appearing and in their soundless departures. The 

 Thus it was I felt no surprise when my old Tides, 

 island-friend Sheumais remarked to me : 



" They are creatures of the sea." 



" What are they, Sheumais ? " I urged ; " are 

 they great eels, or adders, or what ? Can they 

 put death on a swimmer ? Have you ever 

 caught one ? Have " 



"Ay, for sure they might put death on a 

 swimmer : and by the same token I will be 

 remembering that Ruaridh Stewart, the Appin 

 poet, has a rann about them as the Hounds of 

 the Sea." 



" And have they names ? " 



" For sure, that : Luath (Swift) and Gorm- 

 Dhu (Blue-Black), Luat/i-JDonn (Fleet-brown- 

 one) and Braco (Speckled), Run-fo-tuinne 

 (Underwave Secret) and Cu-Bhais (Hound of 

 Death), and others that I will be forgetting." 



"But, Sheumais," I persisted, "are they 

 male-seafolk and women-seafolk like the seals, 

 and have they little ones, and where do they 

 go, and where do the big tides come from ? " 



"Well, well, I will not be knowing that, 

 though, for sure, it is likely. But as to where 

 they come from, and where they go, there will 

 be none in all the world who can tell that ; no, 

 not one. They will be just like the wind, that 

 no one knows the road of, behind or before. 



39 



