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.I made some aimless remark about the weather."Death to man and beast," he grunted."I hae got the sheep doun frae the hill,but the lambs will never thole this.We maun pray that it will no last."His sister came in with some dish."Margit," he cried, "three lambs away thismorning, and three deid wi' the hole in the throat."The woman's face visibly paled."Guid help us, Adam; that hasna happened thisthree year.""It has happened noo," he said, surlily."But, by God! if it happens againI'll gang mysel' to theScarts o' the Muneraw.""O Adam!" the woman cried shrilly, "baud your tongue.Ye kenna wha hears ye."And with a frightened glance at me she left the room.I asked no questions, but waited till the shepherd's anger should cool.Butthe cloud did not pass so lightly.When he had finished his dinner he pulledhis chair to the fire and sat staring moodily.He made some sort of apology tome for his conduct."I'm sore troubled sir; but I'm vexed ye should see melike this.Maybe things will be better the mom." And then, lighting his shortblack pipe, he resigned himself to his meditations.But he could not keep quiet.Some nervous unrest seemed to have possessed theman.He got up with a start and went to the window, where the snow wasdrifting unsteadily past.As he stared out into the storm I heard him mutterto himself, "Three away, God help me, and three wi' the hole in the throat."Then he turned round to me abruptly.I was jotting down notes for an article Icontemplated in the"Revue Celtique," so my thoughts were far away from the present.The manrecalled me by demanding fiercely, "Do ye believe in God?"I gave him some sort of answer in the affirmative.170John Buchan"Then do ye believe in the Devil?" he asked.The reply must have been less satisfactory, for he came forward and flunghimself violently into the chair before me."What do ye ken about it?" he cried."You that bides in a southern toun, whatcan ye ken o' theGod that works in thae hills and the Devil ay, the manifold devils that Hesuffers to bide here? Itell ye, man, that if ye had seen what I have seen ye wad be on your knees atthis moment praying to God to pardon your unbelief.There are devils at theback o' every stane and hidin' in every cleuch, and it's by the grace o' Godalone that a man is alive upon the earth." His voice had risen high andPage 98 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlshrill, and then suddenly he cast a frightened glance towards the window andwas silent.I began to think that the man's wits were unhinged, and the thought did notgive me satisfaction.I had no relish for the prospect of being left alone in this moorland dwellingwith the cheerful company of a maniac.But his next movements reassured me.Hewas clearly only dead-tired, for he fell sound asleep in his chair, and by thetime his sister brought tea and wakened him, he seemed to have got the betterof his excitement.When the window was shuttered and the lamp lit, I set myself again to thecompletion of my notes.The shepherd had got out his Bible, and was solemnly reading with one greatfinger travelling down the lines.He was smoking, and whenever some text camehome to him with power he would make pretence to underline it with the end ofthe stem.Soon I had finished the work I desired, and, my mind being full ofmy pet hobby, I fell into an inquisitive frame of mind, and began to questionthe solemn man opposite on the antiquities of the place.He stared stupidly at me when I asked him concerning monuments or ancientweapons."I kenna," said he."There's a heap o' queer things in the hills.""This place should be a centre for such relics.You know that the name of thehill behind the house, as far as I can make it out, means the 'Place of theLittle Men.' It is a good Gaelic word, though there is some doubt about itsexact interpretation.But clearly the Gaelic peo-NO MAN'S LAND171ples did not speak of themselves when they gave the name; they must havereferred to some older and stranger population,"The shepherd looked at me dully, as not understanding
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