THE GREAT KIPPER 209 



State; sae I took the stilts and cam' through 

 again by the rack, and wan hame just a wee 

 thought afore the master and the mistress, honest 

 woman ! cam' hame thrae the kirk. I haflins wist 

 I had been there too ; but yet I was only lookin' 

 at the warks o' the creation, and couldna say I had 

 dune ony great wrang ; an' if I hadna seen Peggy 

 come out o' the byre at Caberston, I ablins hadna 

 stillit the water after a'. But I fand I couldna 

 read a styme ; for, do as I might, I couldna get 

 the appearance that I had seen out o' my mind ; 

 and yet whan I consider'd about the mickle rowaner, 

 that I was sure eneugh was a yeithly thing, I 

 couldna help believing that it was, after a', a fish 

 I had seen ; but I never saw sic another. 



" Weel, a' the time the master was at the readin', 

 I couldna keep the glisk o' the awsome mickle fish 

 out o' my head, and whan we raise thrae the 

 prayers, I poppit the shouther o' the nowtherd 

 callant, and said quietly, * Sandy, if I raise ye about 

 twal o'clock ye needna wonder ; sleep as fast as ye 

 can till than, and tak' nae notice to Jamie when ye 

 rise.' I had aft ta'en this lad wi' me afore to haud 

 the light ; for he was a stout loon o' his age, and 

 could haud a light weel enough ; having a natural 

 cast rather bye common for a kin-kind o' mischief and 

 ploys, and, I believe, was sound asleep in five minutes. 



"As for mysel', I need hardly say I never 

 steekit an ee. I kend fu' weel that if we warna 

 at Queedside by the first o' the Monanday morning, 

 the hempies out o' twae or three o' the touns o' 

 the north side o' the water wad be bleezin' up afore 

 us ; and some devilrie cam' o'er the cock that sat 



p 



