“Hear me oot! Hear me oot!” exclaimed Mrs. M’Kinley, deriving courage from despair. “They were to be aw removed, he said, tle the hoose in toon, that was preparing and furnishing, again Lady Julia should be at age—” “What an audacious villain!” exclaimed the Earl. “But you did not, I say, allow him to remove any thing?” “Every thing! Every thing!” cried Mrs. M’Kinley, with vehemence: “didna I tell yee, awe was gane thegether? And I helped to pack them mysel’!” “Why, woman, you must have been mad!” said his lordship. “Mad or not mad,” she replied, “I’ve geen him every thing! Sae hear me oot, and then, as I said afoor, di what ye will we me! I desarve hanging, and I can git ne war!” “Well, well! say on, say on,” said the Earl. “If I geid up the things in good order,” she continued, “he wad gee me, he said, receipts for every thing; mentioning that they were so, that I might no be accountable for ony damage the things might sustain i’ the carriage. And he said further, that to avoid the chafing o’ land carriage, aw was tle gang by long sea, in a vessel whilk was now aff the coast. Bit what maist of aw convinced me, at he could be nebody else bit Maister Lauson, was, at he took oot on his port mantle, aw the keys o’ the hoose.”—“The keys?” interrupted the Earl. “False ones, of course,” said Lauson. “Na sick a thing,” she rejoined, “bit the vara keys themsel and labeled, as I mysel had labeled them, when I geed them tle yeer lordship and Maistriss Montgomery: sae, what was I te think? Nor did the steward, nor the gairdinir, nor the gamkeeper, at sleeped i’ the hoose for security, iver think o’ misdooting at the gintleman was Maister Lauson.” “A pretty business indeed,” ejaculated Lauson. “A very serious one, I begin to fear!” said the Earl. “A very unlikely one” said Lauson, rattling something in his pocket as he spoke. “But come, madam, finish what you have got to say, and then I shall beg leave to put in a word. It’s only necessary to give some people rope enough, and they will hang themselves—that I see!” “He geed me the keys o’ the buke-cases,” continued Mrs. M’Kinley, “and bad me tle hay the books aw dusted, and that there wad be people here i’ the morn’s morn, at wad undertake the packing o’ the pictures. And sae he desired particular at they should be carefully tane down, and weel wiped ready soon i’ the morn.” Many were here the ejaculations of astonishment at such audacity. “And sae,” continued poor Mrs. M’Kinley, “I was up we the daw; and aw the next day was spent we packing, and I helped every thing we my ain hands; and signs by, I hev hed sick a pain i’ my back iver sine, at I’m no fit tle stand straight!” No one scarcely could avoid laughing at poor Mrs. M’Kinley’s thus claiming merit to herself for the active assistance she had given the plunderer.