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d and croodled about her, and even became warmly friendly with me for the sake of my Paris watch and my glittering waistcoat buttons, I made many gallant attempts to get on my old easy footing. That was the wonder of it: when my interest in her was at the lukewarm, I could face her repartee with as good as she gave; now that I loved her (to say the word and be done with it), my words must be picked and chosen and my tongue must stammer in a contemptible awkwardness. Nor was she, apparently, quite at her ease, for when our talk came at any point too close on her own person, she was at great pains adroitly to change it to other directions. I never, in all my life, saw a child so muckle made use of. It seemed, by the most wonderful of chances, to be ever needing soothing or scolding or kissing or running after in the snow, when I had a word to say upon the human affections, or a compliment to pay upon some grace of its most assiduous nurse. "I'm afraid," said Betty at last, "you learned some courtiers' flatteries and coquetries in your travels. You should have taken the lesson like your friend and fellow-cavalier M'Iver, and got the trick of keeping a calm heart." "M'Iver!" I cried. "He's an old hand at the business." She put her lips to the child's neck and kissed it tumultuously. "Not--not at the trade of lovier?" she asked after a while, carelessly keeping up the crack. "Oh no!" I said, laughing. "He's a most religious man." "I would hardly say so much," she answered, coldly; "for there have been tales--some idle, some otherwise--about him, but I think his friend should be last to hint at any scandal." Good heavens! here was a surprise for one who had no more notion of traducing his friend than of miscalling the Shorter Catechism. The charge stuck in my gizzard. I fumed and sweat, speechless at the injustice of it, while the girl held herself more aloof than ever, busy preparing for our evening meal. But I had no time to put myself right in her estimate of me before M'Iver came back from his airing with an alarming story. "It's time we were taking our feet from here," he cried, running up to us. "I've been up on Meall Ruadh there, and I see the whole countryside's in a confusion. Pipers are blowing away down the glen and guns are firing; if it's not a muster of the enemy preparatory to their quitting the country, it's a call to a more particular search in the hills and woods. Anyway we must be bund
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