trunk of a young oak. Jack jumped after me; we must bothhave been in the air at the same time. But I got through the rabbit run,whereas Jack hit his sharp nose against the trunk of the tree and brokehis neck. Yes, he fell dead into the ditch.
I crawled on a few yards to a thick clump and squatted down, for I couldnot stir another inch. So it came about that I heard them all talking onthe other side.
One of them said I was the finest hare he had ever coursed. Others, whohad dragged Jack out of the ditch, lamented his death, especially theowner, who vowed that he was worth L50 and abused Tom. Tom, he said, hadcaused him to be killed--I don't know how, but I suppose because he hadridden forward and tried to turn me. The Red-faced Man also scolded Tom.Then he added--
"Well, I am glad she got off, for she'll give us a good run with theharriers one day. I shall always know that hare again by the white markson its back; also it is the biggest I have seen for a long while. Comeon, my friends, the dog is dead and there's an end of it. At least wehave had a good morning's sport, so let's go to the Hall and get somelunch."
*****
The Hare paused for a little, then looked up at me in its comicalfashion and asked--
"Did you ever course hares, Mahatma?"
"Not I, thank goodness," I answered.
"Well, what do you think of coursing?"
"I would rather not say," I replied.
"Then I will," said the Hare, with conviction. "I think it horrible."
"Yes, but, Hare, you do not remember the pleasure this sport gives tothe men and the dogs; you look at it from an entirely selfish point ofview."
"And so would you, Mahatma, if you had felt Jack's hot breath on yourback and Jill's teeth in your tail."