He wore a cloak of green cloth, lined with
daisies, and had silver shoes. His beautiful face quivered with
amusement, and he cried triumphantly, "D'ye see me?--d'ye see me noo,
Brockburn?"
"Aye, aye," said the Laird; "and seein's believin'."
"Then roun' wi' ye!" shouted the Man of Peace; and once more seizing
the Laird by the arm, he turned him swiftly round--this time, to the
right--and at the third turn the light vanished, and Brockburn and
the Man of Peace were once more alone together in the mist.
"Aweel, Brockburn," said the Man of Peace, "I'll alloo ye're candid,
and have a convincible mind. I'm no ill disposit to ye, and yese get
safe hame, man."
As he spoke he stooped down, and picking up half-a-dozen big stones
from the mountain-side, he gave them to the Laird, saying, "If the
gudewife asks ye about the bit stanes, say ye got them in a
compliment."[4]
[Footnote 4: "In a compliment" = "as a present."]
Brockburn put them into his pocket, briefly saying, "I'm obleeged to
ye;" but as he followed the Man of Peace down the hill-side, he found
the obligation so heavy, that from time to time he threw a stone away,
unobserved, as he hoped, by his companion. When the first stone fell,
the Man of Peace looked sharply round, saying:
"What's yon?"
"It'll be me striking my rung upon the ground," said the Laird.
"You're mad," said the Man of Peace, and Brockburn felt sure that he
knew the truth, and was displeased.
Pages:
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46