hat
looked to simple folk a fortune in his pouches, and half a dozen untrue
stories about how he made it. He had come to make a show o' himsel'
afore his mither, and I dare say to give her some gold, for he was aye
ready to give when he had, I'll say that for him; but she had flitted to
some unkent place, and so he bade on some weeks at the Cullew public. He
caredna whether the folk praised or blamed him so long as they wondered
at him, and queer stories about his doings was aye on the road to
Thrums. One was that he gave wild suppers to whaever would come; another
that he went to the kirk just for the glory of flinging a sovereign
into the plate wi' a clatter; another that when he lay sleeping on twa
chairs, gold and silver dribbled out o' his trouser pouches to the
floor.

"There was an ugly story too, about a lassie, that led to his leaving
the place and coming to Thrums, after he had near killed the Cullew
smith, in a fight. The first I heard o' his being in Thrums was when
Aaron Latta walked into my granny's house and said there was a strange
man at the Tappit Hen public standing drink to any that would tak', and
boasting that he had but to waggle his finger to make me give Aaron up.
I went wi' Aaron and looked in at the window, but I kent wha it was
afore I looked. If Aaron had just gone in and struck him! All decent
women, laddie, has a horror of being fought about. I'm no sure but what
that's just the difference atween guid ones and ill ones, but this man
had a power ower me; and if Aaron had just struck him! Instead o'
meddling he turned white, and I couldna help contrasting them, and
thinking how masterful your father looked. Fine I kent he was a brute,
and yet I couldna help admiring him for looking so magerful.

"He bade on at the Tappit Hen, flinging his siller about in the way that
made him a king at Cullew, but no molesting Miss Ailie and Miss Kitty,
which all but me thought was what he had come to Thrums to do. Aaron and
me was cried for the first time the Sabbath after he came, and the next
Sabbath for the second time, but afore that he was aye getting in my
road and speaking to me, but I ran frae him and hod frae him when I
could, and he said the reason I did that was because I kent his will was
stronger than mine. He was aye saying things that made me think he saw
down to the bottom o' my soul; what I didna understand was that in
mastering other women he had been learning to master me. Ay, but though