Curly moved right in front of him.
"By me ye shanna gang. I hae lickit ye afore for bein' ill till her; and I will again gin ye gang a step nearer till her. She doesna want ye. Faith I will! But I wad raither no fecht afore her. Sae jist come back to the toon wi' me, and we'll say nae mair aboot it."
"I'll see you damned!" said Bruce.
"Maybe ye may, bein' likly to arrive at the spot first. But i' the mean time, gin ye dinna want her to see ye lickit, come doon into yon how, and we'll jist sattle aff han' wha's the best man o' the twa."
"I won't move a step to please you or any one else," returned Bruce. He saw that his safety consisted in keeping within sight of Annie.
Curly saw on his part that, a few steps nearer to where Annie sat, the path led behind a stunted ash-tree. So he stepped aside with the proverb,
"He that will to Coupar, maun to Coupar."
Without deigning a word, Bruce walked on, full of pride, concluding that Curly's heart had failed him. But the moment he was behind the tree, Curly met him from the other side of it. Then Bruce's anger, if not his courage, rose, and with an oath, he pushed against him to pass. But the sensation he instantly felt in his nose astonished him; and the blood beginning to flow cowed him at once. He put his handkerchief to his face, turned, and walked back to Glamerton. Curly followed him at a few yards' distance, regretting that he had showed the white feather so soon, as, otherwise, he would have had the pleasure of thrashing him properly. He saw him safe in at the back-door, and then went to his own father's shop.
After a short greeting, very short on Curly's part,
"Hoot! Willie," said his father, "what's come ower ye? Ye luik as gin some lass had said na to ye."