He cam' to the door o' my heart the nicht Wat Birney kilt puir dog Speed for worritin' his Sou'-Downs.
An' the De'il was a bra knocker. "Dugald Moir," he ca'd, loud an' lang, "opit the door!"
"Nay," said I. "You maun stay oot."
"But I ha'e summat to say."
"I dinna care to listen."
"It's a bit o' gude advice."
"Keep it, then. You'll need it afore you dee."
"But it's aboot Wat Birney. He murdered your auld dog Speed. You maun ha'e revenge."
"The colley was trespassin'."
"Ay, but Wat kilt him i' cauld blood."
"Weel, he had often warnt us baith to keep off o' his groun'."
"But Wat Birney's bin a bad naybor for years."
"An' sae ha'e I, for the matter o' that. We dinna speak."
"Speed's death maun be revenged. Set Wat's fat straw-stack afire. It wad mak' a gran' blaze."
"Nay, nay!" I cried. "Gae lang noo. I willna be your partner i' ony sich doin's!"
At that, the De'il bided awee. But I cud hear him lashin' his tail just outside my heart-door. It was bolted an' barred sae that he cudna walk i'. "Dugald Moir," he ca'd again, "ha'e you buried puir Speed?"
"Nay, Mister De'il. I canna pairt wi' him juist noo."
"Wat's Sou'-Downs will nibble the sod aboon his grave. Better pop owre ane or twa o' them. You ca' then feed your loss wi' a bit o' roast mutton. It wad ainly be tooth for tooth."
"I daurna, auld Timpter. The Maister's Book says: 'Return gude for evil.' Wat's Sou'-Downs are nae mine to kill an' eat."
"Hoot, mon! Was Speed his ain dog to shoot doon i' a minit?"
"But he was worritin' the wee lambs o' the flock."
Here the De'il knockit hard an' strong. "Dugald Moir, Wat ha'e a dog o' his ain. Ca' him up, an' treat him to a bit o' poisoned meat. That wad ainly be tit for tat."
"Nay, again, Mister De'il. Wat's dog Bruce ance fished my bairn oot o' the burn. He's a bra' beast, an' weel worth twa o' puir, meddlin' Speed."
"But that wad ainly mak' your revenge completer."
"I willna tak' revenge. I'll do Wat sum gude turn i' place o' it. I maun heap coals o' fire on his head."
Then the De'il knockit ance mair. "Dugald Moir, I thocht you a mon o' spirit! You'll be the butt o' the country-side. Get even wi' Wat Birney while you ca'. It isna yet too late. He's cumin' up the glen. Speed's killin' was an insult; wipe it oot wi' your fists."
"But sister Bel luvs the lad. He'll be my ain brither sune. I wauna lift a han' to my brither."
"Whist! ha's nae mair your brither than I!"
"Nay, an' thank God for that las'! Gang awa'. You canna enter the heart o' Dugald Moir."
There was a knock at the hoose door just then; an' Wat Birney hissel' entered, wi' Bruce at his heels. Puir Speed lay deid between us.
"W'at wad you ha'e?" I asked, stern-loike, for the De'il was batterin's awa' at my heart's door.
The lad held oot his han'. "I ha'e cam' to mak' peace. We maun be friends."
But I turned awa' i' anger. "We canna. Dinna ask it."
Ay, but the De'il was knockit fas' an' loud then. But Wat Birney cud not ken.
"Bruce ha'e cam' to tak' Speed's place," he said.
It was a bra' giftie, but I wadna heed. "I dinna want him," I cried. "Bring Speed bac' to life—if you ca'."
"I wish I cud, mon, for Bel's sake. We mauna quarrel."
"Knockit him doon!" shouted the De'il, shrill as a bagpipe.
I lifted my arm; but Wat was such a slender lad, I cudna strike.
"Dinna you do it, Dugald. I canna forgi'e a blow," he said. "I kilt puir Speed, but I'm baith ready an' willin' to gi'e you Bruce i' his stead. It will ainly be a fair exchange. Here's the colley, an' my han' on it. Cum, naybor, what say you?"
"Say you willna ha'e his beast or his friendship," whispered the De'il, peerin' i' through my heart's window.
An' I said it.
There were tears i' honest Wat's blu' een. "I'm sair fashed, Dugald. I canna gae hame wi'oot your forgi'eness. It's w'at I cam' for, an' I maun ha'e it. Dinna you min' the day I picht Jeanie oot o' the burn? Ha'e you forgotten that, mon? Bruce an' I togither saved the lassie's life."
"Speed's murder ha'e crosst that oot," I cried.
The De'il was for climbin' richt i' then, but I kept him bac' wi' my next words. "Wat Birney, I may forgi'e you i' time, but it will ainly be for Bel's sake. Gang awa'. The De'il is at wark. I'm nae my ainsel' this nicht. Tak' puir Speed oot, an' bury him. I canna."
The lad fell doon at my feet. "I maun ha'e your forgi'eness first, Dugald Moir. Bel loves us baith, an' we maun love each ither. Say the word noo; say, Wat, it's a' forgi'en an' forgotten." I thocht o' bonnie sister Bel, an' said the words owre; but my heart wasna i' them.
"You dinna mean it," said Wat sadly; "but I'll bury Speed a' the same."
Then he went oot, draggin' the deid beast after him. I followed a' unnoticed. Doon i' the glen he dug Speed's grave, an' laid the colley i' it. When he had finished, he knelt aboon it, an' just prayed aloud.
"Lord, forgi'e this day's hasty deed, an' help Dugald Moir to forgi'e it too. He's sair angry wi' me, an' nae wi'oot cause. But thee kens dog Speed weel earned my bullet. Ainly an hour sin he mangled two o' my best Sou'-Downs. But Dugald's hate is worse than a'. I maun ha'e the mon's love an' friendship."
The De'il ga've a great boun' and left my heart's door as I rushed roun' to Wat's side.
"You shall ha'e baith frae this minit," I cried. An' then my arm stole 'boot the lad's neck, juist as I had seen Bel's do on mony a moonlit nicht. He looked at me, bewildered.
"I didna dream you wod hear. But it's juist God's ain gude answer. An' noo you'll tak' Bruce i' Speed's place."
"Yes," I said; for the De'il had vanished.
Slowly we walked bac' to the hoose. Bel met us wi' a kiss for baith, her black een beamin' wi' love and gladness.
She wedded Wat sune after, an' for forty lang years he ha'e been a bra', true brither. The De'il hasna visited me sin'.
Mrs. Findley Braden.