CHAPTER XX
THE SHADOW OF SIR WALTER
Tommy was in Miss Ailie's senior class now, though by no means at thetop of it, and her mind was often disturbed about his future. On thissubject Aaron had never spoken to anyone, and the problem gave Tommyhimself so little trouble that all Elspeth knew was that he was to begreat and that she was to keep his house. So the school-mistress bravedan interview with Aaron for the sake of her favorite.
"You know he is a remarkable boy," she said.
"At his lessons, ma'am?" asked Aaron, quietly.
Not exactly at his lessons, she had to admit.
"In what way, then, ma'am?"
Really Miss Ailie could not say. There was something wonderful aboutTommy, you felt it, but you could not quite give it a name. The warpermust have noticed it himself.
"I've heard him saying something o' the kind to Elspeth," was Aaron'sreply.
"But sometimes he is like a boy inspired," said the school-mistress."You must have seen that?"
"When he was thinking o' himsel'," answered Aaron.
"He has such noble sentiments."
"He has."
"And I think, I really think," said Miss Ailie, eagerly, for this waswhat she had come to say, "that he has got great gifts for theministry."
"I'm near sure o't," said Aaron, grimly.
"Ah, I see you don't like him."
"I dinna," the warper acknowledged quietly, "but I've been trying to domy duty by him for all that. It's no every laddie that gets three years'schooling straight on end."
This was true, but Miss Ailie used it to press her point. "You have doneso well by him," she said, "that I think you should keep him at schoolfor another year or two, and so give him a chance of carrying a bursary.If he carries one it will support him at college; if he does not--well,then I suppose he must be apprenticed to some trade."
"No," Aaron said, decisively; "if he gets the chance of a collegeeducation and flings it awa', I'll waste no more siller on his keep.I'll send him straight to the herding."
"And I shall not blame you," Miss Ailie declared eagerly.
"Though I would a hantle rather," continued the warper, "waur my moneyon Elspeth."
"What you spend on him," Miss Ailie argued, "you will really be spendingon her, for if he rises in the world he will not leave Elspeth behind.You are prejudiced against him, but you cannot deny that."
"I dinna deny but what he's fond o' her," said Aaron, and afterconsidering the matter for some days he decided that Tommy should gethis chance. The school-mistress had not acted selfishly, for thisdecision, as she knew, meant that the boy must now be placed in thehands of Mr. Cathro, who was a Greek and Latin scholar. She taught Latinherself, it is true, but as cautiously as she crossed a plank bridge,and she was never comfortable in the dominie's company, because even ata tea-table he would refer familiarly to the ablative absolute insteadof letting sleeping dogs lie.
"But Elspeth couldna be happy if we were at different schools," Tommyobjected instantly.
"Yes, I could," said Elspeth, who had been won over by Miss Ailie; "itwill be so fine, Tommy, to see you again after I hinna seen you forthree hours."
Tommy was little known to Mr. Cathro at this time, except as the boy whohad got the better of a rival teacher in the affair of Corp, which haddelighted him greatly. "But if the sacket thinks he can play any of histricks on me," he told Aaron, "there is an awakening before him," and hebegan the cramming of Tommy for a bursary with perfect confidence.
But before the end of the month, at the mere mention of Tommy's name,Mr. Cathro turned red in the face, and the fingers of his laying-on handwould clutch an imaginary pair of tawse. Already Tommy had made himself-conscious. He peered covertly at Tommy, and Tommy caught him at itevery time, and then each quickly looked another way, and Cathro vowednever to look again, but did it next minute, and what enraged him mostwas that he knew Tommy noted his attempts at self-restraint as well ashis covert glances. All the other pupils knew that a change for theworse had come over the dominie's temper. They saw him punish Tommyfrequently without perceptible cause, and that he was still unsatisfiedwhen the punishment was over. This apparently was because Tommy gave hima look before returning to his seat. When they had been walloped theygave Cathro a look also, but it merely meant, "Oh, that this was a darkroad and I had a divot in my hand!" while his look was unreadable, thatis unreadable to them, for the dominie understood it and writhed. Whatit said was, "You think me a wonder, and therefore I forgive you."
"And sometimes he fair beats Cathro!" So Tommy's schoolmates reported athome, and the dominie had to acknowledge its truth to Aaron. "I wish youwould give that sacket a thrashing for me," he said, half furiously, yetwith a grin on his face, one day when he and the warper chanced to meeton the Monypenny road.
"I'll no lay a hand on bairn o' Jean Myles," Aaron replied. "Ay, and Iunderstood you to say that he should meet his match in you."
"Did I ever say that, man? Well, well, we live and learn."
"What has he been doing now?"
"What has he been doing!" echoed Cathro. "He has been making me lookfoolish in my own class-room. Yes, sir, he has so completely got thebetter of me (and not for the first time) that when I tell the story ofhow he diddled Mr. Ogilvy, Mr. Ogilvy will be able to cap it with thestory of how the little whelp diddled me. Upon my soul, Aaron, he isrunning away with all my self-respect and destroying my sense of humor."
What had so crushed the dominie was the affair of Francie Crabb. Franciewas now a pupil, like Gavin Dishart and Tommy, of Mr. Cathro's, whodetested the boy's golden curls, perhaps because he was bald himself.They were also an incentive to evil-doing on the part of other boys, whomust give them a tug in passing, and on a day the dominie said, in afury, "Give your mother my compliments, Francie, and tell her I'm sotired of seeing your curls that I mean to cut them off to-morrowmorning."
"Say he shall not," whispered Tommy.
"You shanna!" blurted out Francie.
"But I will," said Cathro; "I would do it now if I had the shears."
It was only an empty threat, but an hour afterwards the dominie caughtTommy wagering in witchy marbles and other coin that he would not do it,and then instead of taking the tawse to him he said, "Keep him to hisbargains, laddies, for whatever may have been my intention at the time,I mean to be as good as my word now."
He looked triumphantly at Tommy, who, however, instead of seemingcrestfallen, continued to bet, and now the other boys were eager toclose with him, for great was their faith in Cathro. These transactionswere carried out on the sly, but the dominie knew what was going on, anddespite his faith in himself he had his twitches of uneasiness.
"However, the boy can only be trusting to fear of Mrs. Crabb restrainingme," he decided, and he marched into the school-room next morning,ostentatiously displaying his wife's largest scissors. His pupilscrowded in after him, and though he noticed that all were strangelyquiet and many wearing scared faces, he put it down to the coming scene.He could not resist giving one triumphant glance at Tommy, who, however,instead of returning it, looked modestly down. Then--"Is Francie Crabbhere?" asked Mr. Cathro, firmly.
"He's hodding ahint the press," cried a dozen voices.
"Come forward, Francie," said the dominie, clicking the shears toencourage him.
There was a long pause, and then Francie emerged in fear from behind thepress. Yes, it was Francie, but his curls were gone!
The shears fell to the floor. "Who did this?" roared the terribleCathro.
"It was Tommy Sandys," blurted out Francis, in tears.
The school-master was unable to speak, and, alarmed at the stillness,Francie whined, "He said it would be done at ony rate, and he promisedme half his winnings."
It is still remembered by bearded men and married women who were atschool that day how Cathro leaped three forms to get at Tommy, and howTommy cried under the tawse and yet laughed ecstatically at the sametime, and how subsequently he and Francie collected so many due
s thatthe pockets of them stood out like brackets from their little persons.
The dominie could not help grinning a little at his own discomfiture ashe told this story, but Aaron saw nothing amusing in it. "As I telledyou," he repeated, "I winna touch him, so if you're no content wi' whatyou've done yoursel', you had better put Francie's mither on him."
"I hear she has taken him in hand already," Mr. Cathro replied dryly."But, Aaron, I wish you would at least keep him closer to his lessons atnight, for it is seldom he comes to the school well prepared."
"I see him sitting lang ower his books," said Aaron.
"Ay, maybe, but is he at them?" responded the dominie with a shake ofthe head that made Aaron say, with his first show of interest in theconversation, "You have little faith in his carrying a bursary, I see."
But this Mr. Cathro would not admit, for if he thought Tommy a numskullthe one day he often saw cause to change his mind the next, so heanswered guardedly, "It's too soon to say, Aaron, for he has eighteenmonths' stuffing to undergo yet before we send him to Aberdeen to tryhis fortune, and I have filled some gey toom wimes in eighteen months.But you must lend me a hand."
The weaver considered, and then replied stubbornly, "No, I give him hischance, but I'll have nocht to do wi' his use o't. And, dominie, I wantyou to say not another word to me about him atween this and examinationtime, for my mind's made up no to say a word to him. It's well kent thatI'm no more fit to bring up bairns than to have them (dinna conter me,man, for the thing was proved lang syne at the Cuttle Well), and so tillthat time I'll let him gang his ain gait. But if he doesna carry abursary, to the herding he goes. I've said it and I'll stick to it."
So, as far as Aaron was concerned, Tommy was left in peace to the gloryof collecting his winnings from those who had sworn by Cathro, and amongthem was Master Gavin Ogilvy Dishart, who now found himself surroundedby a debt of sixpence, a degrading position for the son of an Auld Lichtminister.
Tommy would not give him time, but was willing to take his copy of"Waverley" as full payment.
Gavin offered him "Ivanhoe" instead, because his mother had given aread of "Waverley" to Gavinia, Miss Ailie's servant, and she read soslowly, putting her finger beneath each word, that she had not yetreached the middle. Also, she was so enamoured of the work that shewould fight anyone who tried to take it from her.
Tommy refused "Ivanhoe," as it was not about Jacobites, but suggestedthat Gavinia should be offered it in lieu of "Waverley," and told thatit was a better story.
The suggestion came too late, as Gavinia had already had a loan of"Ivanhoe," and read it with rapture, inch by inch. However, if Tommywould wait a month, or--
Tommy was so eager to read more about the Jacobites that he found ittrying to wait five minutes. He thought Gavin's duty was to get hisfather to compel Gavinia to give the book up.
Was Tommy daft? Mr. Dishart did not know that his son possessed thesebooks. He did not approve of story books, and when Mrs. Dishart gavethem to Gavin on his birthday she--she had told him to keep them out ofhis father's sight. (Mr. and Mrs. Dishart were very fond of each other,but there were certain little matters that she thought it unnecessary totrouble him about.)
So if Tommy was to get "Waverley" at once, he must discover another way.He reflected, and then set off to Miss Ailie's (to whom he still readsober works of an evening, but novels never), looking as if he hadfound a way.
For some time Miss Ailie had been anxious about her red-armed maid, whohad never before given pain unless by excess of willingness, as when sheoffered her garter to tie Miss Ailie's parcels with. Of late, however,Gavinia had taken to blurting out disquieting questions, to thesignificance of which she withheld the key, such as--
"Is there ony place nowadays, ma'am, where there's tourniements? Andcould an able-bodied lassie walk to them? and what might be the chargeto win in?"
Or, "Would you no like to be so michty beautiful, ma'am, that as soon asthe men saw your bonny face they just up wi' you in their arms and ran?"
Or again, "What's the heaviest weight o' a woman a grand lusty man couldcarry in his arms as if she were an infant?"
This method of conveyance seemed to have a peculiar fascination forGavinia, and she got herself weighed at the flesher's. On anotheroccasion she broke a glass candlestick, and all she said to the pieceswas, "Wha carries me, wears me."
This mystery was troubling the school-mistress sadly when Tommy arrivedwith the key to it. "I'm doubting Gavinia's reading ill books on thesly," he said.
"Never!" exclaimed Miss Ailie, "she reads nothing but the _Mentor_."
Tommy shook his head, like one who would fain hope so, but could notoverlook facts. "I've been hearing," he said, "that she reads books asare full o' Strokes and Words We have no Concern with."
Miss Ailie could not believe it, but she was advised to search thekitchen, and under Gavinia's mattress was found the dreadful work.
"And you are only fifteen!" said Miss Ailie, eying her little maidsorrowfully.
"The easier to carry," replied Gavinia, darkly.
"And you named after a minister!" Miss Ailie continued, for her maid hadbeen christened Gavinia because she was the first child baptized in hischurch after the Rev. Gavin Dishart came to Thrums. "Gavinia, I musttell him of this. I shall take this book to Mr. Dishart this very day."
"The right man to take it to," replied the maid, sullenly, "for it's hisain."
"Gavinia!"
"Well, it was Mrs. Dishart that lended it to me."
"I--I never saw it on the manse shelves."
"I'm thinking," said the brazen Gavinia, "as there's hoddy corners inmanses as well as in--blue-and-white rooms."
This dark suggestion was as great a shock to the gentle school-mistressas if out of a clear sky had come suddenly the word--
_Stroke!_
She tottered with the book that had so demoralized the once meekGavinia into the blue-and-white room, where Tommy was restlesslyawaiting her, and when she had told him all, he said, with downcasteyes:
"I was never sure o' Mrs. Dishart. When I hand her the _Mentor_ shelooks as if she didna care a stroke for't--"
"Tommy!"
"I'm doubting," he said sadly, "that she's ower fond o' Words We have noConcern with."
Miss Ailie would not listen to such talk, but she approved of thesuggestion that "Waverley" should be returned not to the minister, butto his wife, and she accepted gratefully Tommy's kindly offer to act asbearer. Only happening to open the book in the middle, she--
"I'm waiting," said Tommy, after ten minutes.
She did not hear him.
"I'm waiting," he said again, but she was now in the next chapter.
"Maybe you would like to read it yoursel'!" he cried, and then she cameto, and, with a shudder handed him the book. But after he had gone shereturned to the kitchen to reprove Gavinia at greater length, and in themidst of the reproof she said faintly: "You did not happen to look atthe end, did you?"
"That I did," replied Gavinia.
"And did she--did he--"
"No," said Gavinia, sorrowfully.
Miss Ailie sighed. "That's what I think too," said Gavinia.
"Why didn't they?" asked the school-mistress.
"Because he was just a sumph," answered Gavinia, scornfully. "If he hadbeen like Fergus, or like the chield in 'Ivanhoe,' he wouldna have ta'ena 'no.' He would just have whipped her up in his arms and away wi' her.That's the kind for me, ma'am."
"There is a fascination about them," murmured Miss Ailie.
"A what?"
But again Miss Ailie came to. "For shame, Gavinia, for shame!" she said,severely; "these are disgraceful sentiments."
In the meantime Tommy had hurried with the book, not to the manse, butto a certain garret, and as he read, his imagination went on fire.Blinder's stories had made him half a Jacobite, and now "Waverley"revealed to him that he was born neither for the ministry nor theherding, but to restore to his country its rightful king. The first towhom he confi
ded this was Corp, who immediately exclaimed: "Michty me!But what will the police say?"
"I ken a wy," answered Tommy, sternly.