"Losh me!" cried the poor laddie, glowring at the bloody face of the man in the bed, and starting back on his tip-toes. "Ay--ay--ay! maister; save us, maister; ay--ay--ay--you have na cloured his harnpan with the guse? Ay, maister, maister! whaten an unearthly sight!! I doubt they'll hang us a'; you for doing't--and me on suspicion--and Benjie as art and part, puir thing! But I'll rin for a doctor. Will I, maister?" The thought had never struck me before, being in a sort of a manner dung stupid; but catching up the word, I said with all my pith and birr, "Rin, rin, Tammie, rin for life and death!" Tammie bolted like a nine-year-old, never looking behind his tail; so, in less than ten minutes, he returned, hauling along old Doctor Peelbox, whom he had waukened out of his bed, in a camblet morning-gown, and a pair of red slippers, by the lug and horn, at the very time I was trying to quiet young Benjie, who was following me up and down the house, as I was pacing to and fro in distraction, girning and whingeing for his breakfast. "Bad business, bad business; bless us, what is this?" said the old Doctor, who was near-sighted, staring at Magneezhy's bloody face through his silver spectacles--"what's the matter?" The poor patient knew at once his master's tongue, and lifting up one of his eyes, the other being stiff and barkened down said in a melancholy voice, "Ah, master, do you think I'll get better?" Doctor Peelbox, old man as he was, started back as if he had been a French dancing-master, or had stramped on a hot bar of iron. "Tom, Tom, is this you? what, in the name of wonder, has done this?" Then feeling his wrist--"but your pulse is quite good. Have you fallen, boy? Where is the blood coming from?" "Somewhere about the hairy scalp," answered Magneezhy, in their own queer sort of lingo. "I doubt some artery's cut through!" The Doctor immediately bade him lie quiet and hush, as he was getting a needle and silken thread ready to sew it up; ordering me to have a basin and water ready, to wash the poor lad's physog. I did so as hard as I was able, though I was not sure about the blood just; old Doctor Peelbox watching over my shoulder with a lighted penny candle in one hand, and the needle and thread in the other, to see where the blood spouted from. But we were as daft as wise; so he bade me take my big shears, and cut out all the hair on the fore part of the head as bare as my loof; and syne we washed, and better washed; so Magneezhy got the other eye up, when the barkened blood was loosed; looking, though as pale as a clean shirt, more frighted than hurt; until it became plain to us all, first to the Doctor, syne to me, and syne to Tammie Bodkin, and last of all to Magneezhy himself, that his skin was not so much as peeled. So we helped him out of the bed, and blithe was I to see the lad standing on the floor, without a hold, on his own feet.