oved him dear.
And thought how to requite him,
And having no friend left but he,
He did resolve to fight him.
--_Duke upon Duke_

The pair of friends had traversed with their usual cordiality the
grassy wilds of Liddesdale, and crossed the opposite part of
Cumberland, emphatically called The Waste. In these solitary regions
the cattle under the charge of our drovers derived their subsistence
chiefly by picking their food as they went along the drove-road, or
sometimes by the tempting opportunity of a "start and owerloup," or
invasion of the neighbouring pasture, where an occasion presented
itself. But now the scene changed before them; they were descending
towards a fertile and inclosed country, where no such liberties could
be taken with impunity, or without a previous arrangement and bargain
with the possessors of the ground. This was more especially the case,
as a great northern fair was upon the eve of taking place, where both
the Scotch and English drover expected to dispose of a part of their
cattle, which it was desirable to produce in the market rested and in
good order. Fields were therefore difficult to be obtained, and only
upon high terms. This necessity occasioned a temporary separation
betwixt the two friends, who went to bargain, each as he could, for the
separate accommodation of his herd. Unhappily it chanced that both of
them, unknown to each other, thought of bargaining for the ground they
wanted on the property of a country gentleman of some fortune, whose
estate lay in the neighbourhood. The English drover applied to the
bailiff on the property, who was known to him. It chanced that the
Cumbrian squire, who had entertained some suspicions of his manager's
honesty, was taking occasional measures to ascertain how far they were
well founded, and had desired that any inquiries about his inclosures,
with a view to occupy them for a temporary purpose, should be referred
to himself. As, however, Mr. Ireby had gone the day before upon a
journey of some miles' distance to the northward, the bailiff chose to
consider the check upon his full powers as for the time removed, and
concluded that he should best consult his master's interest, and
perhaps his own, in making an agreement with Harry Wakefield.

Meanwhile, ignorant of what his comrade was doing, Robin Oig, on his
side, chanced to be overtaken by a good-looking, smart little man upon
a pony, most knowingly hogged and cro