but he wouldna so much as allow one o' us to
set fut on the passage that led tae it.

At nicht he would walk a' ower the hoose, and he had lamps hung in every
room and corner, so that no pairt should be dark.

Many's the time frae my room in the garret I've heard his futsteps
comin' and gangin', comin' and gangin' doon one passage and up anither
frae midnight till cockcraw. It was weary wark to lie listenin' tae his
clatter and wonderin' whether he was clean daft, or whether maybe he'd
lairnt pagan and idolatrous tricks oot in India, and that his conscience
noo was like the worm which gnaweth and dieth not. I'd ha' speered frae
him whether it wouldna ease him to speak wi' the holy Donald McSnaw, but
it might ha' been a mistake, and the general wasna a man that you'd care
tae mak' a mistake wi'.

Ane day I was workin' at the grass border when he comes up and he says,
says he:

"Did ye ever have occasion tae fire a pistol, Israel?"

"Godsakes!" says I, "I never had siccan a thing in my honds in my life."

"Then you'd best not begin noo," says he. "Every man tae his ain
weepon," he says. "Now I warrant ye could do something wi' a guid
crab-tree cudgel!"

"Aye, could I," I answered blithely, "as well as ony lad on the Border."

"This is a lonely hoose," says he, "and we might be molested by some
rascals. It's weel tae be ready for whatever may come. Me and you and my
son Mordaunt and Mr. Fothergill West of Branksome, who would come if he
was required, ought tae be able tae show a bauld face--what think ye?"

"'Deed, sir," I says, "feastin' is aye better than fechtin'--but if
ye'll raise me a pund a month, I'll no' shirk my share o' either."

"We won't quarrel ower that," says he, and agreed tae the extra twal'
pund a year as easy as though it were as many bawbees. Far be it frae me
tae think evil, but I couldna help surmisin' at the time that money that
was so lightly pairted wi' was maybe no' so very honestly cam by.

I'm no' a curious or a pryin' mun by nature, but I was sair puzzled in
my ain mind tae tell why it was that the general walked aboot at nicht
and what kept him frae his sleep.

Weel, ane day I was cleanin' doon the passages when my e'e fell on a
great muckle heap o' curtains and auld cairpets and sic' like things
that were piled away in a corner, no vera far frae the door o' the
general's room. A' o' a sudden a thocht came intae my heid and I says
tae mysel':

"Israel, laddie," says I, "what's