I heard
him sayin' he could not be everywhere at yince, an' couldna' both watch
coal thieves an' tattie stealin' at yin an' the same time."
* * * * *
All this time matters went very smoothly. The men were very firm, having
great trust in Smillie. After about six weeks, however, from various
causes a suspicious atmosphere began to be created. Hints had been
appearing from time to time in the newspapers that matters were not
altogether as the miners thought they were. Then vague rumors got afloat
in many districts and spread with great rapidity, and these began to
undermine the confidence of the strikers.
"What think ye o' the fecht noo, Tam?" enquired Matthew Maitland one
night as they sat among the others at the "Lazy Corner," as the village
forum was called.
"I dinna ken what to think o' it," replied Tam glumly. "Do ye think
there's any truth in that story aboot Smillie havin' sell't us?"
"It wad be hard to ken," replied Matthew Maitland, taking his pipe out
of his mouth and spitting savagely upon the ground. "But I heard it for
a fact, and that a guid wheen o' men doon the country hae gaen back to
their work through it.
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