Mally was at this moment dishing the porridge in two goans, one for herself and another for John, and on hearing this horrible annunciation, she made a dead pause, and letting go the foot of the pot, suffered it to fall to its perpendicular with a bang which forced the cleps out of her hand, and precipitated the whole, with a large quantity of undished porridge, to the floor.
“If we do any more such tricks to-day,” continued another wag, “I shall wipe mine well before the blood dries upon it, and then it will not rust as yours has done.”
Mally, regardless of the porridge she had spilt, now stepped with cautious, but quick and trembling steps to the door. Before she had reached the threshold—
“Come,” cried the soldier who had thus spoken, “let us taste this food which the mistress has been preparing. Good woman, return and give us spoons. No flinching! We won’t harm you, unless you provoke us to it. Why do you hesitate? Are you unwilling to part with your victuals? By my faith! the walk we have had this morning has given us such appetites, that if you are not active, we shall have a slice off yourself!”
“O mercy!” cried Mally, staring wildly, “hae patience a wee, an I’se gie ye ocht that’s in the house; but dinna meddle wi’ that goanfu’ o’ porridge, I beseech ye. They’re our John’s; and if he comes frae the hill, and finds them suppet, he’ll brain some o’ ye, as sure as I’m livin’.”
She then made for the cupboard, and began to draw from thence bread, butter, and cheese; but the rogues, on hearing that John was so partial to his porridge, deemed this opportunity of arousing his ire too favourable to be lost, and they therefore insisted on being accommodated with spoons in order to “scart the coggie.” Mally was obliged reluctantly to hand each a spoon from the wicker-creel which hung in the corner, and the six fellows were just in the act of devouring the contents of the goan, when honest Glenmannow made his appearance.
“What’s a’ this?” were his first words, on entering and perceiving such a bevy of red-coats.
“Why, honest man, we have got a billet upon you,” said one of them.
“A billet! Wha frae?”
“From the Duke of Queensberry, with whom our colonel, the Duke of Buccleuch, is stopping at present. We are just arrived; it was a deuced long walk; we were very hungry, and are just making free with your breakfast, until something better be prepared for us.”