o the shelter of a stone wall, scrambled over
it, worked his way along it a short distance, and disappeared into a
brambly path that skirted a burn in a woody dell.

Immediately the little dog was lost in an unexplored country. The narrow
glen was musical with springs, and the low growth was undercut with a
maze of rabbit runs, very distracting to a dog of a hunting breed. Bobby
knew, by much journeying with Auld Jock, that running water is a natural
highway. Sheep drift along the lowest level until they find an outlet
down some declivity, or up some foaming steep, to new pastures.

But never before had Bobby found, above such a rustic brook, a many
chimneyed and gabled house of stone, set in a walled garden and swathed
in trees. Today, many would cross wide seas to look upon Swanston
cottage, in whose odorous old garden a whey-faced, wistful-eyed laddie
dreamed so many brave and laughing dreams. It was only a farm-house
then, fallen from a more romantic history, and it had no attraction
for Bobby. He merely sniffed at dead vines of clematis, sleeping briar
bushes, and very live, bright hedges of holly, rounded a corner of its
wall, and ran into a group of lusty children romping on the brae, below
the very prettiest, thatch roofed and hill-sheltered hamlet within many
a mile of Edinboro' town. The bairns were lunching from grimy, mittened
hands, gypsy fashion, life being far too short and playtime too brief
for formal meals. Seeing them eating, Bobby suddenly discovered that he
was hungry. He rose before a well-provided laddie and politely begged
for a share of his meal.

Such an excited shouting of admiration and calling on mithers to come
and see the bonny wee dog was never before heard on Swanston village
green. Doors flew open and bareheaded women ran out. Then the babies had
to be brought, and the' old grandfaithers and grandmithers. Everybody
oh-ed and ah-ed and clapped hands, and doubled up with laughter, for,
a tempting bit held playfully just out of reach, Bobby rose, again and
again, jumped for it, and chased a teasing laddie. Then he bethought him
to roll over and over, and to go through other winsome little tricks,
as Auld Jock had taught him to do, to win the reward. All this had one
quite unexpected result. A shrewd-eyed woman pounced upon Bobby and
captured him.

"He's no' an ordinar' dog. Some leddy has lost her pet. I'll juist shut
'im up, an' syne she'll pay a shullin' or twa to get 'im again."

W