Christmas Eve ends with the Yeates having an unfortunate carriage accident. An injured victim turns out to be Oweneen the Sprat, one of the villainous mountainy men who live in the hills. The Major's household is stricken with fear.
Christmas day is ruined by the arrival of a threatening note from Oweneen demanding compensation. The next day, the Major returns home to discover his wife and staff terrified by the appearance of a sprat nailed to the door. Flurry meanwhile has purchased the "Whiteboys", two Irish hunting dogs who turn the Boxing Day meet into a rampage.
Both the Major and Flurry must resort to blackmail, of a sort.