One fishing excursion to the bend was enough for Philip, but a pig
hunt was organised, and he joined it. The party consisted of
Gleeson, McCarthy, Bill the Butcher, Bob Atkins, and George Brown the
Liar, who brought a rope-net and a cart in which all the game caught
was to be carried home. Five dogs accompanied the party, viz., Lion
and Tiger, crossbred bull and mastiffs, experienced pig fighters, Sam
as a reserve, and three mongrels as light skirmishers.
The first animal met with was a huge old boar, the hero of a hundred
fights, the great-grandfather of pigs. He stood at bay among the
tussocks, the dogs barking furiously around him. Bill the Butcher
said, "Keep back, you men, or he'll rip the guts out of your horses.
I know him well. He has only one tusk, but it's a boomer. Look out
sharp till the dogs tackle him, he might make a rush at some of us."
The boar was a frightful-looking beast, long, tall, and slab-sided,
in perfect condition for fight, all bone, muscle, and bristles, with
not an ounce of lard in his lean body. He stood still and stiff as a
rock watching the dogs, his one white tusk, long and keen sticking
out above his upper lip. The loss of the other tusk left him at a
disadvantage, as he could only strike effectively on one side. Lion
and Tiger had fought him before, and he had earned their respect.
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