Earnscliff explained
this phenomenon by supposing it to be the Dwarf's shadow.
"Deil a shadow has he," replied Hobbie Elliot, who was a strenuous
defender of the general opinion; "he's ower far in wi' the Auld Ane to
have a shadow. Besides," he argued more logically, "wha ever heard of a
shadow that cam between a body and the sun? and this thing, be it what
it will, is thinner and taller than the body himsell, and has been seen
to come between him and the sun mair than anes or twice either."
These suspicions, which, in any other part of the country, might have
been attended with investigations a little inconvenient to the supposed
wizard, were here only productive of respect and awe. The recluse being
seemed somewhat gratified by the marks of timid veneration with which
an occasional passenger approached his dwelling, the look of startled
surprise with which he surveyed his person and his premises, and the
hurried step with which he pressed his retreat as he passed the awful
spot.
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