end his men to road-making, and
apologise to the neighbours--"juist reddin' up aboot the doors"--while
Saunders the foreman and his staff laboured in a shamefaced manner like
grown-ups playing at a children's game. Hillocks used to talk vaguely
about going to see a married sister in Glasgow, and one year got as far
as Kildrummie, where he met Piggie Walker, and returned to have a deal
in potatoes with that enterprising man. More than once Drumsheugh--but
then his position was acknowledged--set off on the Monday for
Carnoustie with a large carpet bag containing, among other things, two
pounds of butter and two dozen eggs, and announced his intention of
spending a fortnight at the "saut water." The kirkyard would bid him
good-bye, and give him a united guarantee that Sabbath would be kept at
Drumtochty during his absence, but the fathers were never astonished to
see the great man drop into Muirtown market next Friday on his way
west--having found four days of unrelieved gaiety at that Scottish
Monaco enough for flesh and blood.

This season of small affairs was redeemed by the Sacrament, and
preparations began far off with the cleaning of the kirk. As early as
June our beadle had the face of one with something on his mind, and
declined to pledge himself for roups of standing corn, where his
presence was much valued, not on business grounds, but as an official
sanction of the proceedings. Drumtochty always felt that Dr. Davidson
was fully represented by his man, and John could no longer disentangle
the two in his own mind--taking a gloomy view of the parish when he was
laid up by lumbago and the Doctor had to struggle on single-handed, and
regarding the future when both would be gone with despair.

"Ay, ay, Hillocks," he once remarked to that worthy, "this 'll be a
queer-like place when me an' the Doctor 's awa'.

"Na, na, a' daurna promise for the roup, but ye can cairry it on
whether a 'm there or no; prices dinna hang on a beadle, and they 're
far mair than appearances. A 'm juist beginning tae plan the reddin'
up for the Saicrament, an' a 've nae speerit for pleesure; div ye ken,
Hillocks, a' wud actually coont a funeral distrackin'."

"Ye hev an awfu' responsibility, there 's nae doot o' that, John, but
gin ye juist jined the fouk for ae field, it wud be an affset tae the
day, an' the auctioneer wud be lifted."

With the beginning of July, John fairly broke ground in the great
effort, and was engaged thereo