136 ARDENMOHR. 



" 'Deed, sir, I scarcely ken what to think. There's 

 no' a house nearer than three miles, and I'm sure 

 they're no our cats." 



" Yery true ; but house cats wander far at times, 

 and will lay up in such a good kitchen when they 

 find it." 



"Deevil doot them; and had they been left, 

 there would have been a braw toll oot of the 

 warren. But wha would have supposed ferrets 

 would bolt them, Mr. Abbott ? " 



" Oh ! I have seen it before ; and on one occasion 

 I saw a large she-ferret kill a cat in a hutch 

 directly when put in. It was a boy's cruelty; but 

 I remember well that the cat seemed stupified with 

 fear." 



"It's weel to ken that, for I'm whiles troubled 

 to get at house cats that tak' to hunting, and in 

 places whar it's no' safe to lay down traps or poison." 



" Are there any wild cats about here ? " 



" Not now : they used to be ; but being bad to 

 game, and no hard to trap, they get killed oot." 



On the way home we saw a single hen-harrier, 

 and asked Archie if he had killed the other. He said 

 no. We got home about seven, and the anglers 

 did not arrive till we had sat down to dinner. 



