The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

The Legend of the Dark Loch. jt^j
to the top of a slight eminence near at hand, we were
the spectators of a very interesting incident. The rabbits
had all disappeared with the exception of one that continued
to run up and down, and hither and thither, now vanishing
into a hole, only to pop out of it again the next minute, and
then doubling and turning with amazing rapidity.
"Ah!" suddenly exclaimed Robert Gordon, " I knew it
was a weasel. Do you see it, a brown one, near the big
white stone yonder?" Looking in the direction indicated,
I saw, sure enough, the little bloodthirsty animal in hot
pursuit of its prey. The rabbit was a much faster runner
than its pursuer. Indeed, the latter seemed to take matters
very easily, as if quite sure of its victim. With its nose
almost touching the ground and looking neither to right
nor left, it followed every turn and movement of the rabbit
with untiring persistency, and when the latter took a
momentary refuge in a hole the weasel pursued it closely to
its temporary retreat, imitating all its windings with the uner-
ring doggedness of a sleuthhound, and ultimately driving it
out, when the turnings, and windings, and doublings were
again renewed.
" Do you think the weasel will succeed in catching it ?"
I asked Rob Gordon.
" Oh yes," he returned, " he has a very keen scent, and
will continue the chase until the rabbit is tired out. I have
often seen rabbits hunted to death by these vermin. They
are very destructive to ground game. But see, the rabbit
is in the act of giving up, and in a few minutes more will
fall a victim to its bloodthirsty pursuer.'' As he spoke both
animals disappeared behind a ridge of the mountain, and
we saw them no more.
When we had again seated ourselves on nature's velvety
couch, I asked my companion if he knew the legend in
connection uith a small and dark-looking loch in a lonely
part of a moor several miles distant from us, about which
various and conflicting stories were current. This loch is
even at the present day regarded with dread by many of
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