“Ye see oor dairy 's that sma' and close that a' daurna keep the mulk in 't a' the het days, an' sae a' aye gie it an airin'; a' wud keep it in anither place, but there's barely room for the bairns an' oorsels.” Then Elspeth apologised for speaking about household affairs to his lordship, and delighted him with all the gossip of the district, told in her best style, and three new stories, till he promised to build her a dairy and a bed-room for Elsie, to repair the byres, and renew the lease at the old terms. Elspeth said so at least to the factor, and when he inquired concerning the truth of this foolish concession, Kilspindie laughed, and declared that if he had sat longer he might have had to rebuild the whole place. As Hillocks could not expect any help from personal fascinations, he had to depend on his own sagacity, and after he had laboured for six months creating an atmosphere, operations began one day at Muirtown market. The factor and he happened to meet by the merest accident, and laid the first parallels. “Man, Hillocks, is that you? I hevna seen ye since last rent time. I hear ye 're githering the bawbees thegither as usual; ye 'ill be buying a farm o' yir own soon.” “Nae fear o' that, Maister Leslie; it's a' we can dae tae get a livin'; we 're juist fechtin' awa'; but it comes harder on me noo that a'm gettin' on in years.” “Toots, nonsense, ye're makin' a hundred clear off that farm if ye mak a penny,” and then, as a sudden thought, “When is your tack out? it canna hae lang tae run.” “Weel,” said Hillocks, as if the matter had quite escaped him also, “a' believe ye 're richt; it dis rin oot this verra Martinmas.” “Ye'ill need tae be thinkin', Hillocks, what rise ye can offer; his lordship 'ill be expeckin' fifty pund at the least.” Hillocks laughed aloud, as if the factor had made a successful joke. “Ye wull hae yir fun, Maister Leslie, but ye ken hoo it maun gae fine. The gude wife an' me were calculating juist by chance, this verra mornin', and we baith settled that we cudna face a new lease comfortable wi' less than a fifty pund reduction, but we micht scrape on wi' forty.” “You and the wife 'ill hae tae revise yir calculations then, an' a'll see ye again when ye 're reasonable.” Three weeks later there was another accidental meeting, when the factor and Hillocks discussed the price of fat cattle at length, and then drifted into the lease question before parting. “Weel, Hillocks, what aboot that rise? will ye manage the fifty, or must we let ye have it at forty?” “Dinna speak like that, for it 's no jokin' maitter tae me; we micht dae wi' five-and-twenty aff, or even twenty, but a' dinna believe his lordship wud like to see ain o' his auldest tenants squeezed.” “It's no likely his lordship 'ill take a penny off when he's been expecting a rise; so I 'll just need to put the farm in the _Advertiser_--'the present tenant not offering '; but I 'll wait a month to let ye think over it.”