Fu' loud the wind blaws frae the ferry;
The ship rides by the Berwick Law,
And I maun leave my bonnie mary!"'
And indeed he did, in this loud and general hum, sing these lines, in tones resembling the sharpening of a rusty saw.
'Very well, then,' Ronald said. 'But I'll sing it where I am—once there's quietness. I'm not going up on that platform.'
Of course, the chairman was glad enough to make the announcement, for Ronald's singing was highly appreciated by the members; moreover there was a little experiment to be tried. So peace was restored; the accompanist struck a few notes; and Ronald, with a little indecision at first, but afterwards with a clear-ringing courage, sang that gayest of all parting songs. In the hubbub of applause that followed none but the conspirators saw what now took place. The chairman called a waiter, and spoke a few words to him in an undertone; the waiter went over to the table where Ronald was sitting and handed him a small package; and then Ronald, naturally thinking that this was merely a written message or something of the kind, opened the folded piece of white paper.
There was a message, it is true,—'with T. Jackson's compliments,'—and there was also a sovereign and a shilling. For an instant Ronald regarded this thing with a kind of bewilderment; and then his eyes blazed; the money was dashed on to the ground; and, without a word or a look to any one in the place, he had clapped on his hat and stalked to the door, his mouth firm shut, his lips pale. This glass door was a private door leading to an outer passage formerly described; the handle seemed stiff or awkward; so by main force he drove it before him, and the door swinging back into the lobby, smashed its glass panels against the wall. The 'breenge'—for there is no other word—caused by this violent departure was tremendous; and the three conspirators could only sit and look at each other.
'The fat's in the fire now,' said the skipper.
'I wonder if the guinea 'll pay for the broken glass,' said Jimmy Laidlaw.
But it was the little old musician, whose scheme this had been, who was most concerned.