52 tV/LD SPORTS OP THE HIGHLANDS chap. 



Ronald in describing it), " and kept them down vvitli one knee. 

 A third chiel then came up, with a bit painted wand, and told 

 me that he was a constable, but I could na help laughing at 

 the man, he looked so frightened like ; — and I said to him, 

 ' John Cameron, my man, you'd be better employed making 

 shoes at home than coming here to disturb a quiet lad like 

 me, who only wants to rest himself: and then I said to the 

 rest of them, still keeping the twa chiels under my knee, 

 ' Ye are all wrong, lads ; I'm no doing anything against the 

 law ; I am just resting my^lf here, and rest myself I will : 

 and you have no right to come here to disturb me ; so 

 you'd best just mak off at once.' They had not caught me 

 shooting, sir," he added, " and I was sure that no justice would 

 allow of their seizing me like an outlaw. Besides which, I had 

 the licence with me, though I didn't want to have to show it to 

 them, as I was a stranger there, and I didn't wish them to know 

 my name. Weel, we went on in this way, till at last the laird's 

 keeper, who I knew well enough, though he didn't know me, 

 whispered to the rest, and all three made a push at me, while 

 the chiels below me tried to get up too. The keeper was the 

 only one with any pluck amongst them, and he sprang on my 

 neck, and as he was a clever-like lad, I began to get sore 

 pressed. Just then, however, I lifted up my left hand, and 

 pulled one of the sticks that served for rafters, out of the roof 

 above me, and my blood was getting quite mad like, and the 

 Lord only knows what would have happened if they hadn't all 

 been a bit frightened at seeing me get the stick, and when part 

 of the roof came falling on them, and so they all left me and 

 went to the other end of the shealing. The keeper was but ill 

 pleased though — as for the bit constable body, his painted stick 

 came into my hand somehow, and he never got it again I One 

 of the lads below my knee got hurt in this scuffle too, indeed 

 one of his ribs was broken, so I helped to lift him up, and put 

 him on the bed. The others threatened me a great deal, but 

 did na like the looks of the bit constable's staff I had in my 

 hand. At last, when they found that they could do nothing, 

 they begged me, in the Lord's name, to leave the shealing and 

 gang my way in peace. But I did na like this, as it was six 

 hours at least to the next bothy where I could get a good rest, 

 so I just told them to go themselves — and as they did na seem 



