ried again. 'Well, Haggart,' he says, in his frank wy, 'and how is
your wife?' 'She's vara weel, sir,' I maks answer, 'but she's no the
ane you mean.'"

"Na, he meant Chirsty," said Hendry.

"Is that a' the story?" asked T'nowhead.

Tammas had been looking at us queerly.

"There's no nane o' ye lauchin'," he said, "but I can assure ye the
Earl's son gaed east the toon lauchin' like onything."

"But what was't he lauched at?"

"Ou," said Tammas, "a humorist doesna tell whaur the humour comes in."

"No, but when you said that, did you mean it to be humorous?"

"Am no sayin' I did, but as I've been tellin' ye, humour spouts oot by
itsel."

"Ay, but do ye ken noo what the Earl's son gaed awa lauchin' at?"

Tammas hesitated.

"I dinna exactly see't," he confessed, "but that's no an oncommon
thing. A humorist would often no ken 'at he was ane if it wasna by the
wy he makes other fowk lauch. A body canna be expeckit baith to mak
the joke an' to see't. Na, that would be doin' twa fowks' wark."

"Weel, that's reasonable enough, but I have often seen ye lauchin',"
said Hendry, "lang afore other fowk lauched."

"Nae doubt," Tammas explained, "an' that's because humour has twa
sides, juist like a penny piece. When I say a humorous thing mysel I'm
dependent on other fowk to tak note o' the humour o't, bein' mysel
ta'en up wi' the makkin' o't. Ay, but there's things I see an' hear
'at maks me lauch, an' that's the other side o' humour."

"I never heard it put sae plain afore," said T'nowhead, "an', sal, am
no nane sure but what am a humorist too."

"Na, na, no you, T'nowhead," said Tammas, hotly.

"Weel," continued the farmer, "I never set up for bein' a humorist, but
I can juist assure ye 'at I lauch at queer things too. No lang syne I
woke up i' my bed lauchin' like onything, an' Lisbeth thocht I wasna
weel. It was something I dreamed 'at made me lauch, I couldna think
what it was, but I laughed richt. Was that no fell like a humorist?"

"That was neither here nor there," said Tammas. "Na, dreams dinna
coont, for we're no responsible for them. Ay, an' what's mair, the
mere lauchin's no the important side o' humour, even though ye hinna to
be telt to lauch. The important side's the other side, the sayin' the
humorous things. I'll tell ye what: the humorist's like a man firin'
at a target--he doesna ken whether he hits or no till them at the
target tells 'im."

"I would be of opeenion," said Hendry