AN INTERLUDE 257 



flat upon his back at the bottom of the boat, and 

 canted Sandy Trummel fairly overboard ? He fell 

 in rather a picturesque attitude, for which I cannot 

 in candour give him much credit, as the affair 

 seemed to be quite involuntary and too sudden for 

 him to study effect. His right hand held the torch 

 aloft for a moment, Marmion fashion, which soon 

 fell and hissed in the current with a train of smoke 

 which trailed along the surface of the water. 

 Sandy's feet were actively employed in kicking 

 his best, by which means he agitated the water in 

 such a manner that, with the assistance of the 

 light, it made a very brilliant and imposing appear- 

 ance. The stream here being very shallow, he soon 

 began to emerge, and about two thirds of his fair 

 proportions rose up from the channel ; his mouth 

 seemed full of water and abuse ; he soon got rid of 

 the one; but before he could vent the other, he 

 was anticipated by the boat's crew, who all shouted 

 out shame upon him for his awkwardness, and 

 for having nearly upset the boat in his fall, and 

 endangered the lives of several worthy individuals. 

 Thus a sort of balance was struck between faults 

 on both sides, and Tom Purdie himself assisted 

 him to regain the boat ; " and Sandy, mon," said he, 

 as he lifted him in, " I shall be always willing to do 

 ye the same good service when ye need it ; so yee'l 

 let me ken when the burning pick gets aboard ye 

 again." 



They now passed over some bare streams where 

 no salmon would lie ; the navigation amongst|the 

 rocks was somewhat intricate, there being barely 

 room for the width of the boat in some of the 



