ake, honest wuman! The laddie's
guid eneuch for onything!--ay, gien 'twar to mak' a minister o'!"

Eagerly, greedily, Gibbie now watched her every motion, and, bent
upon learning, nothing escaped him: he would do much better next
morning!--At length the men came in to breakfast, and he thought to
enjoy the sight; but, alas! it wrought so with his hunger as to make
him feel sick, and he crept away to the barn. He would gladly have
lain down in the hay for a while, but that would require the ladder,
and he did not now feel able to move it. On the floor of the barn
he was not safe, and he got out of it into the cornyard, where he
sought the henhouse. But there was no food there yet, and he must
not linger near; for, if he were discovered, they would drive him
away, and he would lose Donal Grant. He had not seen him at
breakfast, for indeed he seldom, during the summer, had a meal
except supper in the house. Gibbie, therefore, as he could not eat,
ran to the burn and drank--but had no heart that morning for his
projected inquiry into the state of his person. He must go to
Donal. The sight of him would help him to bear his hunger.

The first indication Donal had of his proximity was the rush of
Hornie past him in flight out of the corn. Gibbie was pursuing her
with stones for lack of a stick. Thoroughly ashamed of himself,
Donal threw his book from him, and ran to meet Gibbie.

"Ye maunna fling stanes, cratur," he said. "Haith! it's no for me to
fin' fau't, though," he added, "sittin' readin' buiks like a gowk
'at I am, an' lattin' the beasts rin wull amo' the corn, 'at's weel
peyed to haud them oot o' 't! I'm clean affrontit wi' mysel',
cratur."

Gibbie's response was to set off at full speed for the place where
Donal had been sitting. He was back in a moment with the book,
which he pressed into Donal's hand, while from the other he withdrew
his club. This he brandished aloft once or twice, then starting at
a steady trot, speedily circled the herd, and returned to his
adopted master--only to start again, however, and attack Hornie,
whom he drove from the corn-side of the meadow right over to the
other: she was already afraid of him. After watching him for a
time, Donal came to the conclusion that he could not do more than
the cratur if he had as many eyes as Argus, and gave not even one of
them to his book. He therefore left all to Gibbie, and did not once
look up for a whole hour. Everything went