ities for womanliness, of which they could
make as much as the finest lady, sometimes woke after a Muckley to wish
that they might wake no more? Our three brushed shoulders with the
devils that had been let loose, but hardly saw them; they heard them,
but did not understand their tongue. The eight-o'clock bell had rung
long since, and though the racket was as great as ever, it was only
because every reveller left now made the noise of two. Mothers were out
fishing for their bairns. The Haggerty-Taggertys had straggled home
hoarse as crows; every one of them went to bed that night with a
stocking round his throat. Of Monypenny boys, Tommy could find none in
the square but Corp, who, with another tooth missing, had been going
about since six o'clock with his pockets hanging out, as a sign that all
was over. An awkward silence had fallen on the trio; the reason, that
Tommy had only threepence left and the smallest of them cost threepence.
The reference of course is to the wondrous gold-paper packets of sweets
(not unlike crackers in appearance) which are only seen at the Muckley,
and are what every girl claims of her lad or lads. Now, Tommy had vowed
to Elspeth--But he had also said to Grizel--In short, how could he buy
for both with threepence?

Grizel, as the stranger, ought to get--But he knew Elspeth too well to
believe that she would dry her eyes with that.

Elspeth being his sister--But he had promised Grizel, and she had been
so ill brought up that she said nasty things when you broke your word.

The gold packet was bought. That is it sticking out of Tommy's inside
pocket. The girls saw it and knew what was troubling him, but not a
word was spoken now between the three. They set off for home
self-consciously, Tommy the least agitated on the whole, because he need
not make up his mind for another ten minutes. But he wished Grizel would
not look at him sideways and then rock her arms in irritation. They
passed many merry-makers homeward bound, many of them following a
tortuous course, for the Scottish toper gives way first in the legs, the
Southron in the other extremity, and thus between them could be
constructed a man wholly sober and another as drunk as Chloe. But though
the highway clattered with many feet, not a soul was in the double
dykes, and at the easy end of that formidable path Grizel came to a
determined stop.

"Good-night," she said, with such a disdainful glance at Tommy.

He had not made up his mi