"I'll break your head if ye say ony mair about it, and that will be malefaction aneugh to entitle me to ae night's lodging wi' you, ony way."
"But I tell ye, Mr. Dinmont," reiterated the keeper, "it's against rule, and I would lose my post."
"Weel, Mac-Guffog, I hae just twa things to say. Ye ken wha I am weel aneugh, and that I wadna loose a prisoner."
"And how do I ken that?"
"Weel, if ye dinna ken that, ye ken you're whiles obliged to be up our water in the way o' your business. Now, if ye let me stay quietly here the night wi' the captain, I'se pay ye double fees for the room; and if ye say no, ye shall hae the best sark-fu' o' sair banes that ever ye had in your life, the first time ye set a foot bye Liddell-mote!"
"Aweel, aweel, gudeman," said Mac-Guffog, "a willfu' man maun hae hi' way; but if I am challenged for it by the justices, I ken wha sail bear the
