's sake, is the
matter? The bells ring backward, and there is shrieking and crying in
the streets."

"I will presently know the cause. Here, Conachar, come speedily and
tie my points. I forgot--the Highland loon is far beyond Fortingall.
Patience, daughter, I will presently bring you news."

"Ye need not hurry yourself for that, Simon Glover," quoth the obdurate
old woman; "the best and the worst of it may be tauld before you could
hobble over your door stane. I ken the haill story abroad; 'for,'
thought I, 'our goodman is so wilful that he'll be for banging out to
the tuilzie, be the cause what it like; and sae I maun e'en stir my
shanks, and learn the cause of all this, or he will hae his auld nose in
the midst of it, and maybe get it nipt off before he knows what for.'"

"And what is the news, then, old woman?" said the impatient glover,
still busying himself with the hundred points or latchets which were the
means of attaching the doublet to the hose.

Dorothy suffered him to proceed in his task till she conjectured it must
be nearly accomplished; and foresaw that; if she told not the secret
herself, her master would be abroad to seek in person for the cause of
the disturbance. She, therefore, halloo'd out: "Aweel--aweel, ye canna
say it is me fault, if you hear ill news before you have been at
the morning mass. I would have kept it from ye till ye had heard the
priest's word; but since you must hear it, you have e'en lost the truest
friend that ever gave hand to another, and Perth maun mourn for the
bravest burgher that ever took a blade in hand!"

"Harry Smith! Harry Smith!" exclaimed the father and the daughter at
once.

"Oh, ay, there ye hae it at last," said Dorothy; "and whose fault was it
but your ain? ye made such a piece of work about his companying with a
glee woman, as if he had companied with a Jewess!"

Dorothy would have gone on long enough, but her master exclaimed to
his daughter, who was still in her own apartment: "It is nonsense,
Catharine--all the dotage of an old fool. No such thing has happened.
I will bring you the true tidings in a moment," and snatching up his
staff, the old man hurried out past Dorothy and into the street, where
the throng of people were rushing towards the High Street.

Dorothy, in the mean time, kept muttering to herself: "Thy father is a
wise man, take his ain word for it. He will come next by some scathe
in the hobbleshow, and then it will be, 'Dorothy, get the