Carn Mo'r

Chapter 18

I couldn't stop myself grinning at the sight of the Doctor as he made his way down to the river, guided by Black Tam. He looked rough.

'Good morning Doctor.'

'Alasdair.'

He slumped on to my small fishing stool. I reeled in and cast again. 'Do you feel how you look?'

'If I look bloody awful then that's how I feel.'

I fished out a small screw top bottle from the stream, 'here, try and drink this.' I had taken a quick detour this morning.'

'I don't think I can. Connie made me eat some breakfast and I'm not sure how long I can keep that down.'

'Trust me, special Highland recipe.'

He reluctantly accepted the bottle.

'Drink it all in one,' Black Tam advised.

He did so and was left gasping. The sparkle had already returned to his eyes. 'I feel better already. What was it?'

'Plain old natural spring water.'

'You could sell that, you know.'

'Probably.'

'I'll bet there are a lot of minerals in it.'

'I have no idea.'

'You should send some off for analysis.'

'No I don't think so. We like it just the way it is.'

He laughed. 'Maybe you're right. Sometimes it's better not to know.'

'Especially if it works, Doctor.'

'It's no wonder you made such a remarkable recovery, Alasdair. Now I think it's about time I made a contribution.' Tam took him off to a good spot and we settled down to a day's fishing.

I'd caught a good dozen or so but had put four females back in. John came in with the Doctor and Tam. He had done well, too.

'I'm sure you gave me the best beat,' he accused.

I grinned. 'They're all pretty good around here.'

'You really have a wonderful place and way of life here.'

John smiled at him, 'I did tell you that Doc.'

'Yes you did, and I believed you, that's why I'm here.'

Tam stretched out his bad leg to ease it. 'It can be a little uncomfortable in the winter for the old war wounds though.' We laughed at him.

'That is a common complaint,' the Doctor sympathized. 'Tam tells me you're losing a lot of salmon. I have to admit I didn't notice.'

'I know it doesn't seem like it to you, but we've been here all our lives and have noticed a drastic fall in their numbers. Our grandfathers once told us they were so thick you could have walked from bank to bank across their backs. Eh John?'

'I remember that.'

'So you return the females to let them spawn?'

'Yes that's right.'

'What's causing their drastic fall in numbers?'

I shrugged, 'more modern methods of fishing. Larger boats, bigger nets, over fishing lower down and at sea.'

'And poachers,' John growled.

'With nets?'

'With nets and arsenic,' John supplied. 'They throw a big net across the river. Then go up stream and pour arsenic into the river course. It kills everything for miles. Plants, fish; wipes out whole sections of the river, not just the migrating salmon.'

'My God, that must be devastating.'

'It is Doc.'

'Have they been up this far yet?'

'No, we're pretty inaccessible, but not completely.'

'Lucky.'

I rejoined the conversation, 'no not really. A keeper was shot further down the river a few weeks ago. So there's a lot of activity down there. That makes me think they will try their luck further up. There is only one road into CarnMo'r but there are hundreds of tracks that cut right across the Ladder hills. A good driver with the right vehicle would have no problems.'

'You think they're coming here, don't you?'

'Aye I do. Last week John and I shadowed three men for miles. It looked like they were doing some kind of reconnaissance of the river banks.'

'Did you challenge them?'

'No we kept out of sight, we weren't armed.'

'Of course, if it were them they could be dangerous.'

'Very; but we now know the route they're going to use if they do come and it's being watched night and day.'

'What are you going to do if they do come?'

'Stop them.'

'By yourselves? What about the police?'

'We'll inform them of course, but by the time they get there it would be too late. Half the river would be dead. There is little choice but to stop them before they can put the poison in.'

'You'll be armed?'

'Necessarily I think, but don't worry; we'll only use violence as a last resort, and the only men allowed near them will be trained professionals, the men who served with me in the war.'

'Please be careful.'

'That's something I insist on.'

'Then if you need me I'll be here.'

'That is very reassuring.' Both my companions nodded in agreement.

When we arrived home, Robyn seemed to be avoiding us. At suppertime I offered her another drink of CarnMo'r, but she refused, blushing brightly. John and the Doctor had their heads together so I took myself off to the study. My first visitor was the Doctor. He wanted permission to use the phone to call a friend in London. I told him he could use it any time he liked.

It was a good hour before Robyn appeared with a steaming pot of coffee on a tray, 'Connie says you normally like a cup of coffee at this time of night. She's busy with little John so I brought it for you.'

'That was very good of you. Thank you very much.'

She fidgeted nervously. 'I'm sorry about last night. I made a fool of myself.'

I was grinning shamelessly at her discomfort. 'I did try and warn you.'

'I should have listened. I am truly sorry.'

'Don't be, you aren't the first to fall foul of our devil's brew and you certainly won't be the last. Besides, I'd far rather carry you up the stairs than a fifteen stone professor.'

Her colour deepened but a small smile crept into her face. 'Really?'

'Any day.'

She peered over the ledgers I was working on. 'What are you doing?'

'Balancing the books.'

'Oh nice! We're all going to have a little sing song later; do you want to come along?'

'I can't, the banker arrives on Monday so I have to get these finished.' She looked a little lost so I tried to explain. 'I told you about our little cottage industry didn't I?'

'Yes.'

'Well at the beginning of every month we ship out all the orders. Everything comes through here. A big postal truck comes and collects it all. The monies due are paid into the estate bank account. I have the pleasure of sorting it all out.'

'Why the estate's bank account?'

'Because I can order in bulk and get things cheaper than the individual. So at the end of the month I have to sort out who got what, where and when, how much they are due me and how much I'm due them. Then the banker comes the first Monday of every month and pays them from the estate's account.'

She rolled her eyes. 'I think I'm getting it.'

I laughed. 'It's actually quite simple. Look.'

She came round and peered over my shoulder. A firm breast brushed against my arm and I almost choked.

'This is Mrs. Fox's account, and don't tell her you've seen this,' I warned.

'I won't.'

'Ok, last month she sent off two tweed suits. That made her fifty pounds.'

'Not bad.'

'Yes but she still has costs. There's the shipping of the said goods, the price of dyes she had to buy in. There's the wool itself which goes to another member of the Glen, and a number of patterns. This column is how much she owes me because I pay for everything originally. This is how much she's earned, this one's tax etc, subtract them and Bob's your uncle, this is what she's left with.'

'That's still quite a bit, Alasdair.'

'Yes but she won't withdraw it all on Monday. Most of it goes into savings. Once a week we bus anyone who wants to go into Aberlour. From there they can get a bus into Elgin. Once in Elgin they can easily get to Aberdeen or Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, the world if they want.'

She was smiling. 'I never realised. I just thought you spent your days shooting and fishing.'

'Or lolling about?'

'Well ... ... to be honest, yes.'

I laughed. 'Even shooting and fishing brings in some revenue. Our leather goods are highly sought after in the right circles.'

'Why am I getting the impression there's a taxidermist in the Glen?'

'There certainly is, and we're in just the right place for one, don't you think?'

She laughed. 'This is simply fascinating. Would you like a hand?'

'Actually there's very little you could do.'

'I'm very good with figures.'

'As much as that would be appreciated, I'm afraid I'm the only one who knows who's who, and who bought what and when, you understand?'

'Yes, a lifetime of knowledge.'

I smiled. 'Aye that's right.'

'I'd better let you get on with it then.'