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On the rocks beside them lay two or three small codling, a large flounder, two good-sized lythe, and nearly a dozen saithe. Rob got hold of these; washed them clean to make them look fresh and smart; put a string through their gills, and marched off with them to the village. He felt no shame in trying to sell fish: was it not the whole trade of the village? He walked into the grocer's shop.
For that evening, when it grew a little more towards dusk, they would make their first cast with their net. Yes; and that evening, when it had quite turned to dusk, the people of Erisaig were startled with a new proclamation. 'Cuddies' is the familiar name in those parts for young saithe. 'Trawling, again, means there the use of an ordinary seine. 'Fleein' a dragon' flying a kite.
The act-books teem with such presentments as the following: one Holaway refuses to give to the poor-box, "and is found able by the parish." Thomas Arter will give but a half-penny to the poor. Arter appears and "saithe that he is not of the wealthe that men takithe him to be." The judge commands him to pay a half-penny every week, and dismisses him.
So they got into the tailor's boat, and rowed away round the point to a sandy bay where they had nothing to fear from rocks on this their first experiment. It was, as has been mentioned in the previous chapter, nearly dusk an excellent time for catching saithe, if saithe were about.
So they went back to the former ground; and so successful were they, and so eagerly did they work, that when the coming darkness warned them to return to Erisaig, they had the stern of the boat nearly full of very fairly-sized saithe. Neil regarded this wonderful treasure of the deep, as he laboured away at his oar. 'Man, Rob, who could have expected such a lot? And what will ye do with them now?
Wee founde also roses, violetts, lyllies, and many sortes of herbes and swete and odoriferous flowers. And after, in the sixte leafe, he saithe: Wee were oftentimes within the lande v. or vj. leagues, which wee founde as pleasaunte as is possible to declare, apte for any kinde of husbandrye of corne, wine, and oile.
It took us four days to crawl up that coast and make Oban, for we seemed to be a floating general store for every hamlet in those parts. Gresson made himself very pleasant, as if he wanted to atone for nearly doing me in. We played some poker, and I read the little books I had got in Colonsay, and then rigged up a fishing-line, and caught saithe and lythe and an occasional big haddock.