"Did ye see that woman?" he asked Moleskin when we came abreast.
"By God, I'm not blind!" said my friend.
"Dinna sweer," said the man with the spade. "'Tis an evil habit."
"'Tisn't a habit," said Joe. "'Tis a gift."
"'Tis a gift frae the deevil," replied the other man. "A gift frae the deevil, that's what it is. 'Tis along with that woman that ye should be, though God forgi'e me for callin' her a woman, for her house is on the way tae Sheol goin' doon tae the chambers of death. I wadna talk tae her wi' muckle mooth sine she be a scarlet woman with a wily heart."
"What are you jawin' about?" asked Moleskin, who seemed at a loss what to make of the man with the spade, while for myself I did not in the least understand him.
"Have you a sixpence?" asked Joe suddenly.
"A sixpence?" queried the man. "Gin that I hae, what is it tae ye?"
"If you have a sixpence you should have given it to that woman when she was passin'. She's a lusty wench."
"Gi'e a sixpence to that woman!" replied the stranger. "I wadna do it, mon, if she was lyin' for death by the roadside. I'm a Chreestian."