Part 10 (1/2)
[Ill.u.s.tration]
”Weelum MacLure 'ill hae the beerial he deserves in spite o' sna and drifts; it pa.s.ses a' tae see hoo they've githered frae far an' near.
”A'm thinkin' ye can colleck them for the minister noo, Drumsheugh.
A'body's here except the heich Glen, an' we mauna luke for them.”
”Dinna be sae sure o' that, Jamie. Yon's terrible like them on the road, wi' Whinnie at their head;” and so it was, twelve in all, only old Adam Ross absent, detained by force, being eighty-two years of age.
”It wud hae been temptin' Providence tae cross the muir,” Whinnie explained, ”and it's a fell stap roond; a' doot we're laist.”
”See, Jamie,” said Drumsheugh, as he went to the house, ”gin there be ony antern body in sicht afore we begin; we maun mak allooances the day wi' twa feet o' sna on the grund, tae say naethin' o' drifts.”
”There's something at the turnin', an' it's no fouk; it's a machine o'
some kind or ither--maybe a bread cart that's focht its wy up.”
”Na, it's no that; there's twa horses, are afore the ither; if it's no a dogcairt wi' twa men in the front; they 'ill be comin' tae the beerial.”
”What wud ye sae, Jamie,” Hillocks suggested, ”but it micht be some o'
thae Muirtown doctors? they were awfu' chief wi' MacLure.”
”It's nae Muirtown doctors,” cried Jamie, in great exultation, ”nor ony ither doctors. A' ken thae horses, and wha's ahind them. Quick, man, Hillocks, stop the fouk, and tell Drumsheugh tae come oot, for Lord Kilspindie hes come up frae Muirtown Castle.”
Jamie himself slipped behind, and did not wish to be seen.
”It's the respeck he's gettin' the day frae high an' low,” was Jamie's husky apology; ”tae think o' them fetchin' their wy doon frae Glen Urtach, and toiling roond frae the heich Glen, an' his Lords.h.i.+p driving through the drifts a' the road frae Muirtown, juist tae honour Weelum MacLure's beerial.
[Ill.u.s.tration: ”TWA HORSES, ANE AFORE THE ITHER”]
”It's nae ceremony the day, ye may lippen tae it; it's the hert brocht the fouk, an' ye can see it in their faces; ilka man hes his ain reason, an' he's thinkin' on't though he's speakin' o' naethin' but the storm; he's mindin' the day Weelum pued him out frae the jaws o' death, or the nicht he savit the gude wife in her oor o' tribble.
”That's why they pit on their blacks this mornin' afore it wes licht, and wrastled through the sna drifts at risk o' life. Drumtochty fouk canna say muckle, it's an awfu' peety, and they 'ill dae their best tae show naethin', but a' can read it a' in their een.
”But wae's me”--and Jamie broke down utterly behind a fir tree, so tender a thing is a cynic's heart--”that fouk 'ill tak a man's best wark a' his days without a word an' no dae him honour till he dees. Oh, if they hed only githered like this juist aince when he wes livin', an' lat him see he hedna laboured in vain. His reward has come ower late”.
During Jamie's vain regret, the castle trap, bearing the marks of a wild pa.s.sage in the snow-covered wheels, a broken shaft tied with rope, a twisted lamp, and the panting horses, pulled up between two rows of farmers, and Drumsheugh received his lords.h.i.+p with evident emotion.
”Ma lord ... we never thocht o' this ... an' sic a road.”
”How are you, Drumsheugh? and how are you all this wintry day? That's how I'm half an hour late; it took us four hours' stiff work for sixteen miles, mostly in the drifts, of course.”
”It wes gude o' yir lords.h.i.+p, tae mak sic an effort, an' the hale Glen wull be gratefu' tae ye, for ony kindness tae him is kindness tae us.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: HE HAD LEFT HIS OVERCOAT AND WAS IN BLACK]
”You make too much of it, Drumsheugh,” and the clear, firm voice was heard of all; ”it would have taken more than a few snow drifts to keep me from showing my respect to William MacLure's memory.” When all had gathered in a half circle before the kitchen door, Lord Kilspindie came out--every man noticed he had left his overcoat, and was in black, like the Glen--and took a place in the middle with Drumsheugh and Burnbrae, his two chief tenants, on the right and left, and as the minister appeared every man bared his head.
The doctor looked on the company--a hundred men such as for strength and gravity you could hardly have matched in Scotland--standing out in picturesque relief against the white background, and he said:
”It's a bitter day, friends, and some of you are old; perhaps it might be wise to cover your heads before I begin to pray.”