He did not
mention the sacred day, but all knew what he meant. The earl
laughed, and said, if he was afraid of the kirk-session, he might
go, and another would take his hand. But the man sat still, and
said no more till the clock gave the warning. Then he spoke again,
and said the day was almost out, and they ought not to go on playing
into the Sabbath. And as he uttered the word, his mouth was pulled
all on one side. But the earl struck his fist on the table, and
swore a great oath that if any man rose he would run him through.
'What care I for the Sabbath!' he said. 'I gave you your chance to
go,' he added, turning to the man who had spoken, who was dressed in
black like a minister, 'and you would not take it: now you shall sit
where you are.' He glared fiercely at him, and the man returned him
an equally fiery stare. And now first they began to discover what,
through the fumes of the whisky and the smoke of the pine-torches,
they had not observed, namely, that none of them knew the man, or
had ever seen him before. They looked at him, and could not turn
their eyes from him, and a cold terror began to creep through their
vitals. He kept his fierce scornful look fixed on the earl for a
moment, and then spoke. 'And I gave you your chance,' he said, 'and
you would not take it: now you shall sit still where you are, and no
Sabbath shall you ever see.
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