Alec Forbes of Howglen
o come out and blow the moment the sun would be out of sight, Annie, who was helping to fasten up the cows for the night, drawing iron chains round their soft necks, saw a long shadow comi
a little man; and that this little man was no other than her father'
n the smoothest voice he could find, fum
awtie? Are ye verra wee
ly to any of these q
ae brocht ye
her, and walked on to the open door of the house, which, as a cousin, he considered himself privileged to enter
rough which, however, he could not prevent a certain hardness from cropping out plentif
wing her hand from her cousin's, she turned again to the pot hanging over the fire. "No man daur
rget. Richt or wrang,
t gait til a puir lone body like me, that maun slave for my bread whan I'
is safe eneuch. But I hae a bonny business doun yonner, and it micht be bette
the bank, t
ye, Marget? I
hat fo
y dinna see ae egg i' the nest, they hae no her
' lay awa' at yer leisu
hat ill. The faimily's
' the chop for a' that
bawbee. But what are
rg
e and aunt-auld John
oo, and they want someb
ovided for; Praise
Marget, with bitterness, o
ome o' the bairn
to tak' her in, and lat her gang to the schuil. It'
l that cost
lassie's able to pay f
thae times, woman. An' it's a pity to tak fra
aybe. Bairns
mething comin' o' 't? That wad be seven pun' ten i' the year, an' the
d her head and
it siller, whan he can get it frae the ba
. I'll tell ye what-I'll gie her five per cent. for her siller; and for the bit interest, I'll tak her in wi' my ain bair
character of being somewhat mean, she did not regard that as the worst possible fault, or one likely to operate for the injury of the child. So she told her cousin that she would
ndid increase of capital for his business; while he hoped to keep the girl upon less than the interest would come to. And then, if anything should happen to her-seeing she was not over vigorous-the result was worth waiting for; whereas-if she throve-he had sons growing up, one of whom might
at it himsel'." He agreed, however, with his mistress, that it would be better to keep Annie in ignorance of her destiny as long as possible; a consideration which sprung from the fact that her aunt, now that she was on the