“Fine that, my lord. There’s a ro’d
up as far’s yon neuk. An’ for this
broo, I wad clear awa the lowse stanes, an’ lat
the nait’ral gerse grow sweet an’ fine,
an’ turn a lot o’ bonny heelan’ sheep
on till’t. I wad keep yon ae bit o’
whuns, for though they’re rouch i’ the
leaf; they blaw sae gowden. Syne I wad gether
a’ the bits o’ drains frae a’ sides,
till I had a bonny stream o’ watter aff o’
the sweet corn lan’, rowin’ doon here whaur
we stan’, an’ ower to the castel itsel’,
an’ throu’ coort an’ kitchie, gurglin’
an’ rinnin’, an’ syne oot again
an’ doon the face o’ the scaur, splashin’
an’ loupin’ like mad. I wad lea’
a’ the lave to Natur’ hersel’.
It wad be a gran’ place, my lord! An’
whan ye was tired o’ ’t, ye cud jist rin
awa’ to Lossie Hoose, an’ hide ye i’
the how there for a cheenge. I wad like fine
to hae the sortin’ o’ ’t for yer
lordship.”
“I daresay!” said the marquis.
“Let’s find a nice place for our luncheon,
papa, and then we can sit down and hear Malcolm’s
story,” said Florimel.
“Dinna ye think, my lord, it wad be better to
get the baskets up first?” interposed Malcolm.
“Yes, I think so. Wilson can help you.”
“Na, my lord; he canna lea’ the cutter.
The tide’s risin, an’ she’s ower
near the rocks.”
“Well, well; we shan’t want lunch for
an hour yet, so you can take your time.”
“But ye maun taik kent, my lord, hoo ye gang
amo’ the ruins. There’s awkward kin’
o’ holes aboot thae vouts, an’ jist whaur
ye think there’s nane. I dinna a’thegither
like yer gaein’ wantin’ me.”
“Nonsense! Go along,” said the marquis.
“But I’m no jokin’,” persisted
Malcolm.
“Yes, yes; we’ll be careful,” returned
his master impatiently, and Malcolm ran down the hill,
but not altogether satisfied with the assurance.
Florimel was disappointed, for she longed to hear
Malcolm’s tale. But amid such surroundings
it was not so very difficult to wait. They set
out to have a peep at the ruins, and choose a place
for luncheon.
From the point where they stood, looking seawards,
the ground sunk to the narrow isthmus supposed by
Malcolm to fill a cleft formerly crossed by a drawbridge,
and, beyond it, rose again to the grassy mounds in
which lay so many of the old bones of the ruined carcass.
Passing along the isthmus, where on one side was a
steep descent to the shore of the little bay, and
on the other the live rock hewn away to wall, shining
and sparkling with crystals of a clear irony brown,
they next clambered up a rude ascent of solid rock,
and so reached what had been the centre of the seaward
portion of the castle. Here they came suddenly
upon a small hole at their feet, going right down.
Florimel knelt, and peeping in, saw the remains of
a small spiral stair. The opening seemed large
enough to let her through, and, gathering her garments
