CHAPTER XXVIII A LITTLE TRAGEDY
"The sweat was wet on his steaming loins and shoulders bent and scarred,
And he dropped to earth like a spavined mule that's struck in the knacker's yard.
Bury him deep in the red, red muck, and pile the clay on his breast,
For all that he needs for his years of toil are years of unbroken rest."
—From the song that follows.
Talking of thieving puts me in mind of the tragedy of English Bill. Bill was a noted thief. He would have robbed his mother's corpse, it was said. There were three sayings in Kinlochleven, and they were as follows:
Moleskin Joe would gamble on his father's tombstone.