FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142  
143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   >>   >|  
M'Iver a vagabond of the deepest dye?" "If she thought that," I cried, "she baffles me; for a hint I let drop in a mere careless badinage of your gallanting reputation made her perilously near angry." John with pursed lips stroked his chin, musing on my words. I was afraid for a little he resented my indiscretion, but resentment was apparently not in his mind, for his speech found no fault with me. "Man, Colin," he said, "you could scarcely have played a more cunning card if you had had myself to advise you. But no matter about that." "If she thinks so badly of you, then," I said, "why not clear yourself from her suspicions, that I am willing to swear (less because of your general character than because of your conduct since she and you and the child met) are without foundation?" "I could scarcely meet her womanly innuendo with a coarse and abrupt denial," said he. "There are some shreds of common decency left in me yet." "And you prefer to let her think the worst?" He looked at me with a heightened colour, and he laughed shortly. "You'll be no loser by that, perhaps," he said; and before I could answer he added, "Pardon a foolish speech, Colin; I learned the trick of fanfaron among foreign gentry who claimed a _conquete d'amour_ for every woman who dropped an eye to their bold scrutiny. Do not give me any share of your jealousy for Lachlan MacLachlan of that ilk--I'm not deserving the honour. And that reminds me----" He checked himself abruptly. "Come, come," said I, "finish your story; what about MacLachlan and the lady?" "The lady's out of the tale this time," he said, shortly. "I met him stravaiging the vacant street last night; that was all." "Then I can guess his mission without another word from you," I cried, after a little dumfounderment. "He would be on the track of his cousin." "Not at all," said John, with a bland front; "he told me he was looking for a boatman to ferry him over the loch." This story was so plainly fabricated to ease my apprehension that down I went, incontinent, and sought the right tale in the burgh. Indeed it was not difficult to learn the true particulars, for the place rang all the worse for its comparative emptiness with the scandal of M'Iver's encounter with Mac-Lachlan, whom, it appeared, he had found laying a gallant's siege to the upper window of Askaig's house, whose almost unharmed condition had made it a convenient temporary shelter for such as
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142  
143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164   165   166   167   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
speech
 

scarcely

 

MacLachlan

 

Lachlan

 

shortly

 
vacant
 
vagabond
 

stravaiging

 
street
 

cousin


dumfounderment

 

scrutiny

 
mission
 

checked

 
abruptly
 

reminds

 
honour
 
jealousy
 

deserving

 

finish


deepest

 

thought

 

baffles

 

boatman

 

laying

 

appeared

 

gallant

 

comparative

 

emptiness

 

scandal


encounter

 
window
 

Askaig

 

temporary

 

shelter

 
convenient
 

condition

 
unharmed
 

fabricated

 
plainly

apprehension
 

incontinent

 
particulars
 
difficult
 

sought

 

Indeed

 
suspicions
 

perilously

 
reputation
 

gallanting