The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-03

cret of playing part was to think yourself into it. You could never keep it up, he said, unless you could man. age to convince yourself that you were it.
 So I shut off all other thoughts and switched them on the road mending.
 I thought of the little white cottage as my home. I recalled the years I had spent herding on Leithen Water. I made my mind dwell lovingly on sleep in box bed and a bottle of cheap whisky. Still nothing appeared on that long white road.
 Now and then q sheep wandered of the heather to stare at me. heron Topped down to a pool in the stream and started to fish, taking no more no tice of me than if I had been a mile stone. On I went trundling my loads of stone with the heavy step of the professional.
 Soon I grew warm, and the dust on my face changed into solid and abid- ing grit. I was already counting the hours till evening should put limit to MT. Turnbull's monotonous toll.
 Suddenly a crisp voice spoke from the road, and, looking up, saw lit tie two seated car and a round faced young man in a bowler hat
 Are you Alexander TurnbulIT' he asked. ''I am the new county road surveyor. You live at Blackhopefoot and have charge of the section from Laidlawbyres to the Riggs? Good! A fair bit of road. Turnbull, and not badly engineered. A little soft about a mile off, and the edges want cleaning. See you look after that Good morn ing. You'll Know me the next time you see me-
 Clearly my getup was good enough for the dreaded surveyor.
 went on with my work, and as the morning grew toward noon I was cheered by a little traffic. A bakers van breasted the hill and sold me a bag of ginger biscuits, which slowed in my trousers pockets against emer- gencies. Then a herd passed with sheep and disturbed me somewhat by asking Budly, ''What has become O Speckyf'
 .'In bed vi the colic,' I replied, and the herd passed on.
 Just about midday a big car stole down the hill, glided past and drew up a hundred yards beyond. Its three oc- cupants descended, as if to stretch their legs, and sauntered toward me.
 Two of the men I had seen before from the window of the Galloway inn, one lean, sharp, dark; the other com fortable and smiling. The third had the look of a countryman, vet, per haps, or a small farmer. He was dressed in i'll cut knickerbockers and the eye in his head was as bright and wary as a hens.
 Morning" said the last That's a fine, easy job O yours.'
 had not looked up on their ap- proach, and now when accosted slow Iy and painfully strengthened my back, after the manner of roadmen; spat wig orously, after the manner of the low Scot, and regarded them steadily be- fore replying. I confronted three pairs of eyes that missed nothing.
 There's waur jobs, and there's bet ter,'' I said sententiously. "I wad rather hae yours, sittin' a. day on your hinderlands on thae cushions. It's you and your nnlck1e cawrs that wreck my roads! If we a. had GOT richts you sud be made to mend what ye breakv'
 The bright eyed man was looking at the newspaper lying beside Turnbulps bundle.
 ''I see you get your papers in good time,'' he said.
 I glanced at it casually. Aye, in good time. Seein' that that paper came out last Setterday. Pm just flower days late"
 He picked it up, glanced at the su- prescription and laid it down again. One of the others had been looking at my boots, and a word in German call ed the speakers attention to them.
 You've a fine taste in boots," he said. Those were never made by a country shoemaker"
 They were not,'' I said readily ''They were made in London. I got them frae the gentleman that was here last year for the shootin'. What was his name nowT' And I scratched a forgetfu1 head.
 Again the sleek one spoke ia Ger man. Let us get on,'' he said. This fellow is all right
 They asked one last question:
 Did you see any one pass early this morning? He might be on a bi- cycle or he might be on foot-''
 very nearly fell into the trap and told story of bicyclist hurrying past in the gray dawn. But I had the sense to see my danger. I pretended to consider very deeply
 "I wasna up very early" said. 'Ye see my dochter was merritt last nicht and we keepit it up late. opened the house door about seeven-and there was naebody on the road then. Since l cam up here there has been just the baker and the Ruchill herd, besides you gentlemen
 One of them gave me cigar, which I smeIled gingerN and stuck in Turn. bulIm bundle They got into their cal