286 TOUR IN SUTHERL AN DSHIRE. 



a kind of cleft or hole, made by a small stream of water, 

 which at this spot worked itself out of the depth of the 

 earth. " He'll no stop in this," said Donald ; " there's a vent 

 twenty yards above, and I ken weel that he'll no stop till he 

 is in the dry cairn forty yards higher up the brae." Nor was 

 the old man far wrong, for we found where the otter had 

 squeezed himself up to the surface of the ground again, 

 leaving a small round hole in the snow. We carefully 

 stopped up both entrances to this covered way, and then 

 Donald went on with the dog to dislodge him from the 

 cairn, having first given me the strongest injunctions to 

 "stand quite privately" (i.e., quietly) a few yards from the 

 hole which we had just stopped up. The dog at first seemed 

 little inclined to leave me, but presently understanding the 

 service upon which he was to be employed, he went off' with 

 Donald with right good-will, putting his nose every now and 

 then into the tracks of the otter in the snow, as if to 

 ascertain how long it was since the animal had been there. 



They soon arrived at the cairn, which was of no great 

 extent, and not composed of very heavy stones. After walk- 

 ing round it carefully, to see whether there were any tracks 

 farther on, Donald sent on the dog, who almost immediately 

 began to bark, and scratch at a part of the cairn. Donald 

 was soon with him, and employed in moving the stones, 

 having laid down his gun for that purpose, knowing that the 

 otter was quite sure to make straight for the place where I 

 was standing, if he could dislodge him. Presently the dog 

 made a headlong dive into the snow and stones, but drew 

 back as quickly with a sharp cry. In he went again, how- 

 ever, his blood now well up; but the otter's black head 

 appeared at a different aperture, and now dog and man were 

 dancing and tumbling about amongst the snow and stones 

 like lunatics, the otter darting from place to place, and 

 showing his face first in one corner and then in another. 



Donald found this would not do ; so he again commenced 

 moving the stones. Presently he called out to me, " Keep 

 private, Sir ! keep private ! the brute is coming your gate ! " 

 Private I had kept from the moment he had stationed me, 

 till my fingers and feet were nearly frozen. Donald seized 

 the dog and held him to prevent his running in the way. All 

 this passed in a moment, and I saw the snow heaving up 

 above the otter, who was working through it like a mole ; 

 assisted, probably, by the heather, which prevented it from 



