COUNTING THE FISH. 267 



ye are aye stammering among the fish like a haveril as 

 ye are, and half fou into the bargain. Halloo, Sandy, 

 ye'll no crack o' yer deeds the nicht, for yer waster's 

 aye clanking against the stanes, whilst the maister is 

 striking the fish afore ye by dizens ; and see, muckle 

 Tam has lifted in yin amaist as lang as himsel." 



" Come, come, lads," says the master, " hold your 

 clish-ma-clavers, for we are just going into Brig-end 

 Pool ; so keep back the boat as well as you can, or we 

 shall go fiery fast over the stream." 



As the boat neared the pool, the men shouted out, 

 " Auld Michael ! auld Michael ! the charm for auld 

 Michael Scott : trim the boat, and take care the muckle 

 wizard doesna loup intil her." " Od, lads," cries Tom 

 Purdie, " pit yer best f ut foremost ; they are lying afore 

 us like sacks, and will be as thick as you can dab them 

 up. Mind the licht, Sandy, and take care that kipper 

 doesna wallop out o' the boat. See what a muckle fish 

 Charlie has got ! " 



In fact the men were making a great slaughter ; and 

 when they had gone over the pool two or three times, 

 had half filled the boat with the spoil ; so as they found 

 they were well laden, they called to Rob Colyard to 

 come forward with his cart and take them home. 



" Shove the boat to the shore ; Colyard, come forrat 

 wi' yer cart ; that'll do, man ; a' hands to wark, coont 

 the fish as ye pit them in ; Charlie, how many hae ye 

 coonted ? " 



"There's juist a hunder and twa, great and sma', 

 whitling, bull-trout, saumonts, and a'thegither." 



The men passed round the whisky bottle, and we 



