ill come to
bother us, making our house a hell upon earth, and frighting us out of
our seven senses. But in the midst of my dreadful surmises, when all was
still, so that you might have heard a pin fall, a knock-knock-knock, came
to the door, on which, recovering my senses, I dreaded first that it was
the death-chap, and syne that the affair had got wind, and that it was
the beagles come in search of me; so I kissed little Benjie, who was
sitting on his creepie, blubbering and greeting for his parritch, while a
tear stood in my own eye as I went forward to lift the sneck to let the
officers, as I thought, harrie our house, by carrying off me, its master;
but it was, thank Heaven, only Tammie Bodkin, coming in whistling to his
work, with some measuring papers hanging round his neck.

"Ah, Tammie," said I to him, my heart warming at a kent face, and making
the laddie, although my bounden servant by a regular indenture of five
years, a friend in my need, "come in, my man. I fear ye'll hae to take
charge of the business for some time to come; mind what I tell'd ye about
the shaping and the cutting, and no making the goose ower warm; as I
doubt I am about to be harled away to the tolbooth."

Tammie's heart swelled to his mouth. "Ah, maister," he said, "ye're
joking. What should ye have done that ye should be ta'en to sic an ill
place?"

"Ay, Tammie, lad," answered I, "it is but ower true."

"Weel, weel," quo' Tammie--I really thought it a great deal of the
laddie--"weel, weel, they canna prevent me coming to sew beside ye; and
if I can take the measure of customers without, ye can cut the claith
within. But what is't for, maister?"

"Come in here," said I to him, "and believe your ain een, Tammie, my
man."

"Losh me!" cried the poor laddie, glowring at the bloody face of the man
in the bed, and starting back on his tip-toes. "Ay--ay--ay! maister;
save us, maister; ay--ay--ay--you have na cloured his harnpan with the
guse? Ay, maister, maister! whaten an unearthly sight!! I doubt they'll
hang us a'; you for doing't--and me on suspicion--and Benjie as art and
part, puir thing! But I'll rin for a doctor. Will I, maister?"

The thought had never struck me before, being in a sort of a manner dung
stupid; but catching up the word, I said with all my pith and birr, "Rin,
rin, Tammie, rin for life and death!"

Tammie bolted like a nine-year-old, never looking behind his tail; so, in
less than ten minutes, he retur