"That's o' sma' service, General, i' the lang forenichts. A body canna see freely so far."
"But Linkum wad see't fleein', lang or he wan to the yett (gate)."
"It wad flee nae mair nor a deid deuke i' this weather. It wad be frozen as stiff's a buird."
"Ye gowk! Do ye think fowk wash their flags afore they hing them oot, like sarks or sheets? Dinna ye be ower clever, Curly, my man."
Whereupon Curly shut up.
******
"What are you in such a state about, Alec?" asked his mother.
"Nothing very particular, mamma," answered Alec, ashamed of his want of self-command.
"You've looked out at the window twenty times in the last half-hour," she persisted.
"Curly promised to burn a blue light, and I wanted to see if I could see it."