"Lord, they canna be aught else!" decisively returned Peter. "How can
they be? I ken for mysel'," he went on, "that if it was me, I wad hae
been in starvation lang syne."
"Weel, wad ye believe me when I tell ye--an' it's a fact--they're about
the best-off family in this place, if ye only kent it."
"What!" cried Peter in surprise, "the best-off family in the place!
Lord, I canna take that in!"
"Maybe no'," said Walker, "but I ken, an' ye're no' the first that's
been taken in by Nellie Sinclair. If ye notice, she never tells any
thin' to anybody; but she lets ye carry the notion in your mind that
she's in great straits. She's a cute one, Nellie."
"Weel, Nellie does keep hersel' to hersel'," admitted Peter. "She's no'
given to clashin' and claverin' about the doors like some o' the rest o'
the women; but I canna' for the life o' me see where she can be onythin'
but ill aff at this time."
"Weel, I ken when folk are bein' imposed on," said Walker, in a knowing
tone, "an' I tore down your notice this mornin'. I didna want to see you
mak' a fool o' yersels. I ha'e been considerin' for a while," he went
on, speaking quickly, "about puttin' a stop to this collectin' business
at the office on pay Saturdays, for it just encourages some men to lie
off work when there's no' very muckle wrong wi' them; after they get the
collection they soon start work again.
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