Page:Devonshire Characters and Strange Events.djvu/662

552 commenced to work, when down came Mr. Jekyll in a thundering passion. Mr. Froude and he bean't over friendly, best of times; and the earth is used by the vixens. There was a litter of cubs there only last season. Mr. Jekyll, hearing the hounds stop, came out at once to us, in a tear; I was there myself and I heard him. 'Mr. Froude,’ says he, 'I thought you knew better than to go digging in another man's country without special permission to do so, and late in the season too, with cubs already about. If you don't desist and take yourself off, I'll summons you; so blow your horn, sir, and leave.' 'I have a terrier to ground, sir,' replied Froude, ’and I mean to dig him out.' ’If you go away,' said the other, ’the terrier will come out. In no case will I allow you to continue to dig.' With that the old man, Parson Froude, grew white with passion, and says, 'And do you dare risk a quarrel with me, Mr. Jekyll? Do you not know that to-night on my return I have only to say at Knowstone, Bones, bones at Hawkridge! and, mind you, name no names, and your carcase will be stinking in a ditch within the week?'

"Then he got on his horse and rode down to Winsford and obtained a search warrant from S. Mitchell to search Tar Steps Rectory for his terrier, which he took oath he believed to be there, stolen by Mr. Jekyll and concealed on the premises. And he brought back Floyd, the Winsford constable, with him to Tar Steps; and we all thought Mr. Jekyll would have had a fit, he was that furious, while they searched the house down to the very cellars, and shook up the rector's old port wine, on suspicion that he might have hidden the terrier in the back of the bin. But the best of the joke was that there had been no terrier out with the hounds that day, and of course none had been put into the hole.