The Elk Mountain pilot., 1920-07-29

to us, as they passed, that the North
1t was thought that the alarm had
come from Edinburgh castle. There
were few who galloped the other
way. couriers for Edinburgh, and the
laird's son and Master Clayton, the
deputy sheriff. and such like.
But early In the morning we had our
minds set at ease. 1t was gray and
cold. and my mother had gone up to
the house to make pot of tea for
us, when there came a gig down the
road with Doctor Horscroft Of Ayton
in It and his son Jim. The collar Of
the doctors coat came over his ears,
and he looked in q deadly black hu-
NOR, for Jim, who was but fifteen
years Of age, had trooped OFF to Ber-
wick at the first alarm with his ia
theirs new fowling piece. All night
his dad had chased him, and now there
he was. prisoner, with the barrel of
the stolen gun sticking out from be-
hind the seat. He looked as sulky as
his father. with his hands thrust into
his side pockets, his brows drawn
down, and his lower lip thrust out.
TITS all lie." shouted the doctor,
as he passed. 'sThere has been no
landing. and all the fools in Scotland
have been gadding about the roads for
nothing" His son Jim snarled some
thing up at him on this. and his father
struck him blow with his clenched
fist on the side of the head, which
nt1 orl DC
breast as though he had been stunned
Now all, this has little enough to do
with what took my pen up to tell
about; but when man has a good
memory and little skill he cannot
draw one thought from his n ind with
out a dozen others trailing out behind
1t. And yet, now that come to think
of 1t, this had something to do with It
after all; for Jim Horscroft had so
deadly quarrel with his father that
he was packed of to Birtwhistle's
Berwick academy; and as my father
had long wished me to go there he
took advantage Of this chance to send
me also.
There was from the first a great
friendship between Jim Horscroft, the
doctors son, and me. He was cock
boy Of the school from the day he
came, for within the hour he had
thrown Barton, who had been cock be-
fore him, right through the big black
ran to muscle and bone, and even then
he was square and tall, short Of speech
and long Of arm. much given to loung-
ing with his broad back against walls,
and his hands deep in his breeches
pockets. I can even recall that he had
a trick Of keeping a straw In the cor
ner Of his mouth, just where he used
afterward to hold his pipe. Jim was
always the same, for good and for bad.
since first knew him.
Heavens! How we all looked up to
him! We were but young savages,
and had a savage's respect for power.
What tales we used to whisper about
his strength; how he put his fist
through the oak panel of the game
room door. How when Long Merri.
dew was carrying the ball, he caught
up Merridew, ball and all, and ran
swiftly past every opponent to the
goal. It did not seem fit to us that
such a one as he should trouble his
head about spondees and dactyls, OF
care to know w'o signed the Magma
Charta. When he said In open class
that King Alfred was the man, we
little boys all felt that very likely II
was SO. and that perhaps Jim knew
more about 1t than the man who wrote
the book.
For two years we were close friends,
for all the gap that the years had
made between us. and. though In pas
sion or in want of thought he did
many a thing that CALLED me, yet I
loved him like a brother, and wept as
much as would have filled an ink
bottle when at last, after two years.
he went Off to Edinburgh to study his
fathers profession. Five years after
that did bide at Birtwhistles, and
when left had become cock myself.
for I was as wiry and as tough as
whalebone. though I never ran to
weight and slnew, like my great prede
cessor. 1t was in Jubilee year that I
left Birtwhistle's. and then for three
years I stayed at home. learning the
ways of the cattle: but still the ships
and the armies were wrestling, and
still the great shadow of Bonaparte
lay across the country.
How could I guess that I, too,
should have hand In lifting thai
shadow forever from our people?
CHAprER n