Away they ran southward to find a castaway's shelter in a hollow
on the golf links. Soon this was transformed into a wrecker's
den, and then into the hiding-place of a harried Covenanter
fleeing religious persecution. Daring things to do swarmed in
upon their minds, for Edinburgh laddies live in a city of
romantic history, of soldiers, of near-by mountains, and of sea
rovings. No adventure served them five minutes, and Bobby was in
every one. Ah, lucky Bobby, to have such gay playfellows on a
sunny afternoon and under foot the open country!

And fortunate laddies to have such a merry rascal of a wee dog
with them! To the mile they ran, Bobby went five, scampering in
wide circles and barking and louping at butterflies and
whaups. He made a detour to the right to yelp saucily at the
red-coated sentry who paced before the Gothic gateway to the
deserted Palace of Holyrood, and as far to the left to harry the
hoofs of a regiment of cavalry drilling before the barracks at
Piershill. He raced on ahead and swam out to scatter the fleet
of swan sailing or the blue mirror of Duddingston Loch.

The tired boys lay blissfully up the sunny side of Arthur's Seat
in a thicket of hazel while Geordie carried out a daring plan for
which privacy was needed. Bobby was solemnly arraigned before a
court on the charge of being a seditious Covenanting meenister,
and was required to take the oath of loyalty to English King and
Church on pain of being hanged in the Grassmarket. The oath had
been duly written out on paper and greased with mutton tallow to
make it more palatable. Bobby licked the fat off with relish.
Then he took the paper between his sharp little teeth and merrily
tore it to shreds. And, having finished it, he barked cheerful