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 lassockie 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 goshore 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-class 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 dickie 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