And that Thomas was possessed of some divine secret, the heart of child
Annie was perfectly convinced; the tone of his utterance having a
greater share in producing this conviction than anything he had said.
As he passed out, she looked up reverently at him, as one to whom deep
things lay open, Thomas had a kind of gruff gentleness towards children
which they found very attractive; and this meek maiden he could not
threaten with the vials of wrath. He laid his hard heavy hand kindly on
her head, saying:
"Ye'll be ane o' the Lord's lambs, will ye no? Ye'll gang into the fold
efter him, will ye no?"
"Ay will I," answered Annie, "gin He'll lat in Alec and Curly too."
"Ye maun mak nae bargains wi' him; but gin they'll gang in, he'll no
haud them oot."
And away, somewhat comforted, the honest stonemason strode, through the
darkness and the rain, to his own rather cheerless home, where he had
neither wife nor child to welcome him. An elderly woman took care of
his house, whose habitual attitude towards him was one half of awe and
half of resistance. The moment he entered, she left the room where she
had been sitting, without a word of welcome, and betook herself to the
kitchen, where she prepared his plate of porridge or bowl of brose.
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