CHAPTER 3
Early Sunday morning, the snow continued to fall. With a six-inch base of snow remaining on the ground from the week before, its depth now measured nearly two feet. Branches of walnuts, black gums, and the gnarled apple trees, coated with snow, took on a soft appearance. The younger pine boughs were bent low with its weight. The older pines appeared wrapped in shawls.
The silence pleased Inky, snuggled in her den at the edge of the old cornfield. This, the easternmost part of Sister Jane's big farm, provided a safe haven for the two-year-old gray fox in her prime. Some grays are quite dark, but not many. Inky was black and uncommonly intelligent. Of course, being a fox meant she was extraordinarily intelligent compared to other mammals.
Even red foxes, haughty about the grays, conceded that Inky was special. She could connect with most mammals, even humans, and had a rare understanding of their emotions. The other foxes readily outsmarted hounds, humans, horses, even bobcatsâtrickier and tougher than the three “H's,” as the foxes thought of the foxhunting crew. Foxes, reds and grays, thanks to their sense of smell, could pick up fear, sickness, even sexual attraction among other species. But Inky delved deeper. Young though she was, even reds listened when she spoke.
Her den, disguised under the ancient walnut tree, was also hidden by rocky outcroppings, some of the rocks as big as boulders. On high ground with many entrances and exits, not far from Broad Creekâwhich divided Roughneck Farm from After All Farmâthis location offered quick access to fresh running water and all the leftover corn bits Inky could glean. Even better, the field mice haunted the cornfield. There was nothing like a fresh field mouse for a hot, tasty meal.
Inky's littermate, Comet, had stupidly taken over a gopher den on Foxglove Farm across Soldier Road, about three and a half miles from Inky's. Set smack in the middle of a wildflower field, at first this looked like a good thing. However, last fall Cindy Chandler, the owner of Foxglove, had decided to plow under the stalks, fertilize and then re-seed with more wildflowers, as well as plant one side of the field with three rows of Italian sunflowers to bring in the birds. Comet, appalled that his den had been exposed, moved to the woods. He should have listened to his sister, who told him not to nest in an open field.
At fourteen inches high, thirty inches long, and weighing a sleek ten pounds, Inky was the picture of health. Her tail, a source of pride, was especially luxurious now that she was enrobed in her rich dense winter coat.
A low rumble alerted her to a human visitor. She stuck her black nose out of the den, a snowflake falling on it. Sister Jane, on her four-wheel drive all-terrain vehicle, pulled up the low farm road, following Shaker's plowing.
The ATV negotiated the snow and most anything else. Sister cut the motor and flipped up one bungee cord, which held a flake of straw. Putting that under her left arm, with her right hand she unhooked a second bungee cord, which held down a small plastic container of dog food.
She trudged up the rise to the walnut tree. The cold and snow stung her rosy cheeks.
An old cowboy hat kept the snow out of her eyes. As she approached Inky's den, she whistled. She didn't want to frighten the fox, who, if asleep, might not have heard her.
Inky, who had popped back into her den, stuck her head out.
“Good morning, Inky.” Sister dearly loved her foxes, but none so much as this one.
“Morning.”
Inky chortled, a low sound in her throat.
“Here's some straw in case you need to sweeten your bedding. I'm going to put the kibble right by your main entrance here. It's in this plastic canister, which will keep some of the snow away, and Inky, I liberally drenched it in corn oil. You love that.”
A round hole, paw sized, had been cut from the bottom of the canister so Inky could pull out food.
“Thank you.”
Sometimes when Sister walked alone, no hounds, no house dogs, Inky would walk with her, ten or fifteen yards to the side. They'd reached an accord, these two females, one born of affection and solitude.
Inky didn't much mind the Doberman, Raleigh, but that damned Rooster, the harrier, felt compelled to put his nose to the ground and follow her scent, talking all the while. As a hound, Rooster couldn't help but show off. Much as he irritated Inky, she knew old Rooster had suffered sadness in his life. His master, Peter Wheeler, a handsome, vital man in his eighties, had died two years ago, bequeathing Rooster to Janeâonce his loverâand his entire estate to the Jefferson Hunt Club. Sister lavished care on Rooster, but he still missed his “Pappy,” as he thought of Peter.
The one Inky really detested was Golliwog, the calico cat, whose airs plucked Inky's last nerve. As a rule, felines feel they are the crown of creation. Golly took this hauteur to extremes. Sometimes when Inky would visit the kennels to chat with Diana, a particular favorite, Golliwog would saunter by, nose in the air, always no hello. Then she'd buzz around the corner toward Shaker's dependency and emit an earsplitting shriek,
“Fox at the kennels!”
This would rouse the entire pack, who would then rouse Shaker. Inky would skedaddle out of there. Golly was a royal pain.
Sister breathed in, the air heavy, the sky darkest pewter. Inky put her entire head out of her den. Corn oil smelled wonderful. She wasn't going to emerge totally though.
“You know, New Year's Hunt is Thursday.” Wanting to reach down and pet the glossy head, Sister restrained herself. “Oh, what a hunt that always is. It's the last of the High Holy Days, so everyone will be decked out in their finest, regardless of the temperature. The horses will be braided. Some of the field will be so hung over they'll glow green.” She laughed. “But if they don't make it, they are tormented until the next New Year's Hunt by everyone else who pulled themselves together to brave all. Inky, I don't know why people drink like they do. A glass of champagne or a good single malt scotch now and then, just one, mind you, but anything more,” she shook her head, “damned foolishness. Course, if people want to destroy their bodies, that's their business, so long as they don't destroy mine. I look at you and Athena,” she mentioned the huge horned owl who showed little fear of humans because she inspired fear in them, “and our other friends, and you all don't wreck your bodies. I can't decide if the human is genetically flawed or has created a society where the pressures are so fierce many folks can't endure them without a little chemical help. Or maybe it's both.”
“You all worry about death too much,”
the prescient creature said, but it sounded like a soft yap.
Sister couldn't understand, but she was a country girl, acutely attuned to animals. “Well, sugar, I'm off to feed the reds down by Broad Creek. And I am hunting on New Year's, weather be damned. The snow will be over by tonight, the roads will be passable, and Tedi and Edward will plow out a field so everyone can park. The ground will stay frozen, too. That can be difficult.” She smiled at the beautiful orangeâlight hazel eyes looking up at her. “We'll cast down by the covered bridge, so I don't know which way we'll go. Anyway, I don't think you'll be much bothered. And then, dear Inky, the dilettantes will hang up their spurs, winter will deepen, and the balls-to-the-wall gang will stay out. Or should I say the ovaries-to-the-wall? Oh, how I love those January, February, and early March hunts.”
“Sister, you're looking well, and I wish you a Happy
New Year.”
“Bye-bye, babydoll.” Sister turned, her tracks already half covered in snow, and returned to her bright red ATV.
Inky hopped out, reaching her paw in the canister hole to retrieve the delicious treat.
Sister drove back to the other end of the cornfield, where a rutted road ran into the farm road. It wasn't plowed out. She would have a long walk to the red fox den. She shouldered a large canister. The two reds, Charlene and Target, lived together and produced many wonderful cubs, most of whom survived, thanks to the care bestowed upon them by Sister and Shaker.
She wormed the foxes on her fixtures once they were old enoughâabout four monthsâto ingest wormer. She would stuff freshly killed chickens or sprinkle it over kibble. She and Shaker wormed their foxes on the same schedule as the hounds, once a month, on the first except for whelping season.
When possible, the foxes were trapped and administered a rabies shotâno easy task. Trapping the same fox later for the booster wasn't easy either, but they tried.
Sister and other Masters of Foxhounds did all in their power to ensure a healthy fox population, but most especially they struggled to break the rabies cycles, which spiked about every seven years. Luckily, foxes didn't prove to be the vast reservoir of the rabies virus that skunks, silver-haired bats, and raccoons were, but they still came down with this horrible disease. Thanks to Sister's efforts, the rabies incidence in foxes dropped. Townspeople never thanked foxhunters for their battle against rabies, a battle that benefited them and their pets, but then again, they didn't know about it. It wasn't in the nature of foxhunters to advertise.
The French had invented an oral rabies vaccine not yet available in the United States. Sister hoped it would come to the States soon because it would greatly help her and other foxhunters protect foxes. Trapping took skill and some sense. A fox will bite. If she could instead put a pill in chicken or ground meat, it would make Sister's mission much easier.
The mile walk to Target's den in the woods winded her. Pushing through the snow sucked up a lot of energy. She placed the canister by the den. Most likely neither Target nor Charlene would pop out and show themselves, but nevertheless they had a decent relationship with their human.
Rarely do a female fox and her mate cohabit. The male may help raise cubs, but he usually has his own place. Still, for whatever reason, these two got along famously, and Target lived with Charlene.
Sister mused on this. When one reads books about foxes or other wildlife, the information is usually correct. But in nature, as in human society, there are always exceptions that prove the rule. In truth, humans knew much less about foxes than about other animals. Considered vermin by state governments, they weren't studied. The sheer adaptability of foxesâtheir high intelligence and omnivorous appetiteâ meant the fox could change quickly, do whatever it had to do to survive. Then, too, foxes didn't read books about their supposed behavior. They were free to do as they pleased without fretting over breaking the norm.
“All right, you two,” Sister called to the reds, “this will get you through the next week. I'll be coming your way Thursday. You might consider showing yourselves.”
“Maybe,”
Target, huge at sixteen pounds, barked.
Sister turned back. The snow was even thicker now, heavier, and she'd have to stick to the last cut cornrow to find her way.
Sister's senses, sharper and deeper, connected her to her quarry as well as her horses and hounds; in a profound sense, she was closer to certain species of animals, closer than she was to most people.
Some believed that those who exhibited this unusual closeness had experienced a childhood trauma and that such animal lovers are unable to love or trust other people. But Jane Arnold grew up in a loving home in central Virginia. Her friends were the bedrock of her life. In 1974, when her son died at fourteen, and, in 1991, when Big Ray, her husband, died of emphysema, her many friends and the animals pulled her through.
Her son, Ray Jr., also called “Rayray” by the Musketeers, would have been in his forties now. Odd to think of him as middle-aged. His friends had grown older, but Ray Jr. stayed a teenager. She thought of her son every day. Sorrow had long ago burned off. What remained was a love that lifted her up. She did not talk about this. After all, most people are wrapped up in their own lives. She didn't begrudge anyone his or her self-interest. And to speak of love beyond the grave, how might one discuss such a thing?
A grave claims the body, but love will triumph over it. Love is the force of life, and of life after life.
Sister brushed off the ATV's seat, climbed on, turned the key, and headed back to the farm. She'd fed the foxes closest to the farm on the eastern side. Shaker was feeding those on the western side. The people who lived on hunt fixtures, those locations where the club chased foxes, would be out today or tomorrow with food for their foxes. Even the people who didn't ride took care of their foxes. If someone couldn't do it, all they need do was call Sister and she'd make arrangements for the welfare of those foxes.
She parked her ATV in the equipment shed. Smoke hung low over Shaker's chimney. She walked over and knocked on the door.
“'Mon in,” he called.
She stepped inside. “What do you think?”
They'd worked together for two decades. He knew what she was asking.
“I think we'll have a good New Year's Day. But you might want to cancel Tuesday and make it up later.”
“I've been turning that over in my mind. I'll put it on the huntline,” she said, referring to the club's phone number, which people call to get messages about the day's activities.
“I don't think the back roads will be plowed out, and Tuesday's hunt is over at Chapel Cross. That's a haul under the best of circumstances. Guess I'll call the Vajays.”
The Vajays, a wealthy family originally from northern India, were enthusiastic supporters of the Jefferson Hunt. They owned Chapel Cross and would need to be informed of the change in plans.
“Take off your coat, boss. I'll make coffee.”
“Oh Shaker, thanks, but I'd prefer a hot chocolate. You and I haven't had a minute to catch up. Christmas makes us all nuts. Thank God we don't do Boxing Day.”