The maister gloomed, stroked his chin, and looked down, knowing, weel-a-wat, that he had lost his bread-winner, then gave his head a nod, nod--thrusting both his hands down to the bottom lining of the pockets of his long square-tailed jockey coat.

He was a wauf, hallanshaker-looking chield, with an old broad-snouted japanned beaver hat pulled over his brow--one that seemed by his phisog to hold the good word of the world as nothing--and that had, in the course of circumstances, been reduced to a kind of wild desperation, either by chance-misfortunes, cares and trials, or, what is more likely, by his own sinful, regardless way of life.
"It canna be helpit," he said, giving his head a bit shake; "it canna be helpit, friends.

Ay, Jess, ye were a gude ane in yere day, lass,--mony a penny and pound have I made out of ye.

Which o' ye can lend me a hand, lads?
Rin away for a gun some o' ye." Here Thomas Clod interfered with a small bit of advice--a thing that Thomas was good at, being a Cameraman elder, and accustomed to giving a word.

"Wad ye no think it better," said Thomas, "to stick her with a long gully-knife, or a sharp shoemaker's parer?
It wad be an easier way, I'm thinking." Dog on it! I could scarcely keep from shuddering when I heard them speaking in this wild, heathenish, bloody sort of a manner.
"'Deed no," quo' Saunders Tram, at whose side I was standing, "far better send away for the smith's forehammer, and hit her a smack or twa betwixt the e'en; so ye wad settle her in half a second." "No, no;" cried Tammie Dobbie, lending in his word, "a better plan than a' that, wad be to make a strong kinch of ropes, and hang her." Lovey ding! such ways of showing how to be merciful!! But the old Jockey himself interfered.