"Deed na, ye needna be feared; Jock wadna set a fit in a toon. There's ower mony nesty imps o' boys, rinnin' an' cloddin' stanes at puir Jock, forby caa'in' him names. Syne he loses his temper wi' them an' then he micht do them an injury an' get himsel' intil the gaol. Na, na, when Jock sees the blue smoor o' Auld Reeky gaun up into the lift he'll turn an' gae hame."
"Well, Jock," said Ralph, "it behooves me to see Mistress Winsome before I go. Ye ken she and I are good friends."
"So's you an' me; but had puir Jock no cried up till ye, ye wad hae gane aff to Embra withoot as muckle as 'Fairguide'en to ye, Jock.'"
"Ah, Jock, but then you must know that Mistress Charteris and I are lad and lass," he continued, putting the case as he conceived in a form that would suit it to Jock's understanding.
"Lad an' lass! What did ye think Jock took ye for? This is nane o' yer Castle tricks," he said; "mind, Jock can bite yet!"
Ralph laughed.
"No, no, Jock, you need not be feared. She and I are going to be married some day before very long"--a statement made entirely without authority.
"Hoot, hoot!" said Jock, "wull nocht ser' ye but that ava--a sensible man like you? In that case ye'll hae seen the last o' Jock Gordon. I canna be doin' wi' a gilravage o' bairns aboot a hoose--"
"Jock," said Ralph earnestly, "will you help me to see her before I go?"
"'Deed that I wull," said Jock, very practically. "I'll gaun an' wauken her the noo!"
"You must not do that," said Ralph, "but perhaps if you knew where Meg Kissock slept, you might tell her."
"Certes, I can that," said Jock; "I can pit my haund on her in a meenit. But mind yer, when ye're mairret, dinna expect Jock Gordon to come farther nor the back kitchen."
So grumbling, "It couldna be expeckit--I canna be doin' wi' bairns ava'--"Jock took his way up the long loaning of Craig Ronald, followed through the elderbushes by Ralph Peden.