J. F. Campbell Collection > Popular tales of the West Highlands > Volume 2

2 0O WEST niGHLAXD TALES.
der, and one here, would cry, " There is John the
* desairtair.' "
There was gripping of John, and a court held on
him ; and so it was that he was to he hanged about
mid-day on the morrow, and John asked no favour hut
to be floored with a bullet.
The " Coirneal" said, " Since he was an old
soldier, and in the army so long, that he should have
his asking."
On the morrow when John was to be shot, and the
soldiers foursome round all about him,
" "\\1iat is that they are sajdng 1 " said the ^Mischief.
" Let me amongst them and I wont be long scattering
them."
" Cuist ! cuist!" said John.
"What's that sjjeaking to thee ?" said the Coir-
neal
" Oh ! it's but a wliite mouse," said John.
"Black or white," said the Coirneal, "don't thou
let her out of the ' abersgaic' and thou shalt have a
letter of loosing, and let's see thee no more."
John went away, and in the mouth of night he
went into a barn where tliere Avere twelve men
threshing.
"Oh! lads," said John, "here's for you my old
abersgaic, and take a while threshing it, it is so hard
that it is taking the skin off my back."
They took as much as two hours of the watch at the
abersgaic with the twelve flails; and at last every blow
they gave it, it would leap to the top of the barn, and it
was casting one of the threshers now and again on his
back. When they saw that, they asked him to be out
of that, himself and liis abersgaic ; they would not be-
lieve but that the Mischief was in it.
Then he went on liis journey, and he went into a