“Aye, ma, it was; and the white-caps were dancing all afternoon. Wind blowin’ from the east and the ducks crazy with not knowin’ where to light. Never saw such decoyin’ in all my life, although Hallibut’s schooner lay there in the open water.”
“Were you out on the bay, Boy?”
“No, I was decoyin’ off Lee Point. I got somethin’ like fifty red-head and blue-bill. They always decoy well when it looks like snow. I left a bunch of ’em at old Betsy’s.”
Big McTavish raised his head.
“And did she speak cross at you, lad?” he asked with a smile.
“No, sir, she didn’t. She’s changin’ wonderful for some reason. I’ll always like Betsy after what she’s done for us.”
“Amen to that,” said McTavish fervently. “She has been good to us all.”
“Auntie,” said Gloss, “you are tired. Hadn’t you better go to bed now? We want you to be hungry for the duck dinner to-morrow. We’ll have Mary Ann Ross and Bill Paisley over, won’t we, Granny?”
The old lady looked up from her knitting and smiled.
“Aye, lassie, we’ll invite Bill and Mary Ann t’ dinner,” she agreed.