Saul i' the kingdom o' Dawvid--a
Judas amo' the twal'--a--"

"Hoots! Thomas Crann; ye're no pittin' a' thae gran' names upo' that
puir feckless body, Rob Bruce, are ye?"

"He's nane feckless for the deevil's wark or for his ain, which is ae
thing and the same. Oot he maun gang, gin we tak' him by the scruff o'
the neck and the doup o' the breeks."

"Dinna jeist, Thomas, aboot sic a dangerous thing," said James, mildly
glad of one solitary opportunity of rebuking the granite-minded mason.

"Jeist! I'm far eneuch frae jeistin'. Ye dinna ken fervour frae jokin',
Jeames Johnstone."

"He micht tak' the law upo's for defamin' o' 's character; and that wad
be an awfu' thing for puir fowk like us, Thamas."

"Aye the same thing ower again, Jeames! Shy at a stane, and fa' into
the stank (ditch). That's the pairt o' a colt and no o' a Christian."

"But arena we tellt to be wise as serpents?"

"Ye wad tak' a heap o' tellin' upo' that heid, Jeames."

"Ow, 'deed ay! And I'm no my lane, Thamas. But we _are_ tellt that."

"The serpent turned oot an ill cooncellor upon ae occasion ower well to
be remembert by Adam's race."

"The words stan' as I say," persisted James.

"Ye're no to mak' the serpent yer cooncellor, man. But ance ye ken yer
duty, ye may weel tak example by him hoo to carry 't oot. Did ye ever
see an edder lyin' ower a stane as gin he was naething but a stick
himsel', bidin' 's time? That's me, i' the Scriptur' sense. I'm only
bidin' till I see hoo. A body maunna do ill that gude may come, though
wow! it's a sair temptation whiles; neither maun a body neglec to do
richt for fear that ill may follow."

"Ay, true that. But ye needna burn the hoose to rid the rottans. I doot
ye'll get's a' into ower het water; and a body needna tak' the skin aff
for the sake o' cleanliness. Jist tak ye tent (care, attention),
Thamas, what ye're aboot."

Having thus persisted in opposing Thomas to a degree he had never dared
before, James took his departure, pursued by the words:

"Tak ye care, Jeames, that in savin' the richt han' ye dinna send the
haill body to hell. It was aye yer danger. I never got bauld coonsel
frae ye yet."

"There's mair vertues i' the Bible nor courage, Thamas," retorted
James, holding the outer door open to throw the sentence in, and
shutting it instantly to escape with the last word.

Thomas, abandoned to his own resources, meditated long and painfully.
But all he could arrive at was the resolut