those left at Dooble Sanny's, they
judged it unsafe to go in quest of them: the soutar could hardly be in a
humour fit to be intruded upon.

Having procured the string, Shargar went to Mrs. Falconer's. Anxious not
to encounter her, but, if possible, to bag the boots quietly, he
opened the door, peeped in, and seeing no one, made his way towards
the kitchen. He was arrested, however, as he crossed the passage by
the voice of Mrs. Falconer calling, 'Wha's that?' There she was at the
parlour door. It paralyzed him. His first impulse was to make a rush and
escape. But the boots--he could not go without at least an attempt upon
them. So he turned and faced her with inward trembling.

'Wha's that?' repeated the old lady, regarding him fixedly. 'Ow, it's
you! What duv ye want? Ye camna to see me, I'm thinkin'! What hae ye i'
that bag?'

'I cam to coff (buy) twine for the draigon,' answered Shargar.

'Ye had twine eneuch afore!'

'It bruik. It wasna strang eneuch.'

'Whaur got ye the siller to buy mair? Lat's see 't?'

Shargar took the string from the bag.

'Sic a sicht o' twine! What paid ye for 't?'

'A shillin'.'

'Whaur got ye the shillin'?'

'Mr. Lammie gae 't to Robert.'

'I winna hae ye tak siller frae naebody. It's ill mainners. Hae!' said
the old lady, putting her hand in her pocket, and taking out a shilling.
'Hae,' she said. 'Gie Mr. Lammie back his shillin', an' tell 'im 'at I
wadna hae ye learn sic ill customs as tak siller. It's eneuch to gang
sornin' upon 'im (exacting free quarters) as ye du, ohn beggit for
siller. Are they a' weel?'

'Ay, brawly,' answered Shargar, putting the shilling in his pocket.

In another moment Shargar had, without a word of adieu, embezzled the
shoes, and escaped from the house without seeing Betty. He went straight
to the shop he had just left, and bought another shilling's worth of
string.

When he got home, he concealed nothing from Robert, whom he found seated
in the barn, with his fiddle, waiting his return.

Robert started to his feet. He could appropriate his grandfather's
violin, to which, possibly, he might have shown as good a right as his
grandmother--certainly his grandfather would have accorded it him--but
her money was sacred.

'Shargar, ye vratch!' he cried, 'fess that shillin' here direckly. Tak
the twine wi' ye, and gar them gie ye back the shillin'.'

'They winna brak the bargain,' cried Shargar, beginning almost to
whimper, for a savoury smel