Do you wonder that Lightfoot thought of men as utterly heartless ? You see , he could not know that those hounds had not been put on his trail , but had left home to hunt for their own pleasure . He could not know that it was against the law to hunt him with dogs . But though none of those hunters looking for him were guilty of having put the hounds on his trail , each one of them was willing and eager to take advantage of the fact that the hounds were on his trail . Already he had been shot at once and he knew that he would be shot at again if he should be driven where a hunter was hidden . The ground was damp and scent always lies best on damp ground . This made it easy for the hounds to follow him with their wonderful noses . Lightfoot tried every trick he could think of to make those hounds lose the scent . `` If only I could make them lose it long enough for me to get a little rest , it would help , '' panted Lightfoot , as he paused for just an instant to listen to the baying of the hounds . But he could n't . They allowed him no rest . He was becoming very , very tired . He could no longer bound lightly over fallen logs or brush , as he had done at first . His lungs ached as he panted for breath . He realized that even though he should escape the hunters he would meet an even more terrible death unless he could get rid of those hounds . There would come a time when he would have to stop . Then those hounds would catch up with him and tear him to pieces . It was then that he remembered the Big River . He turned towards it . It was his only chance and he knew it .
Straight through the Green Forest , out across the Green Meadows to the bank of the Big XXXXX , Lightfoot ran .
Lightfoot River brush escape first ground hunters left pieces rest