In the morning he rose early, and went to see what might be attempted for the removing of the stone. He found it, as he had feared, so close-jointed with its neighbours that none of his tools would serve. He went to Grizzie and got from her a thin old knife; but the mortar had got so hard since those noises the servants used to hear in the old captain’s room, that he could not make much impression upon it, and the job was likely to be a long one. He said to himself it might be the breaking through of the wall of his father’s prison and his own, and wrought eagerly.
As soon as his father had had his breakfast, he told him what he had discovered during the dark hours. The laird listened with the light of a smile, not the smile itself, upon his face, and made no answer; but Cosmo could see by the all but imperceptible motion of his lips that he was praying.
“I wish I were able to help you,” he said at length.
“There is na room for mair nor ane at a time, father,” answered Cosmo; “an’ I houp to get the stane oot afore I’m tired. You can be Moses praying, while I am Joshua fighting.”
“An’ prayin’ again’ waur enemies nor ever Joshua warstled wi’,” returned his father; “for whan I think o’ the rebound o’ the spirit, even in this my auld age, that cudna but follow the mere liftin’ o’ the weicht o’ debt, I feel as gien my sowl wad be tum’led aboot like a bledder, an’ its auld wings tak to lang slow flaggin’ strokes i’ the ower thin aether o’ joy. The great God protec’ ’s frae his ain gifts! Wi’oot him they’re ten times waur nor ony wiles o’ the deevil’s ain. But I’ll pray, Cosmo; I’ll pray.”
The real might of temptation is in the lower and seemingly nearer loveliness as against the higher and seemingly farther.
Cosmo went back to his work. But he got tired of the old knife—it was not tool enough, and had to fashion on the grindstone a screw-driver to a special implement. With that he got on better.
The stone,—whether by the old captain’s own hands, his ghost best knew—was both well fitted and fixed, but after Cosmo had worked at it for about three hours, his tool suddenly went through. It was then easy to knock away from the edge gained, and on the first attempt to prize it out, it yielded so far that he got a hold with his fingers, and the rest was soon done. It disclosed a cavity in the wall, but the light was not enough to let him see into it, and he went to get a candle.
Now Grizzie had a curious dislike to any admission of the poverty of the house even to those most interested, and having but one small candle-end left, was unwilling both to yield it, and to confess it her last.
“Them ’at burns daylicht, sune they’ll hae nae licht!” she said. “What wad ye want wi’ a can’le? I’ll haud a fir-can’le to ye, gien ye like.”