Oor ain folk times

8 THE SMUGGLER AND THE GAUGEB
myrmidon of the law upon his track — he sauntered
down to the edge of the stream, and said : ' Hoots, man !
ye have ta'en the wrang road ; the ford is fower miles
up the watter.'
'Why, I was told this was the ford,' said the
gauger, looking at the black inkiness in front of him,
which was rendered all the more dangerous-looking by
the thin sheet of ice which hid the real character of the
stream. ' Let me see the depth, man,' he said again.
' Ay, sir ! there is nae boddom here ava,' said
G-eordie, and with that, going to the edge, he made
believe to crack a hole with his heel, and then putting
in his long fork-handle, he slanted it away in under the
ice, stooping down as it disappeared, until at length
both fork and arm had been hidden, and then with-
drawing them he called out to the dumbfoundered excise-
man : ' You see there is nae boddom here ; you will hae
to gang up the watter to the ford.'
You can imagine the look of disgust on the gauger's
face, but being more of a simpleton than the comrade
whose place he had taken, he was obliged to make a
merit of necessity and cantered off, thus giving time to
Geordie and his son to remove all traces of the still.
This was a favourite story of my grandfather's, and
if all reports speak true, many a greybeard of good
whisky reached the manse upon which the king's tribute
never had been paid.
Having a large family of daughters besides his two
sons, of whom more anon, the old minister had to eke
out his scanty income, and find the means for his pro-
fuse hospitality, by the exercise of much ingenious
industry.