‘I didna see onybody,’ he explained; ‘they’re a’ bedded at the farm.’
An exclamation broke from Gilbert.
‘But you should have knocked them up, you numskull! What do you suppose I sent you for?’
Macquean shook his head with a pale smile of superiority.
‘They wadna rise for me,’ he said; ‘I kenned that when I went.’
‘Then you shall come yourself!’ cried Speid. ‘Get in, I tell you! get in behind with Jimmy!’
Macquean shot a look of dismay at his master, and his mouth opened.
‘Maybe I could try them again,’ he began; ‘I’ll awa and see.’
‘Get in!’ thundered Gilbert.
At this moment Jimmy Stirk’s arm came out from under the hood, and Macquean was hauled into the seat beside him; Captain Somerville took a rein in each hand, and they whirled down the short drive, and swung out into the road with a couple of inches to spare between the gatepost and the box of the wheel.