t to his own
father's shop.

After a short greeting, very short on Curly's part,

"Hoot! Willie," said his father, "what's come ower ye? Ye luik as gin
some lass had said _na_ to ye."

"Some lasses' _no_ 's better not ither lasses' _ay_, father."

"Deed mnybe, laddie," said George; adding to himself, "That maun hae
been Annie Anderson--nae ither."

He was particularly attentive and yielding to Willie during his short
visit, and Willie understood it.

Had Annie been compelled, by any evil chance, to return to the garret
over Robert Bruce's shop, she would not indeed have found the holes in
the floor and the roof reopened; but she would have found that the
carpet and the curtains were gone.

The report went through Glamerton that she and Willie Macwha were
_coortin'_.

CHAPTER LXXXIII.

Thomas Crann's conversation with Mr Cupples deepened both his annoyance
and his grief at the membership of Robert Bruce. What was the use of a
church if such men as he got into it, and, having got in, could not be
got out? Had he been guilty of any open _fault_, such as getting drunk,
for one solitary and accidental instance of which they had excluded one
of their best and purest-minded men, they could have got rid of him
with comparative ease; but who so free of fault as Bruce? True, he was
guilty of the crime of over-reaching whenever he had a chance, and of
cheating when there was no risk of being found out--at least so
everybody believed--but he had no faults. The duty, therefore, that lay
upon every member, next to the cleanness of his own garments--that of
keeping the church pure and unspotted--was hard to fulfil, and no one
was ready to undertake it but Thomas Crann. For what a spot was here!
And Thomas knew his Lord's will.

Neither was the duty so unpleasant to Thomas's oppositive nature, as it
would have been to a man of easier temperament.

"Jeames Johnstone," he said, "the kirk maks nae progress. It's no as i'
the time o' the apostles whan the saved war added till't daily."

"Weel, ye see," returned James, "that wasna _oor_ kirk exacly; and it
wasna Mr Turnbull that was the heid o' 't."

"It's a' the same. The prenciple's the same. An' Mr Turnbull preaches
the same gospel Peter and Paul praiched, and wi' unction too. And yet
here's the congregation dwin'lin' awa', and the church itsel' like
naething but bees efter the brunstane. _I_ say there's an Ahchan i' the
camp--a Jonah i' the vessel--a son o'