Page 11 - Heart of the Travellers Vol 3 ed 2 May 2017

Wully kent he'd hae tae cairry on throwe it for there wiz nae gan back doon the dangerous balloch an him nae

able tae see. He teen it gey canny but the trail that hid been sae clear only meenits aforehaan seemed tae peter

oot aathegither and he eynt up waakin throwe heather an big steens. Kennin that he'd wannert fae the trail he

tried tae backtrack but tae nae avaul. Well, well he'd jist hae tae bide faar he wiz until it cleared.

He sat doon faar he steed an pulled a puckle heather aboot him that wid keep the caal oot for a fyle onywye.

The mist didna bother Wully for he'd been caught like this mony a time, but the thing that did garr him worry wiz
the stervation caal that hid gotten as bad that he startit tae chitter. Noo this only bein the month o September

there wiz nae wye it should be this caal. He pondered ower this for a fylie an that wiz fin he heard the dog bowffin

awa in the distance. Wully wiz pleased tae hear sic a soon for that meant that a shepherd must be aboot. He
shouted tae tak the dog's attention an in nae time the dog cam oot o the mist an ran inaboot wi it's tail waggin.

Wully petted the dog an whit a bonny craiter it wiz:;a black an fite collie wi the bonniest wee facie he ivver did

see. It started rinnin aroon him wi it's tail still gyan then it started tae nip at his heels the wye collies dee fin

they're drivin the sheep. Wully kent fine fit it wiz up tae so he teen his bike and gaed in the direction the dog

wintit him tae gang. In nae time he felt the track aneth his feet an fae
he heard the dog there on the dog ran in front then wid come back and repeat this action.
bowffin awa in the

distance Aifter a fair bit the dog led him tae a shepherd's bucht that wiz a
simple squarr biggin wi a sod reef and he could smell burnin peats. The

dog headed for the side o the bucht an crawled throwe a wee openin

intae the biggin. Nae lang aifter an aal man cam oot at the door. He wiz riggit in hamespun hoddin grey breeks an
jaicket wi a reed Tam o shanter on his heed.

“Michty min fit are ye deein wannerin aboot up here in sic weather?”

He'd a couthie smilin face an athoot anither word beckoned Wully inside. The bucht wiz jist ae room simply

furnished wi a table aneth the only windae he could see, in ae corner a big black timmer press an alangside it a

washstaan wi a big blue booie an a joog. The fire though teen Wullies attention wi its bleazin peats piled high and

unusual for the normal shepherd's bucht: the fire wiz anent the waa an hid a timmer hingin lum. Aa ither buchts

he'd ivver been in hid nae sic a thing , only the fire on a hearth in the middle o the room an nae lum tae let the
reek oot. A big deese stood at ae side o the fire an lookit as if it wiz made oot o sods but at the ither side there wiz

a big aalfashioned cheer wi a high back an sides that wid nae doot keep oot the drachts in caal nichts. A cloot lay

infront o the fire an the dog sattled doon noo, snuggled up on it an gaed tae sleep.

The aal man wiz full o questions tae Wully speirin at him the fit's an it fit wye’s an foo's. At the same time he
pyntit tae Wully tae sit doon ontae the deese afore makin him a caapfae o toddy. Takkin the caap fae the aal man

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