in the
house?" "Div ye catch it regular?" "Does he come after you to your
bedroom?" "Have ye onything to eat?" "Is the garden door locked?" "Could
ye climb over the wall if he was thrashing you too sore?" "Did he let
ye bring yir rabbits?" "Have ye to work at yir lessons a' night?" "What
does Bulldog eat for his dinner?" "Does he ever speak to you?" "Does he
ever say onything about the school?" "Did ye ever see Bulldog sleeping?"
"Are ye feared to be with him?" "Would the police take ye away if he was
hurting ye?" "Is there ony other body in the house?" "Would he let ye
make gundy (candy) by the kitchen fire?" "Have ye to work all night at
yir books?" "Does he make ye brush his boots?" "What do ye call him in
the house?" "Would ye call him Bulldog for a shilling's-worth of gundy
if the garden gate was open?" "Has he ony apples in the garden?" "Would
ye daur to lay a finger on them?" "How often have ye to wash yir hands?"
"Would ye get yir licks if yir hair wasna brushed?" And then Speug
interfered, and commanded silence that Nestie might satisfy the
curiosity of the school.

"Haud yir blethering tongues!" was his polite form of address. "Noo,
Nestie, come awa' wi' yir evidence. What like is't to live wi' Bulldog?"

"It's awfully g-good of you fellows to ask how I'm getting on with
Bully," and Nestie's eyes lit up with fun, for he'd a nice little sense
of humour, and never could resist the temptation of letting it play upon
our slow-witted, matter-of-fact intellects. "And I declare you seem to
know all about what h-happens. I'll j-just tell you something about it,
but it'll make you creepy," and then all the circle gathered in round
Nestie. "I have to rise at five in the morning, and if I'm not down at
half-past, Bulldog comes for me with a c-cane" (Howieson at this point
rubbed himself behind gently). "Before breakfast we have six 'p-props'
from Euclid and two vulgar f-fractions" (a groan from the school): "for
breakfast we've porridge and milk, and I have to keep time with
Bulldog--one, two, three, four--with the spoonfuls. He's got the c-cane
on the table." ("Gosh" from a boy at the back, and general sympathy.)
"He has the t-tawse hung in the lobby so as to be handy." ("It cowes
all.") "There are three regular c-canings every day, one in the morning,
and one in the afternoon, and one before you go to bed." At this point
Speug, who had been listening with much doubt to Nestie's account, and
knew that he had a luxurian