He and his master, Murdison, had jointly conceived a
scheme by means of which it seemed possible to defraud their neighbours
almost with impunity. And, indeed, but for some mischance against which
no one could guard, such as happened here when the ewe made back to her
old home and her lamb, they might have gone undetected and unsuspected
for an indefinite time. The shepherd owned an extraordinarily clever
dog, without whose help the scheme could not possibly have been worked,
and operations were carried out in the following manner.
Murdison knew very well what sheep his neighbours possessed, and where
on the hills they were likely to be running. Millar, with his dog
"Yarrow," was sent by night to collect the sheep which master and man
had determined to steal, and to one so familiar with the hills this was
no difficult task. The chief danger was that in the short nights of a
Scottish summer he might be seen going or returning. Therefore, when
daylight began to appear, if the sheep had already been got well on
their way towards Ormiston, Millar would leave "Yarrow" to finish the
drive single-handed, a task which the dog always carried out most
successfully if it could be done reasonably early, before people began
to move abroad out of their houses.
Pages:
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278