answered, and hobbled on
upon his way.

I sat down among the heather with my chin on my hand, turning the thing
over in my mind, and watching him in his old brown clothes, with the end
of a grey plaid flapping over his shoulder, as he picked his way up the
swell of the hill. It was a poor life this, at West Inch, waiting to
fill my father's shoes, with the same heath, and the same burn, and the
same sheep, and the same grey house for ever before me. But over
there, over the blue sea, ah! there was a life fit for a man. There was
the Major, a man past his prime, wounded and spent, and yet planning to
get to work again, whilst I, with all the strength of my youth, was
wasting it upon these hillsides. A hot wave of shame flushed over me,
and I sprang up all in a tingle to be off and playing a man's part in
the world.

For two days I turned it over in my mind, and on the third there came
something which first brought all my resolutions to a head, and then
blew them all to nothing like a puff of smoke in the wind.

I had strolled out in 'the afternoon with Cousin Edie and Rob, until we
found ourselves upon the brow of the slope which dips away down to the
beach. It was late in the fall, and the links were all bronzed and
faded; but the sun still shone warmly, and a south breeze came in little
hot pants, rippling the broad blue sea with white curling lines.
I pulled an armful of bracken to make a couch for Edie, and there she
lay in her listless fashion, happy and contented; for of all folk that I
have ever met, she had the most joy from warmth and light. I leaned on
a tussock of grass, with Rob's head upon my knee, and there as we sat
alone in peace in the wilderness, even there we saw suddenly thrown upon
the waters in front of us the shadow of that great man over yonder, who
had scrawled his name in red letters across the map of Europe.
There was a ship coming up with the wind, a black sedate old
merchant-man, bound for Leith as likely as not. Her yards were square
and she was running with all sail set. On the other tack, coming from
the north-east, were two great ugly lugger-like craft, with one high
mast each, and a big square brown sail. A prettier sight one would not
wish than to see the three craft dipping along upon so fair a day.
But of a sudden there came a spurt of flame and a whirl of blue smoke
from one lugger, then the same from the second, and a rap, rap, rap,
from the ship. In a twinkling hell