dy, but I wadna hae Ma'colm lat ye gang in there
ohn tellt ye what there is inside."

"Thank you, John. I was just going to tell my lady," said Malcolm.

"Because, ye see," pursued John, "I was ae day here i' the gairden--an' I
was jist graftin' a bonny wull rose-buss wi' a Hector o' France--an' it
grew to be the bonniest rose-buss in a' the haill gairden--whan the
markis--no the auld markis, but my leddy's father--cam' up the walk there,
an' a bonny yoong leddy wi' his lordship, as it micht be yersel's twa--an'
I beg your pardon, my leddy, but I'm an auld man noo, an' whiles forgets
the differs atween fowk--an' this yoong leddy 'at they ca'd Miss
Cam'ell--ye kenned her yersel' efterhin', I daur say, Ma'colm--he was unco
ta'en wi' her, the markis, as ilka body cud see ohn luikit that near, sae
'at some said 'at hoo he hed no richt to gang on wi' her that gait,
garrin' her believe, gien he wasna gaein' to merry her. That's naither
here nor there, hooever, seein' it a' cam' to jist naething ava'. Sae up
they gaed to the cave yon'er, as I was tellin' ye; an' hoo it was was a
won'er, for I s' warran' she had been aboot the place near a tow-mon
(_twelvemonth_), but never had she been intil that cave, an' kenned no
more nor the bairn unborn what there was in 't. An' sae whan the airemite,
as the auld minister ca'd him--though what for he ca'd a muckle block like
yon an _airy mite_, I'm sure I never cud fathom--whan he gat up, as I was
sayin', an' cam' foret wi' his han' oot, she gae a scraich 'at jist garred
my lugs dirl, an' doon she drappit; an' there, whan I ran up, was she
lyin' i' the markis his airms, as white's a cauk eemage; an' it was lang
or he broucht her till hersel', for he wadna lat me rin for the
hoosekeeper, but sent me fleein' to the f'untain for watter, an' gied me a
gowd guinea to haud my tongue aboot it a'. Sae noo, my leddy, ye're
forewarnt, an' no ill can come to ye, for there's naething to be fleyt at
whan ye ken what's gauin' to meet ye."

Malcolm had turned his head aside, and now moved on without remark. Struck
by his silence, Clementina looked up and saw his face very pale and the
tears standing in his eyes. "You must tell me the sad story, Malcolm," she
murmured. "I could scarcely understand a word the old man said."

He continued silent, and seemed struggling with some emotion. But when
they were within a few paces of the arbor he stopped short and said, "I
would rather not go in there to-day. Y