CH. VI. LOSS OF FISHING-LINE. 95 



some difficulty scrambled down the rocks and got 

 aboard. In the boat was what is here called a 

 messenger-at-arms, which I fancy answers somewhat 

 to a superior kind of constable. He had been on a 

 strange and fruitless errand to arrest a girl of four- 

 teen or fifteen who had for some time been in the 

 habit of driving the sheep in the neighbom-hood on 

 to a narrow point of land that reached into the sea. 

 and having caught them one by one she robbec 

 them of as much wool as she could manage to strip 

 off. Having carried on this system for some time, 

 she at last became a perfect bugbear to the farmers, 

 and here, luckily for us, was a well-dressed, rather 

 dandy messenger-at-arms returning from his chace, 

 and going straight to Ehiconnich, to which place he 

 kindly gave us a lift, for wdiich we were very grate- 

 ful to him. 



We had a beautiful row up the loch ; but the 

 cold air, after the great heat of the afternoon while 

 climbing the rocks, joined to sitting for an hour in 

 the boat w^et thi'ough above my knees, gave me an 

 attack of illness wliich eventually cut short my 

 rambles in Sutherland. 



Between Rhiconnich and Scowrie I lost my only 

 fishing-line in a ridiculous manner. In the course 

 of our drive we passed over a very good-looking 

 stream, the Laxford. Thinking to catch a couple 



