When Andy had finished reading the foregoing, he drew a long loud breath and looked around him. There was a dead silence. Mrs. Gowdy straightened her back, and still holding a sausage on a fork, stood staring hard at her son. Then she turned about, and snatching the pan off the fire, exclaimed: "Well! to think of that! Losh me! It's ten thousand a year coming among ye. It's hard to credit!" Maggie, who had been washing rubbers in the scullery, stood in the doorway with cold wet arms and crimson cheeks and eyes like two flames. "What shall we do?" she asked, hysterically. "What shall we do?" "First of all, thank God," rejoined her pious mother, "and then have a bit of supper before we begin to talk and make plans." "I could not taste a mite!" cried Maggie, in a strange hoarse voice, "let us talk now, if we ever talked. We are not dumb beasts. Let the supper bide." Mrs. Gowdy gazed at her daughter fixedly. The mere name of money had transformed the girl into another creature; a woman with an imperious countenance and a loud tongue. "Well, well," she agreed, and she sat down and stared out of the window reflectively, whilst her children stood around in a dazed silence, momentarily speechless. "We mun go to London in the morn," announced Mrs. Gowdy at last. "I see that plain. This is Thursday, and the letter has lain two days. Jock, the pony canna stir to-morrow; you mun run over and borrow Duncan's bay horse, and bring it back with you. We will start at daybreak, there's no call to be keeping the good money waiting, and we will just take a few bits of things and my papers. I have a ten-pound note above in my desk; Andy and Maggie will come with me, and you, Jock, mun mind the place." "No, no, I'm not for agreeing to that," rejoined Jock, sullenly. "Why should I stay behind more than Andy or Mag. Have I no share in the fortune? I'm going!" Here were a son and daughter defying her authority for the first time in their lives. And being a prudent and far-seeing woman, Mrs. Gowdy instantly realised that she was no longer dealing with children and dependents, subject to her thrall, but with the heirs of Jamie Gowdy's fortune, who, should she stand in their way, would cut themselves loose from her control. So much for money. In less than ten minutes it had occasioned a domestic revolution. "Well, then, have yer way," she agreed. "I'm thinking of who's to mind the cows and the chickens--forby the sheep. You might cry in to Alec Macnab on yer way for the horse, and ask him and his son to give a look to the place, and he'll need to be here at streak of day. I'll make it worth their while. I'll give him a good fee." "All right," agreed Jock, "I'll bring Alec back with me." "Aye, and don't let on but what we are going to Glasgow on a bit of family business. No use giving out the news before we are well up in it ourselves." "Aye, I'll mind that."