2 54 Notes on Sport and Travel \ 



who were blin' fou, — and that was the maist of 

 them — never fashed their thumbs about her rug- 

 ging at their shanks, and so brought out the hose and 

 the brogues, and turned them over with a fork, as if 

 she were mixing a midden. Weel, when they were 

 all well mixed, Chisholm went before the house where 

 the Guns were lying, and cried with a loud voice, 

 " Are ye seeking Chisholm ? I hae gotten him here." 

 When they heard that, out they tummelt outright 

 glad, the fou anes without their hose and shoon, 

 and the very fou anes with a hose and a sjioe on the 

 t'ae fit, and nane on t'ither, and they all cried out, 

 " Whar is he ? " and he stood and said, " Here he is, 

 ye may hae him for the handing ; " and when they 

 gat near him, he started up the burn by the black- 

 smith's smiddy, and made play for Strathfleet like a 

 hunted roe. Weel, the Guns went after him weel 

 enough at first, but it was long before the good Duke 

 — God bless him ! — made the roads, and never a 

 track was there from Lairg into Strathfleet, but the 

 burn that falls into the loch by the post-office, and 

 he with his good brogues sped up it fast enough, but 

 they that had but one brogue, and they that had none, 

 made but a bad race of it ; 'deed, the anes that had 

 ane made the worst, for the ane brogue made them 

 bould with the ane fut, and they bounced the ither 

 gey hard against the sclate stanes, whilst the ithers 

 went hirpling on tenderly on their ten-taes, Weel, 

 they soon saw that it was of no use for men with ane 

 brogue, and men with nane, to tak' the hill against 



