Tom Jones Book 12, Chapter 2

In Which, Tho' the Squire Doth Not Find His Daughter, Something Is Found Which Puts an End to His Pursuit

• We've jumped back in time again. (We're getting dizzy from all this backtracking!)
• This time, we're following Squire Western's plot line.
• When last we heard, he was in the inn at Upton.
• He hears that Sophia has crossed the River Severn, so he rides out seeking "vengeance" (12.2.2).
• (Exactly what form does he expect this revenge to take? How much worse can it be than his original plan to marry her to the revolting Mr. Blifil?)
• Mr. Supple, the curate, is traveling with him.
• Squire Western keeps complaining about "the slut" (12.2.6) his daughter.
• He doesn't want to be out here chasing Sophia; his daughter is distracting him from his real love: hunting.
• And then, as luck would have it, a pack of hunting dogs come running by just then.
• Squire Western immediately joins the hunting company, and Mr. Supple follows.
• Squire Western is happy as a clam: riding around the countryside with a bunch of dogs and heavily armed dudes is his idea of heaven.
• He totally forgets all about that pesky Sophia.
• And the other squire (the one who is leading this random hunt) is thrilled to have a fellow sportsman along.
• Once they kill whatever it is they were hunting, the two men chat.
• That evening, they dine together.
• Squire Western gets so drunk that he passes out.
• Mr. Supple tells Squire #2 all about the whole Sophia thing.
• Mr. Supple asks Squire #2 to convince Squire Western to give up this hunt for his daughter.
• So the next morning, the curate and the squire push Squire Western to give up and go home.
• And he does.
• But he also sends some of his servants to keep going after Sophia.