," he said apologetically, with a forced laugh,
"but I'm in a hurry, and I want a drink."

"Weel, I maun hae ceevility. So if you don't gi'e the yin, you'll no'
get the ither."

"That's all right," he said. "Keep the sovereign. I may need more. Tell
me when it is all spent," and he filled a bumper and drained it without
a halt.

"Weel, ye may be dirty at many a thing," she observed, as she noted his
action, "but you're a gey clean drinker o' whusky anyway," and she left
him with his bottle to fuddle alone.

"A gey queer body that," she mused, as she returned to the bar. "Lod!
he's like a wannert thunder-storm, growlin' and grumblin', as if he had
got lost frae the rest o' his company. But he seems to hae plenty o'
siller anyway," she concluded, "an' he can drink whusky wi' anybody I
ever seen try it."

By and by a village worthy came in, and he was at once hailed by Black
Jock, and invited to have a glass.

"What are you drinkin', chappie?" he enquired.

"Same as you," was the reply, while a smile of pleased anticipation
hovered round the worthy's face at this unexpected good fortune. "I jist
ay tak' a moothfu' o' whusky. As a maitter o' fact, I was brocht up on
the bottle, and I hae never been spained yet."

"Right you are, cocky! Drink up! You're the man I am lookin' for to help
me to spend an hour or twa."

"That'll suit me a' to bits," was the reply, "an' you are jist the man I
hae been lookin' for. It's a guid thing we hae met, or we'd baith hae
been unhappy."

So the hours passed, and each newcomer was invited to join the company,
until it grew so large that the "big room" was requisitioned, and it
soon held a laughing, joking, drinking, good-natured set of as drouthy
individuals as ever met together in company. Every worthy for miles
around seemed to get the news of the free drinks, and whisky and beer
flowed like water, and the company grew more and more cheerful and
happy.

Bottle after bottle of drink was consumed, and as the company got
hilarious, a song was sung or a story was told, until the whole place
had the air of a fair day about it.

Jock spent his money freely, and his company drank his health as freely
as he paid for the drinks. So the merry hours went past, and the
darkness came on. Yet for all the whisky that Walker consumed, he never
seemed to get drunk. He was certainly a bit intoxicated, but was in that
condition described by one of the company next day as being "sensibly
drunk