OCTOBER 285 



on moors and in forests and on rivers 

 whaur poachers are constantly bein' 

 caught I mysel' go at large withoot bein' 

 interfered wi'. Neither gamekeepers 

 nor police ever meddle wi' me. Some- 

 times, in fact, they ask me, on the sly 

 like, when I'm to be at some particular 

 place, meanin' that they want to be sure 

 o' no' bein' there themsel's. Ower and 

 ower again they've tell't me that they 

 winna' fa' oot wi' me if they can help it. 

 That's been the way o't whaurever I've 

 been in a' parts o' the coonty o' Inver- 

 ness and twa in this. Ah, bonnie Inver- 

 ness ! " He sighed in retrospect. 



"Why did you leave, Peter?" 

 Bismarck asked. 



"Leave?" Peter echoed, his thoughts 

 coming slowly back to the present time. 

 "Because I had made too many freen's." 



" Too convivial, perhaps ? " 



" No, no," Peter answered, gravely : 

 " there was naething o' that sort intil't 

 at least, naething by-ordinar'. I left 

 because I had been obliged to become 



