ainst the back-door, and
Benjie's foot going into Tommy's coat-pocket, which it carried away with
it, like a cloth-sandal.

At the noise of this stramash, I took opportunity to come fleeing down
the stair, with the gun in my hand; in the first place, to show them I
was not frightened to handle fire-arms; and, in the second, making
pretence that I thought it was Mounseer with his green foraging-cap
making an attempt at housebreaking. Benjie was in a terrible pickle;
and, though his nose was blooding with the drive he had come against
Tommy's teeth, he took hold of my arm like grim death, crying, "Take
tent, faither, take tent; the door is open, and the Penicuiker hiding
himself behind it. He'll brain some of us with a lump of coal--and will
he!"

I jealoused at once that this was nonsense; judging that, by all means of
rationality, the creature would be off and away like lightning to the
sea-shore, and over to France in some honest man's fishing boat, down by
at Fisherrow; but, to throw stoure in the een of the two callants, I
loaded with a wheen draps in their presence; and, warily priming the pan,
went forward with the piece at full-cock.

Tommy and Benjie came behind me, while, pushing the door wide open with
the muzzle, as I held my finger at the tricker, I cried, "Stand or be
shot"; when young Cursecowl's big ugly mastiff-dog, with the bare mutton
bone in its teeth, bolted through between my legs like a fury, and with
such a force as to heel me over on the braid of my back, while I went a
dunt on the causey that made the gun go off, and riddled Nanse's best
washing-tub, in a manner that laid it on the superannuated list as to the
matter of holding in water. The goose that was sitting on her eggs,
among clean straw, in the inside of it, was also rendered a lameter for
life.

What became of the French vagrant was never seen or heard tell of, from
that day to this. Maybe he was catched, and, tied neck and heels,
hurried back to Penicuik as fast as he left it; or maybe--as one of the
Fisherrow oyster-boats was amissing next morning--he succeeded in giving
our brave fleets the slip, and rowing night and day against wind and
tide, got home in a safe skin: but this is all matter of surmise--nobody
kens.

On making search in the coal-house at our leisure afterwards, we found a
boxful of things with black dots on them, some with one, some with two,
and four, and six, and so on, for playing at an outlandish game the