scarce twenty at the
time. "A' nicht long they gaed in the wet heath and jennipers, and whaur
they gaed they neither knew nor cared, but just followed the
bluid-stains and the footprints o' their faither's murderers. And a'
nicht Dandie had his nose to the grund like a tyke, and the ithers
followed and spak' naething, neither black nor white. There was nae
noise to be heard, but just the sough of the swalled burns, and Hob, the
dour yin, risping his teeth as he gaed." With the first glint of the
morning they saw they were on the drove-road, and at that the four
stopped and had a dram to their breakfasts, for they knew that Dand must
have guided them right, and the rogues could be but little ahead, hot
foot for Edinburgh by the way of the Pentland Hills. By eight o'clock
they had word of them--a shepherd had seen four men "uncoly mishandled"
go by in the last hour. "That's yin a piece," says Clem, and swung his
cudgel. "Five o' them!" says Hob. "God's death, but the faither was a
man! And him drunk!" And then there befell them what my author termed "a
sair misbegowk," for they were overtaken by a posse of mounted
neighbours come to aid in the pursuit. Four sour faces looked on the
reinforcement. "The Deil's broughten you!" said Clem, and they rode
thenceforward in the rear of the party with hanging heads. Before ten
they had found and secured the rogues, and by three of the afternoon, as
they rode up the Vennel with their prisoners, they were aware of a
concourse of people bearing in their midst something that dripped. "For
the boady of the saxt," pursued Kirstie, "wi' his head smashed like a
hazel-nit, had been a' that nicht in the chairge o' Hermiston Water, and
it dunting in on the stanes, and grunding it on the shallows, and
flinging the deid thing heels-ower-hurdie at the Fa's o' Spango; and in
the first o' the day, Tweed had got a hold o' him and carried him off
like a wind, for it was uncoly swalled, and raced wi' him, bobbing under
braesides, and was long playing with the creature in the drumlie lynns
under the castle, and at the hinder end of all cuist him up on the
sterling of Crossmichael brig. Sae there they were a'thegither at last
(for Dickieson had been brought in on a cart long syne), and folk could
see what mainner o' man my brither had been that had held his head again
sax and saved the siller, and him drunk!" Thus died of honourable
injuries and in the savour of fame Gilbert Elliott of the
Cauldstanesla