"
Thomas followed as fast as he could, but before he reached the barn, he
met Alec and one of the farm-servants, with the boat on their
shoulders.
It was a short way to the water. They had her afloat in a few minutes,
below the footbridge. At the edge the water was as still as a pond.
Alec seized the oars, and the men shoved him off.
"Pray, Alec," shouted Thomas.
"I haena time. Pray yersel'," shouted Alec in reply, and gave a stroke
that shot him far towards the current. Before he reached it, he shifted
his seat, and sat facing the bows. There was little need for pulling,
nor was there much fear of being overtaken by any floating mass, while
there was great necessity for looking out ahead. The moment Thomas saw
the boat laid hold of by the current, he turned his back to the
Glamour, fell upon his knees in the grass, and cried in an agony:
"Lord, let not the curse o' the widow and the childless be upo' me,
Thomas Crann."
Thereafter he was silent.
Johnstone and the farm-lad ran down the river-side. Truffey had started
for the bridge again, having tied up his crutch with a string. Thomas
remained kneeling, with his arms stretched out as stiff as the poles of
a scaffold, and the joints of his clasped fingers buried in the roots
of the grass.
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