The Little Minister Read online

  Chapter Eleven.

  TELLS IN A WHISPER OF MAN'S FALL DURING THE CURLING SEASON.

  No snow could be seen in Thrums by the beginning of the year, thoughclods of it lay in Waster Lunny's fields, where his hens wandered allday as if looking for something they had dropped. A black frost hadset in, and one walking on the glen road could imagine that throughthe cracks in it he saw a loch glistening. From my door I could hearthe roar of curling stones at Rashie-bog, which is almost four milesnearer Thrums. On the day I am recalling, I see that I only made oneentry in my diary, "At last bought Waster Lunny's bantams." Well do Iremember the transaction, and no wonder, for I had all but bought thebantams every day for a six months.

  About noon the doctor's dogcart was observed by all the Tenementsstanding at the Auld Licht manse. The various surmises were wrong.Margaret had not been suddenly taken ill; Jean had not swallowed adarning-needle; the minister had not walked out at his study window ina moment of sublime thought. Gavin stepped into the dogcart, which atonce drove off in the direction of Rashie-bog, but equally in errorwere those who said that the doctor was making a curler of him.

  There was, however, ground for gossip; for Thrums folk seldom calledin a doctor until it was too late to cure them, and McQueen was notthe man to pay social visits. Of his skill we knew fearsome stories,as that, by looking at Archie Allardyce, who had come to broken boneson a ladder, he discovered which rung Archie fell from. When heentered a stuffy room he would poke his staff through the window tolet in fresh air, and then fling down a shilling to pay for thebreakage. He was deaf in the right ear, and therefore usually took theleft side of prosy people, thus, as he explained, making a blessing ofan affliction. "A pity I don't hear better?" I have heard him say."Not at all. If my misfortune, as you call it, were to be removed, youcan't conceive how I should miss my deaf ear." He was a fine fellow,though brusque, and I never saw him without his pipe until two daysbefore we buried him, which was five-and-twenty years ago comeMartinmas.

  "We're all quite weel," Jean said apprehensively as she answered hisknock on the manse door, and she tried to be pleasant, too, for wellshe knew that, if a doctor willed it, she could have fever in fiveminutes.

  "Ay, Jean, I'll soon alter that," he replied ferociously. "Is themaster in?"

  "He's at his sermon," Jean said with importance.

  To interrupt the minister at such a moment seemed sacrilege to her,for her up-bringing had been good. Her mother had once fainted in thechurch, but though the family's distress was great, they neither boreher out, nor signed to the kirk-officer to bring water. They proppedher up in the pew in a respectful attitude, joining in the singingmeanwhile, and she recovered in time to look up 2nd Chronicles, 21stand 7th.

  "Tell him I want to speak to him at the door," said the doctorfiercely, "or I'll bleed you this minute."

  McQueen would not enter, because his horse might have seized theopportunity to return stablewards. At the houses where it wasaccustomed to stop, it drew up of its own accord, knowing where theDoctor's "cases" were as well as himself, but it resented newpatients.

  "You like misery, I think, Mr. Dishart," McQueen said when Gavin cameto him, "at least I am always finding you in the thick of it, andthat is why I am here now. I have a rare job for you if you will jumpinto the machine. You know Nanny Webster, who lives on the edge ofWindyghoul? No, you don't, for she belongs to the other kirk. Well, atall events, you knew her brother, Sanders, the mole-catcher?"

  "I remember him. You mean the man who boasted so much about seeing aball at Lord Rintoul's place?"

  "The same, and, as you may know, his boasting about maltreatingpolicemen whom he never saw led to his being sentenced to nine monthsin gaol lately."

  "That is the man," said Gavin. "I never liked him."

  "No, but his sister did," McQueen answered, drily, "and with reason,for he was her breadwinner, and now she is starving."

  "Anything I can give her----"

  "Would be too little, sir."

  "But the neighbours----"

  "She has few near her, and though the Thrums poor help each otherbravely, they are at present nigh as needy as herself. Nanny is comingto the poorhouse, Mr. Dishart."

  "God help her!" exclaimed Gavin.

  "Nonsense," said the doctor, trying to make himself a hard man. "Shewill be properly looked after there, and--and in time she will likeit."

  "Don't let my mother hear you speaking of taking an old woman to thatplace," Gavin said, looking anxiously up the stair. I cannot pretendthat Margaret never listened.

  "You all speak as if the poorhouse was a gaol," the doctor saidtestily. "But so far as Nanny is concerned, everything is arranged. Ipromised to drive her to the poorhouse to-day, and she is waiting forme now. Don't look at me as if I was a brute. She is to take some ofher things with her to the poorhouse and the rest is to be left untilSanders's return, when she may rejoin him. At least we said that toher to comfort her."

  "You want me to go with you?"

  "Yes, though I warn you it may be a distressing scene; indeed, thetruth is that I am loth to face Nanny alone to-day. Mr. Duthie shouldhave accompanied me, for the Websters are Established Kirk; ay, and sohe would if Rashie-bog had not been bearing. A terrible snare thiscurling, Mr. Dishart"--here the doctor sighed--"I have known Mr.Duthie wait until midnight struck on Sabbath and then be off toRashie-bog with a torch."

  "I will go with you," Gavin said, putting on his coat.

  "Jump in then. You won't smoke? I never see a respectable man notsmoking, sir, but I feel indignant with him for such sheer waste oftime."

  Gavin smiled at this, and Snecky Hobart, who happened to be keekingover the manse dyke, bore the news to the Tenements.

  "I'll no sleep the nicht," Snecky said, "for wondering what made theminister lauch. Ay, it would be no trifle."

  A minister, it is certain, who wore a smile on his face would neverhave been called to the Auld Licht kirk, for life is a wrestle withthe devil, and only the frivolous think to throw him without takingoff their coats. Yet, though Gavin's zeal was what the congregationreverenced, many loved him privately for his boyishness. He couldunbend at marriages, of which he had six on the last day of the year,and at every one of them he joked (the same joke) like a layman. Somedid not approve of his playing at the teetotum for ten minutes withKitty Dundas's invalid son, but the way Kitty boasted about it wouldhave disgusted anybody. At the present day there are probably a scoreof Gavins in Thrums, all called after the little minister, and thereis one Gavinia, whom he hesitated to christen. He made humorousremarks (the same remark) about all these children, and his smile ashe patted their heads was for thinking over when one's work was donefor the day.

  The doctor's horse clattered up the Backwynd noisily, as if a ministerbehind made no difference to it. Instead of climbing the Roods,however, the nearest way to Nanny's, it went westward, which Gavin, ina reverie, did not notice. The truth must be told. The Egyptian wasagain in his head.

  "Have I fallen deaf in the left ear, too?" said the doctor. "I seeyour lips moving, but I don't catch a syllable."

  Gavin started, coloured, and flung the gypsy out of the trap.

  "Why are we not going up the Roods?" he asked.

  "Well," said the doctor slowly, "at the top of the Roods there is astance for circuses, and this old beast of mine won't pass it. Youknow, unless you are behind in the clashes and clavers of Thrums, thatI bought her from the manager of a travelling show. She was the horse('Lightning' they called her) that galloped round the ring at a milean hour, and so at the top of the Roods she is still unmanageable. Sheonce dragged me to the scene of her former triumphs, and wentrevolving round it, dragging the machine after her."

  "If you had not explained that," said Gavin, "I might have thoughtthat you wanted to pass by Rashie-bog."

  The doctor, indeed, was already standing up to catch a first glimpseof the curlers.

  "Well," he admitted, "I might have managed to pass the circus ring,though what I have told you
is true. However, I have not come this waymerely to see how the match is going. I want to shame Mr. Duthie forneglecting his duty. It will help me to do mine, for the Lord knows Iam finding it hard, with the music of these stones in my ears."

  "I never saw it played before," Gavin said, standing up in his turn."What a din they make! McQueen, I believe they are fighting!"

  "No, no," said the excited doctor, "they are just a bit daft. That'sthe proper spirit for the game. Look, that's the baron-bailie nearstanding on his head, and there's Mr. Duthie off his head a'thegither. Yon's twa weavers and a mason cursing the laird, and theman wi' the besom is the Master of Crumnathie."

  "A democracy, at all events," said Gavin.

  "By no means," said the doctor, "it's an aristocracy of intellect. Geeup, Lightning, or the frost will be gone before we are there."

  "It is my opinion, doctor," said Gavin, "that you will have bones toset before that game is finished. I can see nothing but legs now."

  "Don't say a word against curling, sir, to me," said McQueen, whom thesight of a game in which he must not play had turned crusty."Dangerous! It's the best medicine I know of. Look at that man comingacross the field. It is Jo Strachan. Well, sir, curling saved Jo'slife after I had given him up. You don't believe me? Hie, Jo, JoStrachan, come here and tell the minister how curling put you on yourlegs again."

  Strachan came forward, a tough, little, wizened man, with red flannelround his ears to keep out the cold.

  "It's gospel what the doctor says, Mr. Dishart," he declared. "Me andmy brither Sandy was baith ill, and in the same bed, and the doctorhad hopes o' Sandy, but nane o' me. Ay, weel, when I heard that, Ithocht I micht as weel die on the ice as in my bed, so I up and on wi'my claethes. Sandy was mad at me, for he was no curler, and he says,'Jo Strachan, if you gang to Rashie-bog you'll assuredly be brochthame a corp.' I didna heed him, though, and off I gaed."

  "And I see you did not die," said Gavin.

  "Not me," answered the fish cadger, with a grin. "Na, but the joke o'tis, it was Sandy that died."

  "Not the joke, Jo," corrected the doctor, "the moral."

  "Ay, the moral; I'm aye forgetting the word."

  McQueen, enjoying Gavin's discomfiture, turned Lightning down theRashie-bog road, which would be impassable as soon as the thaw came.In summer Rashie-bog is several fields in which a cart does not sinkunless it stands still, but in winter it is a loch with here and therea spring where dead men are said to lie. There are no rushes at itseast end, and here the dogcart drew up near the curlers, a crowd ofmen dancing, screaming, shaking their fists and sweeping, while half ahundred onlookers got in their way, gesticulating and advising.

  "Hold me tight," the doctor whispered to Gavin, "or I'll be leavingyou to drive Nanny to the poorhouse by yourself."

  He had no sooner said this than he tried to jump out of the trap.

  "You donnert fule, John Robbie," he shouted to a player, "soop her up,man, soop her up; no, no, dinna, dinna; leave her alane. Bailie, leaveher alane, you blazing idiot. Mr. Dishart, let me go; what do youmean, sir, by hanging on to my coat tails? Dang it all, Duthie'swinning. He has it, he has it!"

  "You're to play, doctor?" some cried, running to the dogcart. "We haemissed you sair."

  "Jeames, I--I--. No, I daurna."

  "Then we get our licks. I never saw the minister in sic form. We cando nothing against him."

  "Then," cried McQueen, "I'll play. Come what will, I'll play. Let gomy tails, Mr. Dishart, or I'll cut them off. Duty? Fiddlesticks!"

  "Shame on you, sir," said Gavin; "yes, and on you others who wouldentice him from his duty."

  "Shame!" the doctor cried. "Look at Mr. Duthie. Is he ashamed? Andyet that man has been reproving me for a twelvemonths because I'verefused to become one of his elders. Duthie," he shouted, "think shameof yourself for curling this day."

  Mr. Duthie had carefully turned his back to the trap, for Gavin'spresence in it annoyed him. We seldom care to be reminded of our dutyby seeing another do it. Now, however, he advanced to the dogcart,taking the far side of Gavin.

  "Put on your coat, Mr. Duthie," said the doctor, "and come with me toNanny Webster's. You promised."

  Mr. Duthie looked quizzically at Gavin, and then at the sky.

  "The thaw may come at any moment," he said.

  "I think the frost is to hold," said Gavin.

  "It may hold over to-morrow," Mr. Duthie admitted; "but to-morrow'sthe Sabbath, and so a lost day."

  "A what?" exclaimed Gavin, horrified.

  "I only mean," Mr. Duthie answered, colouring, "that we can't curl onthe Lord's day. As for what it may be like on Monday, no one can say.No, doctor, I won't risk it. We're in the middle of a game, man."

  Gavin looked very grave.

  "I see what you are thinking, Mr. Dishart," the old minister saiddoggedly; "but then, you don't curl. You are very wise. I haveforbidden my sons to curl."

  "Then you openly snap your fingers at your duty, Mr. Duthie?" said thedoctor, loftily. ("You can let go my tails now, Mr. Dishart, for themadness has passed.")

  "None of your virtuous airs, McQueen," said Mr. Duthie, hotly. "Whatwas the name of the doctor that warned women never to have bairnswhile it was hauding?"

  "And what," retorted McQueen, "was the name of the minister that toldhis session he would neither preach nor pray while the black frostlasted?"

  "Hoots, doctor," said Duthie, "don't lose your temper because I'm insuch form."

  "Don't lose yours, Duthie, because I aye beat you."

  "You beat me, McQueen! Go home, sir, and don't talk havers. Who beatyou at----"

  "Who made you sing small at----"

  "Who won----"

  "Who----"

  "Who----"

  "I'll play you on Monday for whatever you like!" shrieked the doctor.

  "If it holds," cried the minister, "I'll be here the whole day. Namethe stakes yourself. A stone?"

  "No," the doctor said, "but I'll tell you what we'll play for. You'vebeen dinging me doited about that eldership, and we'll play for't. Ifyou win I accept office."

  "Done," said the minister, recklessly.

  The dogcart was now turned toward Windyghoul, its driver once moregood-humoured, but Gavin silent.

  "You would have been the better of my deaf ear just now, Mr. Dishart,"McQueen said after the loch had been left behind. "Aye, and I'mthinking my pipe would soothe you. But don't take it so much to heart,man. I'll lick him easily. He's a decent man, the minister, but vainof his play, ridiculously vain. However, I think the sight of you, inthe place that should have been his, has broken his nerve for thisday, and our side may win yet."

  "I believe," Gavin said, with sudden enlightenment, "that you broughtme here for that purpose."

  "Maybe," chuckled the doctor; "maybe." Then he changed the subjectsuddenly. "Mr. Dishart," he asked, "were you ever in love?"

  "Never!" answered Gavin violently.

  "Well, well," said the doctor, "don't terrify the horse. I have beenin love myself. It's bad, but it's nothing to curling."