The Mystery of Cloomber

erend Mathew Clark, Presbyterian Min

sel' because the readers wouldna care to hear aboot me or my affairs. I am na sae sure o' that, for the Stakes is a family weel kenned and respecked on

) I'm no able tae write mysel' because my feyther sent me oot to scare craws instead o' sendin' me tae school, but on the ith

d whether I was in want o' a place as a coachman and gairdner. As it fell oot I chanced tae be on the loo

nd there's mony would be glad o't. If ye want it ye can come up tae my

tle in the next life, though he lay by a store o' siller in this. When the day comes there'll be a hantle o'

hin, dour man wi' grey hair and a face as brown and crinkled as a walnut. He looked

n in these pairt

"and never left

ot o' Scotlan

ides I kenned that the factor would mind my gaeing there, for I bargained fur

General Heatherstone-for him it was

" sa

r r

" sa

ys he, "by ower muckle eddication. I hae nae doobt, Stakes, that ye will suit me well enough. Ye'll hae three pund a mont

rae my last place," sa

auld Fairmer Scott only gave me a pu

le here's the han'sel shillin' that Maister McNeil tells me it's the

nd a great muckle hoose it is, wi' a hunderd windows o

nd tae week's end. I was busy enough for a' that, for there was a deal o' fencing tae be put up, and one thing or anither,

hoosemaid, puir, benighted beings baith o' them, wha had wasted a' their l

ain souls than the tods on the moor. When the cook said she didna think muckle o' John Knox, and the ither that she wouldna give sax

y as it should be. My leddy was as thin and as white as a ghaist, and many's the time as I've come on her and found her yammerin' and greetin'

eir minds, and the general maist of a', for the ithers were up ane day and down anither; but h

er tae inquire into the affairs o' her superiors, and that it was naething to her as long as she did her work and had her wages. They were puir,

every day, and yet there wasna any quarrel or bickering between them, for when they've been togither in the breakfast room I used often tae gang rou

ne they would aye talk as if some waefu' trial ere aboot to fa' upon them, thou

the lang, weary waitin' and the uncertainty that had taken a' the strength and the mettle oot o' him. Then my leddy would console him and tel

his ain troubles tae ken aboot it, and it didna seem tae me that it was pairt o' my duties either as coachman or as gairdner tae mind the bairns. He should have lairnt that if ye forbid a lassie and a

havena spoke aboot yet, b

rae every one else. This room was aye lockit when he wasna in it, and naebody was ever allowed tae gang into it. He would mak' his a

, and he had lamps hung in every room an

in' tae his clatter and wonderin' whether he was clean daft, or whether maybe he'd lairnt pagan and idolatrous tricks oot in India, and that his conscience noo was like the worm which gnaweth and di

he grass border when he co

occasion tae fire

ever had siccan a thing

man tae his ain weepon," he says. "Now I warrant

ed blithely, "as well as

ready for whatever may come. Me and you and my son Mordaunt and Mr. Fothergill West of Branks

r than fechtin'-but if ye'll raise me a pund

though it were as many bawbees. Far be it frae me tae think evil, but I couldna help surmisin

r puzzled in my ain mind tae tell why it was that the gene

ins and auld cairpets and sic' like things that were piled away in a corner, no vera far frae t

hidin' behind that this vera nicht and seein' the

it appeared, and I made up my mind ta

t there was na chance o' ony ane disturbin' me, so I waited a wee while, and then when a' was quiet, I slippit aff my boots and ran doon the ither stair

il the general passed me on his road

the siller at the Union Bank of Dumfries, I canna thin

nd waitin' wi' never a soond tae break the monotony, except

p frae the side that I wasna lookin' at. I had a cauld sweat on my broo, and my hairt was beatin' twice tae ilka tick o' the clock, and what feared me

a' that I went through. I wouldna dae it

thinkin' that I wasna tae see onything after a'-and I wasna very sorry neither-when all o

ike any other soond that ever I hearkened tae. It was a shairp, ringin' clang, like what could be caused by flippin' the rim o' a winegla

gowan-leaves, and I listened wi' a' my ears. A' was still

r, and this time the general heard it, for I heard him gie a kind o

noise, as though he were dressin' himsel', and presently

ower. There I lay tremblin' in every limb, and sayin' as mony prayers as I could mind, wi'

ch a glimpse o' what seemed tae me like a row o' swords stuck alang the side o' the wa', when the general stepped oot and shut the door behind

he licht in his e'en, and his face was a' twistin', like a man that's in sair distress o' mind. On my conscience, it gies me

s my vera hairt stood still in my breast, for "ting!"-loud and clear, within a

l hoo, for his honds were baith doon by his side as he passed me. It cam frae his direction, certainly, but it appeared tae me tae come frae ow

n' oot frae my hidin' place and scamperin' awa' back tae my room, and if a' the bogies in the Red Sea were

good wage, but it isna enough tae pay a man for the loss o' his peace o' mind, and maybe the loss o' his soul as weel, for when the deil is aboo

curse, and it was fit that that curse should fa' on them that had earned

lassie-but for a' that, I felt that my duty was tae mysel' and that I sh

o' hearin' it ance again. I only wanted a chance or an excuse tae gie the general notice, and tae gang ba

instead o' my saying the word, it

e, after giein' its oats tae the horse, when I seed a great muckle loon come

my bit stick with the intention o' tryin' it upon the limmer's heid. He seed me comin' towards him, and readin' my intention frae my look maybe, or fra

ugh tae mak' the hair stand straight on your he

he stick-when the general he cam up the drive and foond us. Tae my surpr

t, Corporal," says he. "Your

some purpose wi' that muckle stick o' his if I hadna drawn my snic

n turnin' tae me-"You won't be wanted after to-day, Israel," he says; "you have been a guid servant, and I ha'

id, sir,

nd you shall have an extra month's pay

ther on the ane or the ither. My money was sent oot tae me in an envelope, and havin' said a few pairtin' words tae the cook and the wen

what I saw mysel'. Nae doubt he has his reasons for this-and far be it frae me tae hint that they are no' guid anes-but

lairk for puttin' it a' doon in writin' for me, and if there's ony would wish tae speer onything mair o' me I'm well

or his trouble, so he need not hav