Orion handed it to him. He first filled up the
hole from which a rabbit had just bolted with a couple of 'spits,'
_i.e._ spadefuls, and then began to dig on the top of the mound.
This digging was very tedious. The roots of the thorn bushes and trees
constantly impeded it, and had to be cut. Then upon at last getting down
to the hole, it was found that the right place had not been hit by
several feet. Here was the line and the lined ferret--he had got hitched
in a projecting root, and was furiously struggling to go forward to the
feast of blood.
Another spell of digging--this time still slower because Little John was
afraid lest the edge of his tool should suddenly slip through and cut
his ferret on the head, and perhaps kill it. At last the place was
reached and the ferret drawn forth still clinging to its victim. The
rabbit was almost beyond recognition as a rabbit. The poor creature had
been stopped by a _cul de sac_, and the ferret came upon him from
behind.
As the hole was small the rabbit's body completely filled it, and the
ferret could not scramble past to get at the spot behind the ear where
it usually seizes. The ferret had therefore deliberately gnawn away the
hindquarters and so bored a passage. The ferret being so gorged was
useless for further hunting and was replaced in the bag. But Little John
gave him a drink of water first from the bottom of the ditch.
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