Volume Ii Part 12 (2/2)

”I winna answer for that, Marion;--he shall fare as the lave fare; but he's may-be no very easily served. There are some misleared servants wha think they never get enough.”

”Tell me this thing, then, goodwife; will he see enough?”

”Ay; I shall answer for that part o't.”

”Then I shall answer for the rest, goodwife.”

Jock had by this time given up contending with the timber cheese, and the blue sour milk, and, taking a lug of a bannock in his hand, the size of a shoe sole, he went away and sat down at the fire-side, where he had a full view of the bacon ham, three inches thick of fat, with the dew standing on its brown skin.

The withered bread swallowed rather the better of this delicious sight; so Jock chewed and looked, and looked and chewed, till his mother entered into the security mentioned. ”That is a capital hint,” thought Jock; ”I shall verify my good mother's cautionry, for I can stand this nae langer.” He sprang up on a seat, sliced off a large flitch of bacon, and had it on the coals before one had time to p.r.o.nounce a word; and then turning his back to it, and his face to the company, he stood with his drawn dirk quite determined to defend his prey.

The goodwife spoke first up. ”Gudeness have a care o' us! see to the menseless tike!” cried she; ”I declare the creature has na the breeding o' a whalp!”

Jock was well used to such kind of epithets; so he bore this and some more with the utmost suavity, still, however, keeping his ground.

Goodman Niddery grinned, and his hands shook with anger, as if struck with a palsy; but for some reason or other he did not interfere. The servants were like to burst with laughter; and Jock kept the goodwife at bay with his drawn knife, till his slice was roasted; and then, laying it flat on his dry piece of bread, he walked out to the field to enjoy it more at leisure. Marion went away home; and the goodman and goodwife both determined to be revenged on Jock, and to make him pay dear for his audacity.

Jock gave several long looks after Marion as she vanished on Kettlemoor, but he had left no kind of meat in her s.h.i.+eling when he came away, else it was likely he would have followed his mother home again. He was still smacking his lips after his rich repast, and he had seen too much good stuff about the house of his new master to leave it at once; so he was even fain to bid Marion good-b'ye in his heart, wipe the filial tear from his eye, poor man, and try to reconcile himself to his new situation.

”Do you carry aye that lang gully knife about wi' you, master cow-herd, or how do they ca' ye?” said his master, when they next met after the adventure of the bacon.

”I hae aye carried it yet,” said Jock, with great innocence; ”and a gay gude whittle it is.”

”Ye maun gie that up,” said Niddery; ”we dinna suffer chaps like you to carry sic weapons about our house.”

Jock fixed his green eyes on his master's face. He could hardly believe him to be serious; still there was something in his look he did not like; so he put his knife deeper into his pocket, drew one step back, and, putting his under row of teeth in front of those above, waited the issue of such an unreasonable demand.

”Come, come; give it up I say. Give it to me; I'll dispose of it for you.”

”I'll see you at the bottom o' the place my mother speaks about whiles,”

thought Jock to himself, afore I gi'e my gully either to you or ony that belangs to you.” He still kept his former position, however, and the same kind of look at his master's face, only his een grew rather greener.

”Won't you give it up, you stubborn thief? Then I will take it, and give you a good drubbing into the bargain.”

When Jock heard this, he pulled out his knife. ”That is a good lad to do as you are bidden,” said his master. But Jock, instead of delivering up his knife, drew it from the sheathe, which he returned to his pocket.

”Now I sal only say this,” said he; ”the first man that tries to take my ain knife frae me--he may do it--but he shall get the length o't in his monyplies first.” So saying, he drew back his hand with a sudden jerk.

Goodman Niddery gave such a start that he actually leaped off the ground, and holding up both his hands, exclaimed, ”What a savage we have got here! what a satan!” And without speaking another word he ran away to the house, and left Jock standing with his drawn knife in his hand.

The goodman's stomach burned with revenge against Jock; so that night he sent him supperless to bed, out of requital for the affair of the fat bacon; and next day the poor boy was set down to a very scanty breakfast, which was not fair. His eye turning invariably to one delicious object, the goodman perceived well what was pa.s.sing in his heart; and, on some pretence, first sent away all the servants and then the goodwife. He next rose up himself, with his staff in his hand, and, going slowly away into the little parlour, said, as he went through the kitchen, ”What can be become o' a' the fo'k?” and with that entered the dark door that opened in a corner. He made as though he had shut the door, but he turned about within it and peeped back.

The moment that he vanished was the watch-word for Jock; he sprang from his seat at the bottom of the table, and, mounting a form, began to whang away at the bacon ham. Some invidious bone, or hard object of some sort, coming unfortunately in contact with the edge of his knife, his progress was greatly obstructed; and though he cut and sawed with all his might, before he succeeded in separating a piece of about two pounds weight from the main body, his master had rushed on him from his concealment, and, by one blow of his staff, laid him flat on the floor.

The stroke was a sore one, for it was given with extreme good will, and deprived Jock of sensibility for the time being. He and his form both came down with a great rumble, but the knife remained buried in the fat bacon ham; and the inveterate goodman was not satisfied with felling the poor lad, but kicked him, and laid on him with his stick after he was down. The goodwife at length came running, and put a stop to this cruelty; and fearing the boy was murdered, and that they would be hanged for it, she got a.s.sistance, and soon brought Jock again to himself.

Jock had been accustomed to fight for his meat, and, in some measure laid his account with it, so that, on the whole, he took his broken head as little to heart as could have been expected,--certainly less than any other boy of the same age would have done. It was only a little more rough than he had been prepared to look for; but had he succeeded in his enterprise, he would not have been ill content. The goodwife and her maids had laid him on a kitchen bed and bathed his temples; and on recovering from stupefaction, the first thing he did was to examine his pockets to see if he had his gully. Alak! there was nothing but the empty sheathe. Then he _did_ lose the field, and fell a blubbering and crying. The goodwife thought he was ill, and tried to sooth him by giving him some meat. He took the meat of course, but his heart was inconsolable; till, just when busy with his morsel, his eye chanced to travel to the old place as if by instinct, and there he beheld the haft of his valued knife sticking in the bacon ham, its blade being buried deep in sappy treasures. He sprang over the bed, and traversing the floor with staggering steps, mounted a form, and stretched forth his hand to possess himself again of his gully.

”Aih! Gudeness have a care o' us,” cried the goodwife; ”saw ever ony body the like o' that? The creature's bacon mad! Goodman! goodman, come here!”

Jock, however, extricated his knife and fled, though he could scarcely well walk. Some of the maids averred that he at the same time slid a corner of the ham into his pocket; but it is probable they belied him, for Jock had been munching in the bed but the moment before.

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