AN ANGLER'S PARADISE 97 



his beard, evidently having himself now some 

 doubts as to whether the bone of contention had 

 been properly labelled or no. But the climax 

 came when one of the deck-hands — perhaps more 

 conscientious than his fellows — actually found the 

 missing article amongst the Fort Augustus luggage, 

 and literally hurled it on to the pier just as the 

 moorings were being cast off. The owner im- 

 mediately pounced upon his property, growling 

 over it as a dog would growl over a bone. He 

 rapidly examined the label, and — found it to be 

 correctly addressed I 



Ah ! you should have seen him then, that 

 irate Highlander, alternately thumping with his 

 fist the label which he had hastily torn from off 

 the portmanteau — and which he was holding up for 

 the captain's edification, as he ran along the pier 

 keeping pace with the now moving boat — or vigor- 

 ously shaking that same fist at the imperturbable 

 despot, bawling out as he did so, "Ye're con- 

 demned, SIR 1 ye're condemned I " 



It was a mercy, in his excitement, that he did 

 not tumble into the water on coming to the end 

 of the pier, where for several minutes we could 

 see him dancing like a bear on hot iron, gesticu- 



