Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-08-14


deer all the time of her stay.
At the edge of the brown corrie-n
the skyline. There were three of them
dinna We see them ~
NO, don't p she said, impatently.
we see the two sheep :"
81 see two white specks-I suppose
they're, sheep,
But the boat was slowly moving all this
time and presently the gradual change
in their position brought one of the kinds
Gle M into view on the skyline. The beau
tiful creature, with its graceful neck,
small head, and appraised ears, was evil
IDENTIFY watching Them but with no appar
ent intention Of making off; aud presently
Miss Carry, whose eyes were becoming
better accustomed to the place, could
make out the other two kinds, one of
them lying on the grass, the other con
tcntedly feeding, and paying no heed
whatever to the passing boat.
81 thought you said the sheep drove
them away she said to him.
It's the men and the dogs mostly" he
answered Sometimes they will come
in among the sheep like that, if the feed
ing tempts them. My word, that would
be an easy stalk now, if it was the sea
SON."
IL should not want to kill one of those
pretty creatures if were a deers stalker
she said but if it was one of those big
stays, with the huge horns that you could
hang up"
Look out look out, There he isl
The fact is they had forgotten all about
the fishing, and it was only the natural
quickness of his eye that was attracted by
the sudden shaking of the rod In an in
slant, stays, kinds and all similar Great
ures were driven from her mind, for this
wild animal i'll the water was giving her
quite enough to DO. Away it went, this
way and that; now fighting and Juggling
hplnN Sl1np a
the smooth surface; and, of course, the
very stiffness of the loch made the beast
appear exceptionally huge and fierce
What was her surprise, therefore, to hear
him say, calmly:
I'm thinking it's trout
If you felt the way he was going on,
you would think differently" said She,
with some confidence.
"Well, that's true said he, that's
true-you should know best. Maybe he
is a salmon that has been a good while up
from the sea. He looked to me very dark
whatever"
At the same moment the fish flung him
self from the water, and smashed in
again.
Its trout" said he, cor maybe one
of them they call feroXes. It's good
sized fish, anyway"
Whatever the weight of the creature
may have been, his strength and activity
were undeniable. There was never a pre-
and plunging and pulling and jerking
making continual demand on Miss Car
rvs judgment and presence of mind, and
also on the strength and deXterity of her
wrist. And even toward the inevitable end
he seemed resolved Altogether not to
be captured He would not look near the
boat. Again and again, as he appeared
To be coming easily through the water
there was a savage little dive, and another
Juggling and jerking below
"Surely he must be a big fish, Ronald
she said, judging chiefly by the effect on
her arms
Hes lively fellow, anyway" was the
cautious reply
But when at length, after all his I'M
availing plunges, he was swiftly trans
fixed and landed in the bottom of the
boat, her surprise was not occasioned by
his weight. This was IA kind of creature
she had never seen before "a short, deep,
heavy shouldered fish, with good deal of
coarse red in his color, and with a pro
digious under-jaw and snout.
What is that, Ronald - she said, star
ing at her capture with some awe.
We'll, said he with a smile, "some
would call it SALINE terror; but it's hard
tos say just exactly what terror is"
Has it got three rows of teeth, Ron
aid ~ the gillie at the bow said.
Yes, it has Now what do we say it is
Malcolm 2"
Il am no sure" the old gillie said
shaking his head.
Hes good eight pounds weight, any
way" Ronald proceeded to observe, as he
held up the strange looking animal and
if he's trout, he II fine one and if he's
a SdlnO tcrOT-well, Miss Hodson, We
should Just get him stuffed in Inverness. "
is it worth that - she said with some
surprise. Why, would rather have one
of those splendid salmon stuffed"
But they are not so rare about here as
creature like that" he answered and
the big trout or terror, whichever it was
was forthwith and carefully deposited in
the we'll
When they resumed their quiet pulling
round the little bays they found that the
three kinds were no longer in view bat
there were plenty of other things to claim
their attention on this solitary voyage
What, for example. was this great circu-
lar mass OF stones standing on a projecting
promontory These were the remains, he
explained to her, of a Pictish fort. An
/ other, III better preservation, was on the
opposite shore and if she cared to visit it.
she might make her way into the hollow
passages constructed between the double
line OF wall if she were not afraid of adj
ders. nor yet of some of the uncemented
stones falling upon her.
And VINO were the Pcts - she said,
placidly.
lie looked at her fearing that she was
joking. But when he saw that she was
quite grave, he replied that the further he
had read about those people the less he
knew about them and that he had ar
rived at very dire suspicion that he was
no more ignorant than the learned gentle
men who had laid down SO many very
positive theories
And what are these ~ she said. indi-
eating the ruins of certain circles formed
on the hill plateaus just above the loch.
They down in the Ordnance Survey
rs hut circles, he said " but that is all
know about them"
AT all events there must have been
plenty of people living here at one
time. >
suppose So
"Well, don't think l ever saw any
place in our country looking quite as
lonely as that" she said, regarding the
voiceless solitudes of wood and hill and
crag. "Seems as if with us there was
always some one around-camping out, or
something, but dare say in Dakota or
Idaho you would get lonelier places than
this, even. Well now what do they call
/ it - she asked, as an afterthought.
"What the strath here ~