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The thought of weddings re He glanced down at hi about his appearance Daan to brush off the pine needles and streaks of mud, but was interrupted by a halloo fro his way carefully down the steep slope, body canted to co arm Duncan had put on his splendid coat, scarlet with blue facings and gold buttons, and his hair was plaited tight under a stylish new black hat The transforhland fisher; even Duncan’s attitude seeed, more confident by half

Duncan was accoentleman, very neat but threadbare in appearance, his scanty white locks tied back fro brow His mouth had collapsed from lack of teeth, but retained its hu face whose skin was stretched so tight across the bone as scarce to leave enough to wrinkle round the eyes, though deep lines carved the -beaked nose, and clad in rusty, tattered black, he looked like a genial vulture

"A S pleased "The very ainst your er’s stained coat and leaf-strewn hair

"Oh, aye" Roger cleared his throat, converting his coat-brushing to a brief thuh, eh?"

"Happy the corpse the rain falls on," Duncan agreed, and laughed, a little nervously "Still, we’ll hope not to die o’ the pleurisy before we’re wed, eh, lad?" He settled the fine criinary speck of dust fro to distract attention from his own disreputable state with a bit of raillery "Quite like a bridegroo mustache, and his one hand twiddled with the crested buttons on his coat

"Ah, well," he said, see mildly embarrassed "Miss Jo did say as she didna wish to stand up wi’ a scarecrow" He coughed, and turned abruptly to his coh the word had suddenly re, here’s Hier Mac, hiuely at his co his hand with a stiff but cordial bow "This will be Arch Bug, a Ser said politely, slightly startled to observe that the large bony hand gripping his wasreplied, histhat he reciprocated the sentiht have intended to expand on the subject, but when he opened his e, seee from it

"It’s that kind, sir, of Mr Fraser, and I’ret it, indeed he’ll not, as I said to hi it is, and us not sure where our next bite was comin’ from or how to keep a roof above our heads! I said to Arch, I said, noe must just trust in Christ and Our Lady, and if we race, and Arch, he says to me"

A small, round woman, threadbare and elderly as her husband, but likewise neatlyShort as she was, Roger hadn’t seen her, hidden behind the volu," Duncan whispered to him, unnecessarily

"and no but a silver ha’penny to bless ourselves with, andwhatever was to become of us, and then that Sally McBride was sayin’ as how she’d heard that Ja smiled above his wife’s head She halted in er’s coat

"Why, look at that! Whatever have ye been up to, lad? Have ye had an accident? It looks as though soh the dung heap!"

Not waiting for answers, she whipped a clean kerchief fro pocket tied at her waist, spat liberally on it, and began industriously cleaning the muddy smears from the breast of his coat

"Oh, you needn’tI h he’d been caught in so for rescue

"Jae" Duncan seized the ive a word of explanation

"Factor?" Roger felt a sh someone had punched him just beneath the breastbone