"Ay, sir."
"Well," said Rug, "I want to see him. Where is he?"
The old man dropped his axe, and going to one of the huts, knocked at the door.
"Is your gude mon at hame?" he asked of a tall, fair woman, who had all the evidence of a lady of refinement and culture.
"The Major left this morning for Montreal," she replied, "but he has appointed Archie McKeracher to act in his place during his absence."
They then approached Archie, who was busily engaged in hewing a stick of timber near his shanty.
"I believe," said Rug, "that you are authorized to act as Justice of the Peace?"
"That I am," he said, pulling himself up as if straining to attain to the height of the dignity and importance of the position.
"And that you can issue licenses and perform marriages?"
"Ay," he said, "that I can."