The Billow and the Rock Part 13

The tempest had not yet reached Skye; and they could see, in the intervals of rolling clouds, mountain peaks glittering with snow.

"There is the snow!" said the widow. "And see the vapours!--the tumbling, rolling vapours that we call steam-clouds! Look how the lightning flash darts out of them! and how the sea seems swelling and boiling up to meet the vapours! A little way from the land, the wind catches the spray and carries it up and away. If the wind was now from the east, as it will be in spring, that spray would wash over us, and drench us to the skin in a minute."

"What, up here?"

"Oh, yes, and higher still. There! Adam felt some then." And well he might. The sea was now wrought into such tumult that its waves rolled in upon the rocks with tremendous force, causing the caverns to resound with the thundering shock, and the very summit of the precipices to vibrate. Every projection sent up columns of spray, the sprinklings of which reached the heights, bedewing the window of the cottage, and sending in the party under the gable.

"There now," said the widow, when she had fed her fire, and sat down, "we have seen a fine sight to-day; and there will be more to-morrow."

"Shall we see it to-morrow?"

"Oh, yes; if you like to come to me to-morrow, I think I can promise to show you the sh.o.r.e all black with weed thrown up by the storm, and, perhaps we may get some wood. These storms often cast up wood, sometimes even thick logs. We must not touch the logs; they belong to Sir Alexander Macdonald, but we may take the smaller pieces, those of us who can get down before other people have taken them away. If the minister is not aware of this, we must tell him, and the weeds will be good to manure his kail-bed, if he can find nothing better."

"Will you go to-morrow and pick up some wood?"

"If I can get down alone; but I cannot climb up and down as I used to do. I will show you something prettier than wood or weed that I picked up, after one of these storms, when I was younger." And she took out of her chest three sh.e.l.ls, one very large and handsome, which had been cast upon the western sh.o.r.e some years before. Adam thought this so beautiful that he begged to have it; but the widow could not give it away. She told him she must keep it for a particular reason; but he could see it whenever lie liked to come to her for the purpose.

But Adam thought he might pick up such an one himself, if he could go to-morrow to the western sh.o.r.e; and his friend could not say that this was impossible. Oh! then, would she not go and show him the way? Would she not try if he and Kate helped her with all their strength? They were very strong. If she would stand up they would show her how strong they were. She stood up, and they tried to carry her. Their faces were exceedingly red, and they were very near lifting up their friend, and she was laughing and wondering whether they could carry her down the rocks in that way, when the door burst open and Lady Ca.r.s.e appeared.

"The children must come home," said she to Annie; "they have no business here."

"I called them in, my lady, when the thunder frightened them."

"They should not have come. They should have told you that they were under their parents' displeasure."

All now looked grave enough. The children stole away home, skilfully avoiding taking hold of the lady's offered hands. She pulled the door after her in no gentle manner. She did not much care whether the children were fond of her; but it was somehow disagreeable to her that they should be happy with her next-door neighbour.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

THE STEWARD ON HIS ROUNDS.

The return of Macdonald's boat was a great event; and especially to the inhabitants of the hill-side cottages. Macdonald was accompanied by Sir Alexander's steward, who brought some furniture and finis.h.i.+ngs for the chapel and the minister's dwelling, and, for the first time, a parcel for Lady Ca.r.s.e.

When the package was brought up from the sh.o.r.e, Lady Ca.r.s.e rushed in to tell Annie the news, and to bid her come and see the unpacking.

The poor lady was sure that by means of Mr Johny, or through some other channel, tidings of her existence and banishment had reached her friends at Edinburgh, and that this parcel contained some warrant of release.

With raised colour and sparkling eyes, she talked of her departure the next morning; of how it would be best to travel, when she once set foot on the main; of how soon she could reach Edinburgh, and whether it would not be better to go first to London, to lay her own case and the treason of her enemies before the Prime Minister. Mrs Ruthven agreed to all she said. Mr Ruthven walked to and fro before the door, stopping at every turn to offer his congratulations. Annie looked anxious and eager.

When the package was deposited before the door, and the glee of the party was at the highest, the children capered and shouted. Annie quietly checked this, and kept them by her side; whereupon Lady Ca.r.s.e smiled at Mrs Ruthven, and said she pitied people who were grave when good fortune befell their friends, and who could not bear even to let children sympathise in it.

"You mistake me, madam," said Annie. "If this package was from Edinburgh, I should feel more like dancing myself than stopping the children's dancing; but I sadly fear this comes from no further off than Skye. I know the Skye packages."

"Nonsense!" cried Lady Ca.r.s.e. "I know n.o.body in Skye. I hate croakers.

Some people take a pleasure in spoiling other people's pleasure."

"That is a temper that I do not approve of," observed Mr Ruthven.

"This life is to some such a vale of tears that I think it is ungrateful not to pluck the few flowers of innocent pleasure which grow by the wayside. I should think that a Christian temper would be ready to a.s.sist the enjoyment. Here, my good men--"

"What stupid fellows those men are!" cried Lady Ca.r.s.e. "They are actually going away without helping us to uncord the package."

She called after them; but in answer to her scolding, the men only stared; which made Lady Ca.r.s.e tell them they were idiots. A word or two from Annie in Gaelic brought them back directly, and obtained from them what aid was needed.

"Shall I enquire, madam," asked Annie, "anything that you may wish to know?"

"No," replied Lady Ca.r.s.e, sharply. "_You_ speak Gaelic, I think," she said to Mr Ruthven. "Will you learn from the men all you can about this package, and tell me every word they say?"

Mr Ruthven bowed, cleared his throat, and began to examine the men.

Lady Ca.r.s.e meantime said to Mrs Ruthven, in Annie's hearing, that she must wait, and restrain her patience a little while. There was no saying what might be in the package, and they must be by themselves when they opened it.

Mrs Ruthven said she would send the children away; and Annie offered to take them home with her.

"The children!" exclaimed Lady Ca.r.s.e. "Oh, bless them! what harm can they do? Let _them_ stay by all means. I hope there will be n.o.body to spoil _their_ pleasure."

Annie curtseyed, and withdrew to her own house. As she shut the door and sank into a chair, she thought how bad her rheumatic pains were.

Her heart was swelling a little too; but it soon subsided as she said to herself, "A vale of tears, indeed, is this life; or rather a waste and howling wilderness, to that poor lady with her restless mind. G.o.d knows I would not reckon hardly with her, or anyone so far from peace of mind.

Nor can I wonder, when I pity her so much, that others should also, and forget other things when she is before their eyes. I did think, when I heard the minister was coming--But I had no right to expect anything beyond the blessing of the sabbath, and of burial, and the ordinances.

And oh, there is the comfort of the sabbath! The Word is preached, and there is prayer and praise now on sabbath-days for a year to come; or, perhaps, as many years as I shall live. If this was a place for peace of mind before, what can trouble us now?" The closing psalm of last sabbath had never been out of her ears and her heart since. She now began to sing it, softly at first, but louder as her soul warmed to it.

She was soon stopped by a louder sound; a shrill cry from the next house, and presently Mrs Ruthven rushed in to know what she was to do.

Lady Ca.r.s.e was hysterical. The package had contained no news from her friends, but had brought cruel disappointment. It contained some clothing, a stone of sugar, a pound of tea, six pecks of wheat, and an anker of spirits; and there was a slip of paper to say that the same quant.i.ty of these stores would be brought yearly by the steward when he came to collect the heather rent. At this sentence of an abode of years in this place, Lady Ca.r.s.e had given way to despair; had vowed she would choke the steward in his sacks of feathers, that she might be tried for murder on the main; and then she had attempted to scatter the wheat, and to empty out the spirits, but that Mr Ruthven had held her hand, and told her that the anker of spirits was, in fact, her purse--her means of purchasing from Macdonald and others her daily meat and such service as she needed. But now she was in hysterics, and they did not know what to do next. Would Mrs Fleming come?

Annie thought the lady would rather not see her; told Mrs Ruthven how to treat the patient, and begged that the children might be sent to her, if they were in the way.

The children were with Annie all the rest of the day; for their father and mother were exceedingly busy writing letters, to go by the steward.

In the evening the steward paid them a visit, in his round back to the boat. He was very civil, brought with him a girl, the handiest and comeliest he said, that he could engage among Macdonald's people, to wait upon Lady Ca.r.s.e; gave order for the immediate erection of a sort of outhouse for her stores, and desired her to say if there was anything else she was pressingly in want of. She would not say a word to him of one kind or another, but turned him over to the minister. But the minister could not carry his own points. He could not induce the steward to convey a single letter of the several written that day. The steward was sorry: had hoped it was understood that no letter was to leave the island,--no written paper of any kind,--while Lady Ca.r.s.e resided there. He would not take these to Sir Alexander: he would not ask him to yield this point even to the minister. Sir Alexander's orders were positive; and it was clear that in these parts that settled the question.

While the argument was going on, Lady Ca.r.s.e rose from her seat, and pa.s.sed behind the steward, to leave the room. She caught up the letters unperceived, and unperceived slipped them into the steward's pocket: so that while he bowed himself out, declining to touch the letters, he was actually carrying them with him.

Helsa, Lady Ca.r.s.e's new maid, witnessed this prank; and, not daring to laugh at the moment, made up for this by telling the story to her acquaintance, the widow, when sent for the children at night.

"That will never do," Annie declared. "Harm may come of it, but no good."

And this set her thinking.

The consequence of her meditation was that she roused the family from their beds when even Lady Ca.r.s.e had been an hour asleep. When Mr Ruthven found that there was neither fire nor illness in the case, he declared to Annie his disapprobation of untimely hours; and said that if those who had a lamp to keep burning became in time forgetful of the difference between night and day, they should remember that it was not so with others; and that the afflicted especially, who had griefs and agitations during the day, should be permitted to enjoy undisturbed such rest as might be mercifully sent them.

Annie listened respectfully to all this, and acknowledged the truth of it. It was, however, a hope that Lady Ca.r.s.e might possibly sleep hereafter under the same roof with her children, if this night were not lost, which made her take the liberty of rousing the minister at such an hour.

She was confident that the steward would either bring back the letters, as soon as he put his hand upon them, or destroy them; for such a thing was never heard of as an order of Sir Alexander's being disobeyed. She had thought of a way of sending a note, if the minister could write on a small piece of paper what would alarm the lady's friends. She had now and then, at long intervals, a supply from a relation from Dumfries, of a particular kind of thread which she used to knit into little socks and mittens for sale. This knitting was now too fine for her eyes: but the steward did not know this; and he would no doubt take her order, as he had done before. She believed he would come up to return the letters quite early in the morning. If she had a ball of thread ready, he would take it as a pattern: and this ball might contain a little note;--a very small one indeed, if the minister would write it.

"How would the receiver know there was a note?" asked Mr Ruthven.

"It might be years before the ball was used up," Mrs Ruthven observed: "or it might come back as it went."

"I thought," said Annie, "that I would give the order in this way. I would say that I want four pieces of the thread, all exactly the same length as the one that goes. The steward will set that down in his book; and he always does what we ask him very carefully. Then my relation will unwind the ball to see what the length is, and come upon the note; and then--"