200 AN UNSONSIE CALLANT. % 



the best terriers in the hale country side ; and they had 

 an art o' their ain in tempering the taes o' a waster that 

 they took to the grave wi' them. I could hae thrawn 

 mine off the head of a scaur ; and if she had stracken a 

 whinstane rock she wad hae been nae mare blunted than 

 gif I had thrawn her on a haystack. 



" On our way to the water, I was nae little fashed 

 wi' the unsonsie callant blowing up the bairdie every 

 now and than, to mak sure that it was na out, and I 

 had ance or twice to shake him by the neck ; for I was 

 na sure that the Gabberston folk, who were aye devilash 

 yaap when there war mony fish in the water, might na 

 be lying at the side o' the throat ready to blaw up 

 when it past twal o'clock ; and gude truly, if they had 

 gotten a blink o' our bairdie, they wad hae ta'en that 

 instead o' the Jigur. At any rate there was little use in 

 warning aw the north side o' the water that Tam 

 Purdie was ga'n out to the fishing; and, to tell the 

 truth, the Sabbath day was little mair than o'er. 



" But some had clippit the wings o' the Sabatfcfcloser 

 than us after a' ; I saw the twinkle of a coal every now 

 and than commin down Caberston peat-road; and I 

 weel kend it was just the Sandersons o' Priesthope 

 bent for the same place wi' oursels. It was ill bein' 

 afore them on a Monanday morning wi' fair play, when 

 the water was in good trim. Faith I lost nae time 

 when I saw the twinkle o' their peat-coal (there was nae 

 strae for bairdies at Priesthope) in tying the lights on 



once threw his clodding leister at a drowning man floating down the 

 Yarrow in a high flood, and hauled him out with the lyams un- 

 harmed. 



