Fiction > Serialisations > London, 1893 - David Balfour

DA VID BALFO U R.
539
crap in nearer hand. Grandfaither had a glass,
for he had been a sailor, and the captain of a
smack, and had lost her on the sands of Tay.
And when we took the glass to it, sure eneuch
there was a man. He was in a crunkle o' green
brae, a wee below the chaipel, a' by his lee lane,
and lowped and flang and danced hke a daft quean
at a waddin'.
"It's Tod," says grandfaither, and passed the
glass to Sandie.
"Ay, it's him," says Sandie.
" Or ane in the likeness o' him," says grand-
faither.
" Sma' is the differ," quo' Sandie. " De'il or
warlock, I'll try the gun at him," quo' he, and
broucht up a fowling-piece that he aye carried, for
Sandie was a notable famous shot in all that
country.
" Haud your hand, Sandie," says grandfaither ;
"we maun see clearer first," says he, "or this may
be dear day's wark to the baith of us."
"Hout!" says Sandie, "this is the Lord's
judgments surely," says he.
"Maybe ay, and maybe no," says my grand-
faither, worthy man ! " But have you a mind of
the Procurator Fiscal, that I think ye'U have for-
gaithered wi' before," says he.
This was ower true, and Sandie was a wee thing
set ajee. " Aweel, Edie," says he, "and what
would be your way of it ? "
"Ou, just this," says grandfaither. "Let me
that has the fastest boat gang back to North
Berwick, and let you bide here and keep an. eye
on yon. If I cannae find Lapraik, I'll join ye,
and the twa of us'U have a crack wi' him. But
if Lapraik's at home, I'll rin up the flag at the
harbour, and ye can try Thon Thing wi' the gun."
Aweel, so it was agreed between them twa. I
was just a bairn, an' clum in Sa«die's boat, whaur
I thoucht I would see the best of the employ. My
grandsire gied Sandie a siller tester to pit in his
gun wi' the leid draps, bein' mair deidly again
bogles. And then the ae boat set aff for North
Berwick, an' the tither lay whaur it was and watched
the wanchancy thing on the brae-side.
A' the time we lay there it lowped and flang and
capered and span like a teetotum, and whiles we
could hear it skelloch as it span. I hae seen
lassies, the daft queans, that would lowp and dance
a' winter's nicht, and still be lowping and dancing
when the winter's day cam in. But there would be
folk there to hauld them company, and the lads to
egg them on ; and this thing was its lee-lane. And
there would be a fiddler diddling his elbock in the
chimney-side ; and this thing had nae music but
the skirling of the solans. And the lassies were
bits o' young things wi' the reid life dinnling and
stending in their members ; and this was a muckle,
fat, creishy man, and him fa'n in the vale o' years.
Say what ye like, I maun say what I believe. It
was joy was in the creature's heart ; the joy o' hell,
I daursay : joy whatever. Mony a time I have
askit mysel', why witches and warlocks should sell
their sauls (whilk are their maist dear ppssessions)
and be auld, duddy, wrunklt wives or auld, feckless,
doddered men ; and then I mind upon Tod Lap-
raik dancing a' they hours by his lane in the black
glory of his heart.
Weel, at the hinder end, we saw the wee flag yirk
up to the mast-heid upon the harbour rocks. That
was a' Sandie waited fur. He up wi' the gun, took
a deleeberate aim, an' pu'd the trigger. There
cam' a bang, and then ae waefu' skirl frae the Bass.
And there were we rubbin' our een and lookin' at
ither Hke daft folk. Far wi' the bang and the skirl
the thing had clean disappeared. The sun glintit,
the wund blew, and there was the bare yaird whaur
the Wonder had been lowping and flinging but ae
second syne.
The hale way hame I roared and grat wi' the
terror of that dispensation. The grawn folk were
nane sae muckle better ; there was little said in
Sandie's boat but just the name of God ; and when
we won in by the pier, the harbour rocks were fair
black wi' the folk waitin' us. It seems they had
fund Lapraik in ane of his dwams, cawing the
shuttle and smiling. Ae lad they sent to hoist the
flag, and the rest abode there in the wabster's house.
You may be sure they liked it little ; but it was a
means of grace to severals, that stood there praying
in to themsel's (fur nane cared to pray out loud),
and looking on the awesome thing as it cawed
the shuttle. Syne, upon a suddenty, and wi' the
ae dreidfu' skelloch. Tod sprang up frae his hinder-
lands and fell forrit on the wab, a bluidy corp.
When the corp was examined the leid draps
hadnae played buff upon the warlock's body ;
sorrow a leid drap was to be fund, but there was
grandfaither's siller tester in the puddock's heart of
him,"