the back door, and called aloud: "Annie, yer auntie's here
and wants to see ye."

"She'll be here in a minute," he said to Marget, as he re-entered the
shop.

After a little more desultory conversation, he pretended to be
surprised that she she did not make her appearance, and going once more
to the door, called her name several times. He then pretended to search
for her in the garden and all over the house, and returned with the
news that she was nowhere to be seen.

"She's feared that ye're come to tak her wi' ye, and she's run awa oot
aboot some gait. I'll sen' the laddies to luik for her."

"Na, na, never min'. Gin she disna want to see me, I'm sure I needna
want to see her. I'll awa doon the toon," said Margaret, her face
growing very red as she spoke.

She bustled out of the shop, too angry with Annie to say farewell to
Bruce. She had not gone far, however, before Annie came running out of
a narrow close, almost into her aunt's arms. But there was no refuge
for her there.

"Ye little limmer!" cried Margaret, seizing her by the shoulder, "what
gart ye rin awa'? I dinna want ye, ye brat!"

"I didna rin awa', Auntie."

"Robert Bruce cried on ye to come in, himsel'."

"It wis himsel' that sent me to Laurie Lumley's to tell him to come
till him direckly."

Margaret could not make "head or tail" of it. But as Annie had never
told her a lie, she could not doubt her. So taking time to think about
it, she gave her some rough advice and a smooth penny, and went away on
her errands. She was not long in coming to the conclusion that Bruce
wanted to sunder her and the child; and this offended her so much, that
she did not go near the shop for a long time. Thus Annie was forsaken,
and Bruce had what he wanted.

He needed not have been so full of scheming, though. Annie never said a
word to her aunt about their treatment of her. It is one of the marvels
in the constitution of children, how much they will bear without
complaining. Parents and guardians have no right to suppose that all is
well in the nursery or school-room, merely from the fact that the
children do not complain. Servants and tutors may be cruel, and
children will be silent--partly, I presume, because they forget so
soon.

But vengeance of a sort soon overtook Robert Bruce the younger; for the
evil spirit in him, derived from no such remote ancestor as the king,
would not allow him a long respite from evil-doing, even in school. He
knew Annie bett