Marching day by day, one after the other in single file, to
the drinking-place, the hoofs of the herd had cut a clean path in the
turf, two or three inches deep and trodden hard. The reddish soil thus
exposed marked the winding line athwart the field, through the tussocky
bunches.
By the pond stood a low three-sided merestone or landmark, the initials
on which were hidden under moss. Up in the tree, near the gun, there was
a dead branch that had decayed in the curious manner that seems peculiar
to oak. Where it joined the trunk the bark still remained, though
covered with lichen, and for a foot or so out; then there was a long
space where the bark and much of the wood had mouldered away; finally,
near the end the bough retained its original size and the bark adhered.
At the junction with the trunk and at the extremity its diameter was
perhaps three inches; in the middle rather less than half as much. The
grey central piece, larger and darker at either end, suggested the
thought of the bare neck of a vulture.
Far away, just rising above the slope of the leaze, the distant tops of
elms, crowded with rooks' nests (not then occupied), showed the site of
the residence of an old gentleman of whom at that time we stood in much
fear. The 'Squire' of Southlands alarmed even the hardened carters' lads
as much by the prestige of a singular character as by the chastisement
he personally gave those who ventured into his domain.
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