She didna lauch, nor she didna grue nor yet glower, nor yet
she didna say the thing was nonsense, but she jist h'ard an' h'ard
an' saidna a word. I thoucht wi' mysel', is't possible she disna
believe me? but I couldna mak that oot aither. Sae as she heild her
tongue, I jist pu'd the bridle o' mine, an' vooed there should be
never anither word said by me till ance she spak hersel'. An' I wud
sune hae had eneuch o' haudin' my tongue, but I hadna to haud it to
onybody but her; an' I cam to the conclusion that she was feart o'
bein' speirt questons by them 'at had a richt to speir them, for
that she had h'ard o' something 'afore, an' kenned mair nor she was
at leeberty to speak aboot.
"But that was only the beginnin', an' little to what followed! For
frae that nicht there was na ae nicht passed but some ane or twa
disturbit, an' whiles it was past a' bidin.' The noises, an' the
rum'lin's, an' abune a' the clankin' o' chains, that gaed on i' that
hoose, an' the groans, an' the cries, an' whiles the whustlin', an'
what was 'maist waur nor a', the lauchin', was something dreidfu',
an' 'ayont believin' to ony but them 'at was intil't. I sometimes
think maybe the terror o' 't maks it luik waur i' the recollection
nor it was; but I canna keep my senses an' no believe there was
something a'thegither by ord'nar i' the affair. An' whan, or lang,
it cam to the knowledge o' the lady, an' she was waukit up at nicht,
an' h'ard the thing, whatever it was, an' syne whan the bairns war
waukit up, an' aye the romage, noo i' this room, noo i' that, sae
that the leevin' wud be cryin' as lood as the deid, though they
could ill mak sic a din, it was beyond a' beirin', an' the maister
made up his min' to flit at ance, come o' 't what micht!
"For, as I oucht to hae tellt ye, he had written to the owner o' the
hoose, that was my ain maister--for it wasna a hair o' use sayin'
onything further to the agent; he only leuch, an' declaret it maun
be some o' his ain folk was playin' tricks upon him--which it angert
him to hear, bein' as impossible as it was fause; sae straucht awa'
to his lan'lord he wrote, as I say; but as he was travellin' aboot
on the continent, he supposed either the letter had not reached him,
an' never wud reach him or he was shelterin' himsel' under the idea
they wud think he had never had it, no wantin' to move in the
matter.
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