We saw the flag of the whipper-in marking the spot where it was last visible, and round this, on all sides, the hounds were exploring busily in search of the "new departure." Then, presently, came a cry of "Forward!" and off they all started in our direction; and as the scent after that seemed to lie pretty clear we considered it high time for us to resume our flight.
So we made off again, and being refreshed by our brief halt, made over a couple of ploughed fields, which Birch suggested "would make a few of the hounds look foolish"; and so on till we reached the first water we had encountered since the start.

This was a trout-stream, well known to some of us who were fond of fishing--nowhere more than half a foot deep, and in some places easily passable, dry shod, on stepping-stones.
Birch, however, avoided these, and boldly splashing into the stream over his ankles, bade me follow.
"We'll soon dry up," he said, "and this will gain us a minute or two." Instead of going straight across, the wily hare began to paddle up the middle of the stream for twenty or thirty yards, and, of course, in so doing our scent was soon drifted away down the current.

So we flattered ourselves, when we at last did make the opposite bank, that our pursuers would be puzzled for a minute or two to know what had become of us.
After a further quarter of a mile we thought we might venture to take another brief halt on the strength of this last manoeuvre.

We were unable to do so where we could command a view of the hounds, but as we reckoned we had at least gained three minutes, we felt we could quite afford to take it easy for that length of time.
Fancy, then, our horror when, after about a couple of minutes, we heard a cry of "Forward!" close to us, and evidently on this side of the stream.
Off we dashed like mad, in a regular panic, and never checked our pace till we had put three ploughed fields and a couple of wide ditches to our credit.

We did not discover till it was all over how it was our cunning scheme to perplex the hounds had thus miscarried.