He then undid the mouth of the ferret-bag, holding it between his
knees--the ferrets immediately attempted to struggle out: he selected
two and then tied it up again. With both these in his own hands, for he
would trust nothing to another, he slipped quietly back to Orion's side,
and so soon as he saw I was standing well back placed them in different
holes.
Almost the next instant one came out my side disarranging a net. I got
into the ditch, hastily reset the net, and put the ferret to an adjacent
hole, lifting up the corner of the net there for it to creep in. Unlike
the weasel, a ferret once outside a hole seems at a loss, and wanders
slowly about, till chance brings him to a second. The weasel used to
hunting is no sooner out of one hole than he darts away to the next. But
this power the ferret has partially lost from confinement.
For a moment the ferret hesitated inside the hole, as if undecided which
of two passages to take: then he started, and I lost sight of his tail.
Hardly had I got back to my stand than I heard Little John leap into the
ditch his side: the next minute I saw the body of the rabbit which he
had killed thrown out into the field.
I stood behind a somewhat advanced bush that came out into the meadow
like a buttress, and kept an eye on the holes along the bank. It is
essential to stand well back from the holes, and, if possible, out of
sight.
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