52 WARWICK WOODLANDS. 



Timothy tumbled slap out of the wagon into the road, and lay 

 there sprawling in the dust, while Mac sat perfectly unmoved, 

 without a smile upon his face, looking straight before him, ex- 

 actly as if nothing had happened/' 



u Nonsence, Harry," exclaimed I ; " that positively won't go 

 down." 



" That's an etarnal lie, now, Archer !" Tom chimed in ; " least- 

 wise I don't know why I should say so neither, for I never saw 

 no deviltry goin' on yet, that didn't come as nat'ral to McTav- 

 ish, as lying to a minister, or" 



" Rum to Tom Draw !" responded Harry. " But it's as true 

 as the gospel, ask Timothy there !" 



" Nay it's all true ; only it's scarce so bad i' t' story, as it was 

 i' right airnest ! Ay cooped oot o' t' drag loike ivry thing 

 my hinder eend was sair a moanth and better P 



"Now then," said I, " it's Tom's turn; "let us hear about 

 the bull." 



" Oh, the bull !" answered Tom. " Well you see, Archer 

 there, and little Waxskin you know little Waxskin, I guess, 

 Mister Forester and old McTavish, had gone down to shoot to 

 Hell-hole where we was yesterday, you see ! well now ! it 

 was hot hot, worst kind ; I tell you and I was sort o' tired 

 out so Waxskin, in he goes into the thick, and Archer arter 

 him, and up the old crick side thinkin, you see, that we was 

 goin up, where you and I walked yesterday but not a bit of 

 it ; we never thought of no such thing, not we ! We sot our- 

 selves down underneath the haystacks, and made ourselves two 

 good stiff horns of toddy ; and cooled off there, all in the shade, 

 as slick as silk. 



" Well, arter we'd been there quite a piece, bang ! we hears, 

 in the very thick of the swamp bang ! bang ! and then I 

 heerd Harry Archer roar out i mark ! mark ! Tom, mark ! 

 you old fat rascal,' and sure enough, right where I should have 

 been, if I'd been a doin right, out came two woodcock big ones 

 they looked like hens, and I kind o' thought it was a shame, 

 so I got up to go to them, and called McTavish to go with me ; 

 but torights, jest as he was a gitting up, a heap of critters comes 

 all chasin up, scart by a dog, I reckon, kickin their darned heels 

 up, and bellowin like mad and there was one young bull 

 amongst them, quite a lump of a bull now I tell you ; and the 

 bull he came up pretty nigh to us, and stood, and stawmped, 

 and sort o' snorted, as if he didn't know right what he would 



