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CHAPTER  XV.
THE   IAD   WITH   THE   SILVER   BUTTON:   THROUGH   THE
ISLE   OP   MULL.
THE Ross of Mull, which I had now got upon, was
rugged and trackless, like the isle I had just left; being
all bog, and briar, and big stone. There may be roads
for them that know that country well; but for my part
I had no better guide than my own nose, and no other
landmark than Ben More.
I aimed as well as I could for the smoke I had seen
so often from the island; and with all my great weari-
ness and the difficulty of the way, came upon the house
in the bottom of a little hollow, about five or six at
night. It was low and longish, roofed with turf and
built of unmortared stones; and on a mound in front of
it, an old gentleman sat smoking his pipe in the sun.
With what little English he had, he gave me to
understand that my shipmates had got safe ashore,
and had broken bread in that very house on the day
after.
"Was there one," I asked, "dressed like a gentle-
man?"
He said they all wore rough great coats; but to be
sure, the first of them, the one that came alone, wore