d and croodled about her, and even became warmly friendly with me
for the sake of my Paris watch and my glittering waistcoat buttons, I
made many gallant attempts to get on my old easy footing. That was the
wonder of it: when my interest in her was at the lukewarm, I could face
her repartee with as good as she gave; now that I loved her (to say the
word and be done with it), my words must be picked and chosen and
my tongue must stammer in a contemptible awkwardness. Nor was she,
apparently, quite at her ease, for when our talk came at any point too
close on her own person, she was at great pains adroitly to change it to
other directions.

I never, in all my life, saw a child so muckle made use of. It seemed,
by the most wonderful of chances, to be ever needing soothing or
scolding or kissing or running after in the snow, when I had a word to
say upon the human affections, or a compliment to pay upon some grace of
its most assiduous nurse.

"I'm afraid," said Betty at last, "you learned some courtiers'
flatteries and coquetries in your travels. You should have taken the
lesson like your friend and fellow-cavalier M'Iver, and got the trick of
keeping a calm heart."

"M'Iver!" I cried. "He's an old hand at the business."

She put her lips to the child's neck and kissed it tumultuously.

"Not--not at the trade of lovier?" she asked after a while, carelessly
keeping up the crack.

"Oh no!" I said, laughing. "He's a most religious man."

"I would hardly say so much," she answered, coldly; "for there have
been tales--some idle, some otherwise--about him, but I think his friend
should be last to hint at any scandal."

Good heavens! here was a surprise for one who had no more notion of
traducing his friend than of miscalling the Shorter Catechism. The
charge stuck in my gizzard. I fumed and sweat, speechless at the
injustice of it, while the girl held herself more aloof than ever, busy
preparing for our evening meal.

But I had no time to put myself right in her estimate of me before
M'Iver came back from his airing with an alarming story.

"It's time we were taking our feet from here," he cried, running up
to us. "I've been up on Meall Ruadh there, and I see the whole
countryside's in a confusion. Pipers are blowing away down the glen and
guns are firing; if it's not a muster of the enemy preparatory to their
quitting the country, it's a call to a more particular search in the
hills and woods. Anyway we must be bund