“‘What do ye mean?’ he asked.
“‘Mr Mactavish,’ said I most impressively, ‘when Peter saw the sheet descendin’ wi’ a’ the beasts an’ birds in it—well, I’d stake every scruple o’ colchicum I ever saw that every fowl had twa wings and a liver; but since I’ve been eatin’ at your table not a wing o’ the many chickens ye ha’ carved has ever fluttered either to me or to Benson, and although ye’ve helped me to many a gizzard, ye’ve never given me a liver, even by mistake. It’s the lang, weary course o’ femoral muscle that is underminin’ my constitution. For many, many weeks those drumsticks ye’re so generous of, have been beatin’ the Deil’s tattoo on my sufferin’ ribs.’
“He lay for a long time wi’ his eyes closed. Then he said, quite humbly—
“‘Mr Allister, ye’re a hard mon;—but gin ye let bygones be bygones, I’ll help ye to the liver wing o’ every fowl I carve for the next ten years.’
“‘A wing each to Benson and me when there’s two chickens on the table, and one liver in three between us. These are the conditions, Mr Mactavish.’
“‘It’s my duty to submit when spitefully used,’ he replied; ‘gi’e me the colchicum.’
“Wi’ that my memory came back quite suddenly, and I remembered that the colchicum was in my pocket. I gave him a liberal dose.”
Two days later Mr Mactavish reappeared at table. The principal item of the banquet was, as usual, a pair of boiled chickens. The boarding-master was better than his word. Benson and Allister each got a liver wing. After a pause of indecision the carver helped Miss Mellish to one and Miss Angus to the other of the remaining wings. Then, with a sigh, and the mien of a suffering saint, he placed a drumstick upon his own plate.
He ate his dinner with an expression of proud resignation suggestive of Pope Alexander VI washing the feet of the poor. Benson nearly repeated his former reprehensible conduct; he managed, however, to avoid disgracing himself, but narrowly escaped apoplexy in the process.
Next Sunday, Mr Campbell happening to be absent on clerical duty, Mr Mactavish held service in his place. As an extra lesson he read the 22nd Psalm. When he reached the text “they gaped at me with their mouths as a raving and a roaring lion,” he looked straight at Benson and Allister, who were sitting together.