Andrew kept his word and was good to the boy now in his care. Indeed, he
took, as some said, more care of the boy than if Robert had been his
own, for he tried to save him from every little detail that might remind
him of the accident.
"That's yours, Robin," he said, when pay-day came, as he handed to the
boy the half of the pay earned.
"Na, I canna' tak' that, Andrew," replied Robert, looking up into the
broad, kindly, honest face of the man. "My mither wouldna' let me."
"Would she no'?" replied Andrew. "But you are the heid o' the hoose,
Robin, sae just tak' it hame, an' lay it down on the dresser-head. We
are doin' gey weel the noo, an' forby, ye're workin' for it. Noo run
awa' hame wi't, an' dinna say ocht to yir mither, but just put it doon
on the dresser-head." And so the partnership began which was to last for
many years.
About this time there happened one of those tremendous upheavals, long
remembered in the industrial world, the great Scottish Miners' Strike of
1894. The trade union movement was growing and fighting, and every
tendency pointed to the fact that a clash of forces was inevitable. The
previous year had seen the English miners beaten after a protracted
struggle.
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