"Is too!"
"Ye're cheatin'!"
"Am nae!"
The argument grew louder, more heated. Finally, one of the older children, a girl perhaps ten years old, spotted Alpin and Mhairi on the wall.
She marched over with the determination of a seasoned warrior.
"Me laird," she said, her tone utterly serious. "We need yer help."
Alpin raised an eyebrow. "Dae ye now?"
"Aye. There's been a dispute." She gestured to the other children, who had followed her over.
"I see." Alpin kept his expression grave. "Is it serious matter?"
Mhairi made a small sound that might've been a suppressed laugh.
"Aye, me laird. Will ye judge it?" the girl pressed. "Ye're the laird, so yer word is final."
Alpin glanced at Mhairi, who was now openly smiling despite the tension of moments before. "What dae ye think? Should we hear this case?"
"I think we have a duty tae ensure justice is served," Mhairi said solemnly, though her eyes were dancing with humor.
"Very well." Alpin stood and moved to kneel in the dirt so he was at eye level with the children. After a moment's hesitation, Mhairi joined him. "Present yer cases."
The children all started talking at once.
"One at a time," Mhairi said firmly, and remarkably, they all quieted. "Jamie, ye first. Tell us what happened."
Jamie, a scrawny boy with dirt smeared across his cheek, stepped forward. "I kicked the ball, me lady. Kicked it hard, right between the posts. That's a point, everyone kens that. But then Finn," he shot a glare at another boy, "says he touched it first, so the point daesnae count."
"And did he?" Alpin asked. "Touch it first?"
"I dinnae ken! I was watchin' the posts tae make sure it went through!"
"I see." Alpin turned to Finn. "And yer version?"
Finn shuffled his feet. "IthinkI touched it. Me hand was right there, and I felt somethin', but it was happenin' so fast..."
"So ye're nae certain?" Mhairi asked gently.
"Nay, me lady. Nae completely certain."
Alpin and Mhairi exchanged glances. Without words, they reached the same conclusion.
"Here's what we're goin' tae dae," Alpin said, addressing all the children. "The rule in uncertain situations is this: if the player who claims tae have blocked the ball isnae certain he touchedit, the point stands. That's fair tae both sides, it daesnae punish Finn fer tryin', but it also daesnae take away Jamie's point on uncertain grounds."
The children considered this.
"That seems fair," the girl who'd first approached them said finally.
"Aye," another child agreed. "Finn tried his best, but if he's nae certain..."
"The point counts!" Jamie crowed, then immediately offered Finn his hand. "Good try though. Ye almost had it."
Finn shook his hand without rancor. "Next time I'll get it fer sure."
