Cinder Path Tales

THE HOLLOW HAMMER 43 for he thought them " kittle cattle," and was much fonder of handling hammer and shot. I had seen little ofAngus sincethe start, for he was a clanofficer and had many duties, but found him, to my surprise, not in the least nervous, andquite confident of winning.Did not old John M'Dhoil-vic-Huishdonoutclass all competitors in the old days, and was not Angus MacLeod a lineal descendant, to whom had come the family strength? He said he had heard that there hadbeen considerable money bet on him to win, which he deplored,and that he would not have gone into thething at all had he foreseen it. I told him he was very foolish, for a manmight bet how long a Sunday sermonwould last, and that if he did notrisk anything himself, not to trouble himself about o hers. Though unable to argue, he shook his head, and was, I saw, uneasy, but I had no fear of his drawing out at this late day. When the crowd isappeared, I went to the hotel, andengaged a quiet room,on the cool side of the house, whereAngus joined me as soon as the procession broke ranks. I made him lie down a little while, gave him a sponge and rub-down, and after a good lunch, suchas a manshould eatwho expects soon to call upon the best powers of hisbody, he pronounced himself feeling strong enough