182 WILD FLOWERS OF SCOTLAND 



the road rougher. There is more of the climb in 

 one's walk. The rush and noise and broken water 

 of the stream alongside is a sufficient measure of 

 the incline. 



Eleven is a good time for a rest. It is the hour 

 chosen by outdoor workers, in the sunny months, 

 for placing their backs against the shady side of 

 the stocks. " Eleven hours " they call their fore- 

 noon break. The water is inviting, and here 

 is a bank which will afford the skirt of a 

 shadow. 



How brown my hands are ! I must be like a 

 mulatto ! My last night's lodging had nothing so 

 refined as a mirror, and the water is too broken to 

 see ! Stay, there is a quiet place behind the 

 boulder ! How still the glen is ! The " baa " of 

 the black-faced sheep seems to emphasise the 

 solitude ! What is all the fuss about ? No one is 

 here to disturb ! 



A faint sound, resembling a footstep, reaches me, 

 and, a few minutes afterwards, a man, accompanied 

 by two dogs, appears on the bank overhead. The 

 turn down to the water-side, though not a ruse, 

 has served the same purpose. To all appearance, 

 the man intended following, keeping, as far as 

 possible, out of sight ; but, missing me, he had 



