"I"ll l--b--double you," says Sandy, "if ye gie me ony o" your chat, ye half-cled horn-goloch "at ye are"; and he took the sacket a kleip i"
the side o" the heid wi" his open luif that tummeled him ower the tap o" the wickets like a puckle rags. In half a meenit a" the hunder laddies were round Sandy, an" him layin" amon" them wi" ane o" their ain wickets.
I"ll swag the Gallyfloor C.C. got something frae their pattern lest Setarday efternune that they"ll no forget in a hurry. Some men on the Common cam" doon an" shoo"d the loons awa" frae pappin" Sandy wi" duds, an" we got hame withoot any farrer mishap; but a" forenicht I heard Sandy wirrin" awa" till himsel", an" sayin" ilky noo an"
than--"Ill-gett.i.t little deevils; an" me gae them an" orange box too!"
Nathan cam" in juist afore I shut the shop, an" tell"d Sandy that there had been an" awfu" row on the Common. "Some o the lads i" the Callyfloor," said Nathan, "were blamin"the captain for gien you cheek, an" said the wallop i" the lug he got saired him richt. So he got on his jeckit an" his buits, an" got a haud o" the best bat an" the ba", an" then he roars a" his micht, "The club"s broken up." You never saw sic a row as there was. w.i.l.l.y Mollison"s i" the club, an" he"s gotten three bails an" a wicket. That"s better gin naething. I nailed twa o"
the bails till him out o" Tarn Dargie"s pooch, when he was fechtin" wi"
the captain. Snapper Morrison didna get onything; but he ower the Common d.y.k.e an" in the road; an" when I was comin" hame I saw him leggin" in the Loan wi" the orange box on his heid. He had nabbit it oot o" Tooties" Nook, whaur they keepit their bats an" wickets. It"s a gude thing they"re broken up at onyrate. I"m in the Collie Park, an"
they"re the only club that cud lick his lads."
"O, that"s a" richt," says Sandy; an" awa" he gaed, as pleased as you like. When I dandered doon the yaird to get a breath o" fresh air, efter I shut the shop, here"s him tumblin" catmas, an" stanin" on his heid i" the middle o" the green, gien Nathan an" twa or three ither loons coosies! Did you ever hear o" sic a man?
XII.
A DREADFUL DISASTER IN THE GARRET.
I"m shure I needna trauchle to haud in aboot the bawbees! That man o"
mine wud ramsh an" hamsh an" fling awa" mair than I cud save although I was a millionaire. Nae farrer gane than lest nicht I heard some ongaens up the stair. What"s he up till noo? thinks I to mysel". Ye ken our garret? It"s a anod bit roomie, an" we sleep up there i" the simmer nichts, for the doonstair room gets that het an" seekrif, I canna fa" ower ava sometimes. So I have the garret made rale snod an"
cosie. There"s a fine fixed-in bed, an" I have the room chairs I got when my Auntie Leeb de"ed, wi" a tidie or twa ower them, an" an auld-fashioned roond tablie "at I bocht at a rowp--ane o" thae anes that cowps up an" sets back to the wa" when you"re no" needn"t. Auntie Leeb left me her big lookin" gless too. Ye mind she had a shooster shopie at the fit o" Collie Park, an" she had a big lookin" gless for her customers seeing hoo their frocks fitted. Ay weel than, I set the gless juist up again" the wa" at the end o" the garret, firnent the fireplace an" it made the roomie real cantie an" cheerie lookin".
When I heard the din Sandy was makin", I goes my wa"s up the stair on my tiptaes. It was juist upo" the stroke o" nine o"clock, an" I was juist noo dune shuttin" the shop. The door was aff the snib; an", keep me, when I lookit in, here"s Sandy wi" an Oddfella"s kilt an" a bushbie on, an" his ilky-day"s claes lyin" in a pozel on the table. I kent the kilt whenever I saw"t; it was the ane Dauvit Kenawee wears in the Oddfellas" processions. Sandy was berfit, an", I"m shure, if ye"d seen him! Haud your tongue! Ye never saw sic a picture. I suppose he"d taen aff his buits no" to mak" a noise.
Ay weel, here he was wi" a bawbee can"le stuck up again" the boddom o"
the lookin"-gless, an" him maleengerin" aboot i" the flure afore"t, wi"
the shaft o" the heather bissam in his hand, whiskin"t roond his lugs, progin" aboot wi"t, an" lowpin" here an" there like a hen on a het girdle. He croonshed doon, an" jookit frae side to side, an" then jamp straucht up an" lut flee at something wi" the bissam shaft. Syne he stack the end o" the stick i" the flure, an" bored an" grunted like"s he was rammin"t through a pavemint steen.
"That"s anither settle"t," says he, pullin" up his stick; an" gie"n"t a dicht wi" the tails o" his kilt; syne makin" a kick at something wi"
his berfit fit--"Let us do or die," says he; "Scots wha hae; Wallace an" Bruce for ever; doon wi" every bloomin" Englisher; rip them up; koo-heel!" Then he whiskit half-roond aboot, an" lut flee at a seckie o" caff I had sittin" in a corner. "Come on, Mick Duff; every deevil o" ye! Change your slaverie," he says akinda heich oot, an" then he lut yark at the seek again an" missed, an" made a muckle hole i" the plester.
He stoppit an" harkin"t for fear I"d heard the stishie he was makin".
I never lut dab, but keepit juist as quiet"s p.u.s.s.y.
"Auch, she"s i" the shop," he says heich oot; an" then he floo back an"
forrit, fencin" an" jookin", an glowerin" at himsel" i" the lookin"-gless; an" girnin" his teeth like a whitterit. I raley thocht the man had gane sketch. He made a sweech wi" the bissam shaft "at garred the licht o" the can"le waggle frae side to side. Syne he straughtened himsel" up afore the gless, an", touchin" the ruif wi the point o" his stick, he says, "Viktory, viktory! Bannockburn is wun.
Hooreh! Hooreh!"
Juist at this meenit there was a rare like"s fifty thunderbolts had burst in Kowper Collie"s auld-iron yaird. You never heard sic a soond.
It was like the crack o" a hunder cannon; an" in an instant a" was dark, an" there was a reeshil o" broken bottles that garred me think there had been an earthquake i" the back shop. Doon the stair I floo; but, afore I was half-roads doon, Sandy jamp clean on my back--kilt, bushbie, an" a"thegither. Doon I gaed like a rickel o" auld beans, an"
Sandy ower the tap o" me, heels-ower-gowrie. When I cam" to mysel", here"s Sandy lyin" streekit oot on his face i" the middle o" a box o"
Hielant eggs that I"d juist noo opened. The strap o" the bushbie was roond his thrapple, an" was juist aboot stranglin" him, when I cut it wi" the ham knife. Then he akinda half-turned roond, an" says he, "O Bawbie! I"m deid. There"s a bomshall gane throo my backbeen."
"Rise up," says I, "there"s mair than you deid. There"s twal" or fifteen dizzen o" gude eggs bruist to bits. Whatever "ill I do?" He raise up; an" if ye"d only seen the sicht! It"s as fac"s ocht, it was eneuch to fleg the French. Never will I forget it while I draw breath.
He lookit like some berfit tinkler wife that had been too, an" had t"a"in, ower the heid, intil a barrel o" yellow oker; an" stickin" on his weyst there was ane o" my winda tickets--"Just in To-Day."
"O, Bawbie!" he wheenged, "gae up the stair an" see if the ruif"s aye on. I think somebody"s been hoddin" dianamite in oor garret."
"When I gaed up the stair wi" a licht, what did I see but my Auntie Leeb"s braw lookin"-gless a" to flinders i" the flure? The licht o"
the can"le had burned up against it, an" riven"t a" to pieces. When I turned roond, here"s Sandy stappin" ooten his kilt, an" gaen awa" to pet on his troosers.
"Alick Bowden," says I--an" my very hert was greit--"Alick Bowden"--I aye ca" him Alick when I"m angry--"this maun be the end o"t. I canna thole nae mair.""
"For ony sake, Bawbie," he brook in, "dinna say naething the nicht, or I"ll pushon or droon mysel". I wiss I had been smored amo" thae eggs"; an" doon the stair he gaed, wi" his breeks in his oxter.
I juist had to g"wa" to my bed an" lat a"thing aleen, an" I ac"ually grat mysel" ower asleep. I didna ken o" Sandy comin" till his bed ava; an" when I raise i" the mornin" a" thing was cleared awa", an" the garret an" backshop a" sweepit an" in order, an" Sandy was busy i" the yaird hackin" sticks, an" whistlin" "Hey, Jockie Mickdonal"," juist"s as gin naethin" had happened. He"s been stickin" in like a hatter ever sin" syne, an" has a"thing as neat"s ninepence; so I canna say a single wird. But is"t no raley something terriple?
XIII.
SANDY AND BAWBIE"S SPRING HOLIDAY.
Spring holiday! Wheesht! I"ll no" forget it in a hurry, I can tell you. But I never saw"t different. Holidays are juist a perf.e.c.k scunner, as far as I"ve haen to do wi" them; an" as for the rest--I"m shure I"m aye tireder efter a holiday than at the tailend o" a hard day"s wark. I"m juist a" sair the day wi" sittin" i" the train; an"
yesterday nicht I cud hardly move oot o" the bit, I was that dune.
But I maun tell you the story frae the beginnin". You"ve mibby heard me speak aboot Meg Mortimer"s mither that used to bide at The Drum.
Meg"s in a big wey o" doin" noo in Edinboro; but I"ve seen the day, I"m thinkin"! Weel div I mind when her mither flitted ower frae Powsoddie.
She cam" along to oor hoose to seek the len" o" twa kists, juist to gie her flittin" some appearance on the cairts. Ay did she, noo-na-na!
What think ye o" that? They were as puir"s I kenna what, an" mony a puckle meal did they get oot o" oor girnil, for Dauvid Mortimer was a nice man, altho" he was terriple hudden doon wi" the reums.
Weel, Meg gaed awa" to service, an" fell in wi" a weeda man wi" three o" a faimly. I can ashure you there"s nae tume kists in her hoose noo.
She has a big wey o" doin". Her man"s a kind o" heid pillydakus amon"
a lot o" naveys, makin" railroads, and main drains, an" so on. He"s made a heap o" bawbees. Mester Blair"s his name. They bide in a big hoose doon about the Meadows in Edinboro, an" they have a big servant, and twa dogs; forby a bit la.s.sockie to look efter the bairns.
Meg was throo seein" her fowk no" that lang syne, an" she wud hae me to promise to come throo wi" Sandy an" see them. She wudna hae a na-say.
She was aye an awfu" tague for tonguein", Meg. I mind when she was but ten "ear auld, me, that was saxteen or seventeen "ear aulder, cudna haud the can"le till her. She was a gabbin" little taed. Weel, rizzen be"t or neen, she fair dang me into sayin" I wud come wi" Sandy an" see her at the spring holiday; an" so we juist had to go.
Sandy gaed on juist like a clockin" hen a" Sabbath efternune an" nicht.
He had the upstairs bed lippin" fu" o" luggitch that he was thinkin" o"
takin" wi" him. A body wudda thocht he was settiu" aff for a crooze roond the North Pole, instead o" on a veesit to Edinboro. He was rubbin" up his buits, an" syne brethin" on them, an" rubbin" them up again, an" settin" himsel" back an" lookin" at himsel" in them. He"s a prood bit stockie, Sandy, mind ye, when there"s naebody lookin". He had a" his gosh.o.r.e suit hung oot on the backs o" chairs a" roond the hoose. It lookit like"s there was genna be a sale or a raffle or something.
He gaed doon to supper Donal" i" the forenicht, an" I took a dander awa" doon ahent him, juist to get a moof"u" o" caller air. When I landit at the stable door I heard Sandy speakin" to somebody. I took a bit peek in at the winda, an" here"s Sandy merchin" aboot wi" the horse cover tied up in a bundle in ae hand, an" a stick i" the ither. He stoppit in the tume staw an" laid doon his bundle rale smert like; syne he lookit ower the buird to Donal", an" says, in an Englishy kind o" a voice, "Twa return tickets third-cla.s.s an" back to Edinboro!" I saw syne what he was at! He was practeesin" seekin" the tickets at the station. Ow, ay; Sandy"s like a" ither body! He"s a gey breezie carlie when he"s awa" frae hame, an" his d.i.c.kie on!
Sandy had his uswal argey-bargeyin" in the train, an" I thocht ae man an" him, that cam" in at Carnoustie, wi" his wife, an" a pair o"
nickerbucker breeks on, was genna t"a" to the fechtin" a"thegither.
An" faigs, Sandy snoddit him geylies afore we got to Dundee.
There was a lot o" men" an" loons staiverin" aboot Carnoustie playin"
at the gowf; an" Sandy says--"Look at thae jumpin"-jecks o" craturs wi"
their reed jeckets on, like as mony organ-grinders" monkeys, rinnin"
aboot wi" their bits o" sticks, wallopin" awa" at Indeen-rubber ba"s.
Puir craturs!"
Man, the chappie wi" the nickerbuckers got up in an awfu" pavey, an"
misca"ed Sandy for a" the vagues--you never heard the like!