Archie beat the top rail of the paling with so much enthusiasm that the yellow cur began to bark. The beggar quieted him with a storm of abuse. The beldame disappeared from the window, and her steps could be heard descending the wooden stair of the cottage. She approached the cart with a handful of meal on a platter which Skirling Wattie tilted into an old leather bag that hung on his carriage. "Whaur's the bawbee?" cried the squinting child. A shout of laughter went up, led by Archie. "He kens there's nae muckle weicht o' meal, and wha' should ken it better?" said the beggar, balancing the bag on his palm and winking at the miller's man. The latter, who happened to be the child's unacknowledged parent, disappeared behind the house. "One more song, and I will supply the bawbee," said Archie, throwing another coin into the cart. Skirling Wattie sent a considering glance at his patron; though he might not understand refinement, he could recognize it; and much of his local success had come from his nice appraisement of audiences. "I'll gie ye Logie Kirk," said he. "O Logie Kirk, among the braes I'm thinkin' o' the merry days Afore I trod the weary ways That led me far frae Logie. "Fine do I mind when I was young, Abune thy graves the mavis sung, And ilka birdie had a tongue To ca' me back to Logie. "O Logie Kirk, tho' aye the same, The burn sings ae remembered name, There's ne'er a voice to cry 'Come hame To bonnie Bess at Logie!' "Far, far awa' the years decline That took the lassie wha was mine And laid her sleepin' lang, lang syne Among the braes at Logie." His voice, and the wonderful pathos of his phrasing, fascinated Archie, but as the last cadences fell from his mouth, the beggar snatched up the long switch with which he drove his team and began to roar. "A'm awa'!" he shouted, making every wall and corner echo. "Open the gate an' let me through, ye misbegotten bairns o' Auld Nick! Stand back, ye clortie-faced weans, an' let me out! Round about an' up the road! Just round about an' up the road, a' tell ye!" The last sentences were addressed to the dogs who were now all on their legs and mindful of the stick whirling in the air above them. Archie could see that he was not included in the beggar's general address, but, being nearest to the gate, he swung it open and the whole equipage dashed through, the dogs guided with amazing dexterity between the posts by their master's switch. The rapid circle they described on the road as they were turned up the hill towards Brechin seemed likely to upset the cart, but the beggar leaned outwards so adroitly that none of the four wheels left the ground. As they went up the incline he took up his pipes, and leaving the team to its own guidance, tuned up and disappeared round the next bend in a blast of sound.