Brown quickened his pace, and, attaining the summit of a small rising ground, saw the subject of the dog’s alarm.  In a hollow about a gunshot below him a man whom he easily recognised to be Dinmont was engaged with two others in a desperate struggle.  He was dismounted, and defending himself as he best could with the butt of his heavy whip.  Our traveller hastened on to his assistance; but ere he could get up a stroke had levelled the farmer with the earth, and one of the robbers, improving his victory, struck him some merciless blows on the head.  The other villain, hastening to meet Brown, called to his companion to come along, ‘for that one’s content,’ meaning, probably, past resistance or complaint.  One ruffian was armed with a cutlass, the other with a bludgeon; but as the road was pretty narrow, ’bar fire-arms,’ thought Brown, ‘and I may manage them well enough.’  They met accordingly, with the most murderous threats on the part of the ruffians.  They soon found, however, that their new opponent was equally stout and resolute; and, after exchanging two or three blows, one of them told him to ’follow his nose over the heath, in the devil’s name, for they had nothing to say to him.’

Brown rejected this composition as leaving to their mercy the unfortunate man whom they were about to pillage, if not to murder outright; and the skirmish had just recommenced when Dinmont unexpectedly recovered his senses, his feet, and his weapon, and hastened to the scene of action.  As he had been no easy antagonist, even when surprised and alone, the villains did not choose to wait his joining forces with a man who had singly proved a match for them both, but fled across the bog as fast as their feet could carry them, pursued by Wasp, who had acted gloriously during the skirmish, annoying the heels of the enemy, and repeatedly effecting a moment’s diversion in his master’s favour.

‘Deil, but your dog’s weel entered wi’ the vermin now, sir!’ were the first words uttered by the jolly farmer as he came up, his head streaming with blood, and recognised his deliverer and his little attendant.

‘I hope, sir, you are not hurt dangerously?’

’O, deil a bit, my head can stand a gay clour; nae thanks to them, though, and mony to you.  But now, hinney, ye maun help me to catch the beast, and ye maun get on behind me, for we maun off like whittrets before the whole clanjamfray be doun upon us; the rest o’ them will no be far off.’  The galloway was, by good fortune, easily caught, and Brown made some apology for overloading the animal.

‘Deil a fear, man,’ answered the proprietor; ’Dumple could carry six folk, if his back was lang eneugh; but God’s sake, haste ye, get on, for I see some folk coming through the slack yonder that it may be just as weel no to wait for.’