Wee Macgreegor Enlists by John Joy Bell (the little red hen ebook .txt) 📕

her yersel'.'

Willie pocketed a few of the superior cigarettes, and rose. 'It's sax-thirty,' he said. 'Her an' you'll be nane the waur o' hauf an' 'oor in private. See? So long! She's a clinker!'

And before Macgregor realized it, Willie had bolted through the shop and into the street.

Christina returned, her eyes wide. 'What gaed wrang wi' him, Mac?'

'Come here an' I'll tell ye.'


XIII


MISS TOD RETURNS

'It was awfu' dacent o' Wullie to clear oot,' Macgregor remarked happily, as he moved his chair close to the one on which Christina had just seated herself.

Christina's chin went up. 'It wud ha'e been dacenter o' him to ha'e waited till the time he was invited to wait.'

'But he meant weel. I'm sure he didna want to gang, but he fancied it wud be nice to let you an' me ha'e a--a . . .'

'I beg yer pardon?'

'Ach, ye ken what I mean. He fancied we wud enjoy a wee whiley jist by oorsel's.'

'Speak for yersel'! I'm thinkin' it was exceedingly rude o' him to slope wi'oot tellin' me he had enjoyed his tea.'

'He asked me to tell ye that he hadna enjoyed hissel' sae weel since his uncle's funeral, ten year back.'

Christina gave a little sniff. 'That's a nice sort o' compliment. Funeral, indeed!'

'Christina! what's vexin' ye?'

'Wha said I was vexed?'

'I've seen ye lookin' happier.'

'Are ye a judge o' happiness?'

'I ken when I'm no happy--an' that's the noo. But I warn ye, I'm no gaun to stick it!'

'What's made ye unhappy?' she coldly inquired.

'You !'

'Dear me!'--ironically.

'Ay, jist dear you!' And with these words he caught her round the shoulders and kissed her.

Breathless and rather ruffled she exclaimed, 'If ye dae that again, I'll----'

He did it again.

'Ye're gettin' terrible forward,' she said, half angry, half amused.

'High time!'

She regarded him with amazement.

Suddenly he said: 'Ye're as much mines as I'm yours. Deny it, if ye can.'

For perhaps the first time in her life Christina temporized. 'Can ye sweer ye didna arrange wi' Wullie to leave early?'

'Eh?'

The note of innocence satisfied her. 'Weel,' she said graciously, 'I forgive ye.'

'What for?'

'Takin' liberties.'

Her lips wavered to a smile and he could not refrain from kissing them once more.

'Here, hauf time!' she cried, and burst out laughing.

'This is the best yet,' he said jubilantly. 'Three goals in twa meenutes! In future I'll kiss ye as often as I like.'

'We'll see aboot that. . . . The sojerin' has changed ye a lot,' she added thoughtfully.

'D'ye no like the improvement?'

'I'll tell ye when I observe it. Noo sit still an' behave yersel', an' tell me the latest camp rumours.'

Just then the bell over the door in the shop went off.

'Oh, dash yer customers!' said Macgregor.

Christina was moving from the room when----

'Are ye there, dearie?' called a familiar female voice.

'Holy Moses!' she whispered. 'It's Miss Tod, hame three days afore her time.'

'Oh, criffens!' gasped Macgregor. 'What'll I dae?'

'Ye can either hide in the coal bunker, or bide whaur ye are--like a sojer. She'll no devour ye.'

Christina then ran out to receive her employer, which she did without embarrassment.

'What a peety ye're ower late for ma wee tea-pairty. An' hoo are ye?' Macgregor heard her saying.

'Aw, I was sweirt to disturb ye wi' yer' frien's, lassie,' replied Miss Tod, who had been advised by postcard of Christina's doings, 'but I _couldna_ bide in thon place anither nicht.'

'Dear, dear!' the girl said sympathizingly. 'Did ye no get on wi' yer auld frien', or did the poultry attack ye? Come ben, come ben. There's jist Macgreegor left, an' he hasna consumed absolutely everything. I'll get ye a cup o' fresh tea in a jiffy.'

Smiling faintly but kindly, Miss Tod greeted Macgregor, apologized for disturbing him, and subsided into her old chair.

'Oh, I'm thenkfu' to be hame,' she sighed, while Christina flew to her hospitable duties. 'Ye've got the room awfu' nice, dearie.'

'Does the smell o' the ceegarettes annoy ye?' inquired Macgregor, now more at ease, though still ashamed of his recent panic.

'Na, na; it's jist deleecious,' she protested, 'efter the smell o' the country.'

'Did ye no like the country, Miss Tod?'

'Maybe I could ha'e endured it till the week was up, if it hadna been for ma auld frien'. Ye see, the puir body couldna speak or think o' onything excep' airyplanes fleein' through the air an' drappin' bombs on her dwellin' hoose an' her hen-hoose, no forgettin' her pig-hoose. Mornin', noon an' nicht, she kep' speirin' at me if I was prepared to meet ma Maker, maybe wantin' a leg. Oh, I was rale vexed for her, I tell ye, but when she took the mattress aff ma bed to protect her sewin' machine frae bombs, I says to masel': 'If I've got to dee, I wud like to dae it as comfortable as I can, an' I'm sure ma Maker'll no objec' to that . . . an' so, at last, I jist tied up ma things in the broon paper, an' said I had enjoyed masel' fine, but was anxious aboot the shop--a terrible falsehood, dearie!--an' gaed to catch the sax o'clock train, an' catched the yin afore it. . . . An' here I am. I wud ha'e let ye enjoy yer pairty in peace, but what wi' the forebodin's o' ma auld frien' an' the scent o' the hens an' pigs, I could thole nae longer.'

'In short,' Christina brightly remarked, 'ye was completely fed up. Weel, weel, ye'll sune forget aboot yer troubles in the joys o' pursuin' pastries. We'll fetch the table close to ye so as ye can fall to wi'oot unduly streetchin' yer neck. Mac, get busy! Toast this cookie.'

'She's a great manager,' Miss Tod said, smiling to Macgregor. 'But she'll mak' ye a rael guid wife when ye come back frae the wars----'

'Oh, whisht, Miss Tod!' cried Christina. 'Ye'll cause him to blush.' Which was rather a mean way of diverting attention from her own complexion.

However, at that moment the bell rang, and exclaiming, 'Anither boom in trade!' she darted into the shop.

The customer seemed to be in a great hurry, for almost immediately she reappeared in the sitting-room. She was smiling and carried a small package in her hand.

'Guess wha it was,' said she.

'The meenister,' replied Miss Tod, who for some mysterious reason always guessed the reverend gentleman, who happened to be a customer.

'On the contrary,' said Christina.

'Wullie Thomson,' said Macgregor, suddenly remembering the borrowed threepence.

'Up dux! Ye deserve a sweetie.' She presented the bag, open. 'What sort are they?'

He laughed and answered--'War Loan Lozengers.'


XIV


AUNT PURDIE INTERVENES

The battalion was not an hour returned from the longest, hottest, dustiest and most exhausting route march yet experienced. Macgregor was stretched on his bed, a newspaper over his face, when an orderly shook him and shoved a visiting card into his hand.

'She's waitin' ootside,' he said and, with a laugh, departed.

Macgregor rubbed his eyes and read:


MRS. ROBERT PURDIE.
13, _King's Mansions, W_
_3rd Wednesday._


'Oh, criffens!' he groaned. 'Ma aunt!' And proceeded with more haste than alacrity to tidy himself, while wondering what on earth she had come for.

Willie, scenting profit in a rich relation, though not his own, proffered his company, which was rather curtly refused. Nevertheless, he followed his friend.

Macgregor joined his aunt in the blazing sunshine. Her greeting was kindly if patronizing.

'Sorry to keep ye waitin', Aunt Purdie,' he said respectfully. 'If I had kent ye was comin'----'

'I understood a good soldier was always prepared for any emergency----'

'Excep' when he's aff duty, mistress.' This from Willie, who had taken up his position a little way behind Macgregor, an ingratiating grin on his countenance.

Aunt Purdie drew up her tall, gaunt, richly-clad figure and examined Private Thomson through eye-glasses on a long tortoise-shell handle.

'Macgregor, who is this gentleman?'

'It's jist Wullie Thomson,' said Macgregor, annoyed but reluctant to hurt his friend's feelings. 'D'ye no mind him?'

'I have a very exclusive memory for faces. . . Dear me, he is going away!'

It was so. Either the glasses, or being called a gentleman, or both, had been too much even for Willie.

'Is the colonel in the vicinity?' Aunt Purdie demanded, recalling Macgregor's wondering gaze from the retreating figure.

'I couldna say. He's liker to be in a cauld bath.'

'You have, of course, informed him who your uncle is?'

'Me an' the colonel ha'ena done much hob-nobbin' as yet,' Macgregor said, smiling.

'His mother used to obtain her groceries from your uncle. If you could have presented the colonel to me--well, never mind. I presume the major is on the _quee vive_.'

'He'll be ha'ein' a wash an' brush up, I wud say.'

'But why are you not being drilled or digging up trenches or firing guns----'

'We're a' deid men this efternune. Had a big rout mairch the day.'

'Oh, indeed! Well, when does the band play?'

'The baun's burstit wi' the rout mairch. It couldna blaw the ash aff a ceegarette. I'm rael sorry----'

'I would like to inspect the apartments you live in. Pray conduct me----'

'Some o' the chaps is cleanin' theirsel's. If ye like, I'll tell them to hurry up or get ablow the blankets.'

'Certainly not!' said Mrs. Purdie with decision. 'Is there no tea-room adjacent?'

'Jist the canteen. I doobt I couldna I tak' ye inside, but I could fetch ye oot a drink--something T.T., I suppose?'

She waved the offer away. 'Is there | nothing to be perceived or observed in this camp?' she inquired with some impatience. |

Her nephew scratched his head. 'Weel,' he said at last, 'there's the view frae this end, an' there's the view frae the ither end. I'm sorry ye've come when there's naething daein'.'

'So am I. However, it is not the time to indulge in discriminations. Your uncle thought it was better for me to come than to write a letter.'

'Is onything wrang wi' ma uncle?' Macgregor asked anxiously.

'Barring an invidious bunion, he is in his usual health. But we are going to Aberdeen to-morrow, for a fortnight, and we have invited your intended to come with us. She----'

'Christina! But she canna gang awa' to Aberdeen when----' He stopped short, at a loss. He had an appointment with Christina for the following evening. Surely----

'I arranged with Miss Tod this morning. Christina will be writing to you, I presume.'

'She--she's gaun wi' ye?'

'Certainly--D.V., of course.'

'For a--a fortnicht?'