"The case, ye see," said Skimclean, "the case, ye see, my frien, is jist this:--In the place whar I was last, Craignockan, ane o' my laddies had a bit gemm cock, a bit steeve fechtin wee beastie, yea, a deevil o' a cratur. Aweel, ye see, it happened that our neebor the schulemaster had anither, o' whilk he was sae proud that he seemed to think mair o't than o' his wife. It was beyond a' doot a wonderfu' bird. His son brought it--so at least he said--frae Sumatra, in the East Indies--something o' the jungle-cock, or Jago cock species, _gawlus giganteus_[6] ye ken--ye'll maybe no understand the Latin." [Footnote 6: Gallus giganteus.] "Deel an' it may choke ye, as the _gallows_ has dune mony a better man!" interrupted the laird. "Purge the record o' a' bad Latin! Ha! ha! Drumwhussle, I ken guid Latin frae dog-Latin or cock Latin, just as weel as ye do. Purge the record, man, I say." "Let me alane, man," replied Drumwhussle, impatiently; "ye interrupt my story wi' your scraps o' misapplied learning. You should never insinuate an ill motive in English. Do ye no ken lawyers never use the words 'bad intention' in designating vice: they veil a' enormities in Latin--for the craturs are sae pure an' delicate-minded that they couldna bear the expression o' man's frailties in the vulgar tongue; _maelice prepense--maelice prepense_ is the term you should hae used, man. But letten that slip gang--for I excuse ignorance whar knowledge is so difficult o' attainment--the cocks were brought face to face, an', like true lawyers, they closed--no the record, for the craturs despised a' condescendence o' grievances; they fought upon the mere libel an' defence: a craw on each side _vivy vocey_; and till't they gaed wi' a pluck seldom witnessed out o' the Parliament House. The upshot may be easily predicted: weight, substance prevailed just as in the courts o' justice--the 'midden,' a pound heavier than the Sumatra jungle-cock, killed his opponent in five minutes; and Jock, lifting up the victor, that crew a noble triumph in his arms, hurried awa, an' left the dominie's cock lying a mere _kappit mortum_--like an interlocutor that's allowed to become feenal because nae man can mak either head or tail o't--on the ground, a corp, or, as Quirkum ca'ed it, a _corpus delichtfu_."[7] [Footnote 7: Corpus delicti.] "Capital, capital," cried the laird. "We'll hae a plea, I hope, on the ground o' damage. A better case for 'plucking' never came before the fifteen."