“I daursay. Ony gait it maun be a fine thing to lea’ as little dirt as possible ahin’ ye, an’ tak nane wi’ ye. I wad fain gang clean an’ lea’ clean!”
“Gien onybody gang clean an’ lea’ clean, father, ye wull.”
“I luik to the Lord, my son.—But noo, whan a body thinks o’ ’t,” he went on after a pause, “there wad seem something curious i’ thae tales concernin’ the auld captain! Sometime we’ll tak Grizzie intil oor coonsel, an’ see hoo mony we can gaither, an’ what we can mak o’ them whan we lay them a’ thegither. Gien the Lord hae ’t in his min’ to keep ’s i’ this place, yon passage may turn oot a great convanience.”
“Ye dinna think it wad be worth while openin’ ’t up direc’ly?”
“I wad bide for warmer weather. I think the room’s jist some caller now by rizzon o’ ’t.”
“I’ll close ’t up at ance,” said Cosmo.
In a few minutes he had screwed a box-lid over the hole in the partition, and shut the door of the closet.
“Noo,” he said, “I’ll gang an’ set up the door on the ither side.”
Before he went however, he told his father what he had been thinking of, saying, if he approved and was well enough, he should like to go the next day.
“It’s no an ill idea,” said the laird; “but we’ll see what the morn may be like.”