CHAPTER FIVE ON POACHERS 



stable, but I could na help laughing at the man, he looked 

 so frightened like; — and I said to him, 'John Cameron, my 

 man, you'd be better employed making shoes at home, than 

 coming here to disturb a quiet lad like me, who only wants 

 to rest himself : and then I said to the rest of them, still 

 keeping the twa chiels under my knee, 'Ye are all wrong, 

 lads; I'm no doing anything against the law; I am just rest- 

 ing myself here, and rest myself I will: and you have no 

 right to come here to disturb me; so you'd best just mak off 

 at once.' They had not caught me shooting, Sir," he added, 

 "and I was sure that no justice would allow of their seizing 

 me like an outlaw. Besides which, I had the licence with me, 

 though I didn't want to have to show it to them, as I was 

 a stranger there, and I didn't wish them to know my name. 

 Weel, we went on in this way, till at last the laird's keeper, 

 who I knew well enough, though he didn't know me, whis- 

 pered to the rest, and all three made a push at me, while 

 the chiels below me tried to get up too. The keeper was 

 the only one with any pluck amongst them, and he sprang 

 on my neck, and as he was a clever like lad, I began to get 

 sore pressed. Just then, however, I lifted up my left hand, 

 and pulled one of the sticks that served for rafters, out of 

 the roof above me, and my blood was getting quite mad 

 like, and the Lord only knows what would have happened 

 if they hadn't all been a bit frightened at seeing me get the 

 stick, and when part of the roof came falling on them, and 

 so they all left me and went to the other end of the sheal- 

 ing. The keeper was but ill pleased though — as for the bit 

 constable body, his painted stick came into my hand some- 

 how, and he never got it again! One of the lads below my 

 65 E 



