"Blood's thicker than water, in the deil's name! Ye cannae desert your brother's son for the fair shame of it; and if ye did, and it came to be kennt, ye wouldnae be very popular in your country-side, or I'm the more deceived." "I'm no just very popular the way it is," returned Ebenezer; "and I dinnae see how it would come to be kennt.

No by me, onyway; nor yet by you or your friends.

So that's idle talk, my buckie," says he.
"Then it'll have to be David that tells it," said Alan.
"How that ?" says my uncle, sharply.
"Ou, just this, way" says Alan.

"My friends would doubtless keep your nephew as long as there was any likelihood of siller to be made of it, but if there was nane, I am clearly of opinion they would let him gang where he pleased, and be damned to him!" "Ay, but I'm no very caring about that either," said my uncle.

"I wouldnae be muckle made up with that." "I was thinking that," said Alan.
"And what for why ?" asked Ebenezer.
"Why, Mr.Balfour," replied Alan, "by all that I could hear, there were two ways of it: either ye liked David and would pay to get him back; or else ye had very good reasons for not wanting him, and would pay for us to keep him.