284 NETHER LOCHABER. 



in the gig : let me shoot him, and if I don't find and show you 

 wool and mutton-flesh taken from his stomach, I will gladly pay 

 over the dog's price ; if I show you what I am certain I can show, 

 his still undigested morning meal of mutton-flesh and wool, we are 

 quits. That's surely fair ! " And there was no denying that it was 

 perfectly fair, hut we declined, nevertheless, bringing the matter to 

 the arbitrament suggested. "We parted good friends, however, for 

 we promised that whether he was to be shot or drowned, or sent 

 out of the country, the dog would never again be allowed a chance 

 of killing another sheep in Lochaber, and our friend Mr. Linton 

 is, we are glad to say, still in life to bear testimony to the fact that 

 we were as good as our word. On due consideration of the case in 

 all its aspects, we decided that it was best, in the interest of peace 

 and good neighbourhood, to have the dog shot forthwith, and shot 

 he was accordingly within an hour of the interview above described. 

 We directed the executioner of the sad sentence to open him, that 

 we might examine the contents of the stomach, and sure enough, 

 intermixed with wool enough to stuff a small cushion, it was found 

 to contain many pounds of recently killed and undigested mutton. 

 It was clear that some at least of the many grave charges against 

 him were true. Anxious to preserve the skin for stuflSng, the 

 eviscerated body was placed in the fork of an apple tree in the 

 garden, until we could procure the services of some one expert in 

 flaying to do the job handsomely. Next morning, on going into 

 the garden to have a look at all that remained of poor " Albert," 

 what was our astonishment and horror at finding the corpus vile — 

 vile, indeed, at last ! — dragged from the tree to the ground, and 

 almost entirely devoured by some half-dozen jackal looking curs, 

 that were having what was manifestly to them a jolly banquet on 

 the remains of the gallant animal whose single bark when in lusty 

 life was sufficient to scatter a whole score of such sorry mongrels, 

 as if each had a firebrand at his tail. Except a few ragged shreds 



