But a' that wad sune be ower!
"Aboot this time, ae day i' the gloamin', there cam on sic an awfu'
storm, 'at the fowk o' the castel war frichtit 'maist oot o' their
wits. The licht'nin' cam oot o' the yerd, an' no frae the lift
at a'; the win' roared as gien 't had been an incarnat rage; the
thunner rattlet an' crackit, as gien the mune an' a' the stars had
been made kettledrums o' for the occasion; but never a drap o'
rain or a stane o' hail fell; naething brak oot but blue licht an'
roarin' win'. But the strangest thing was, that the sea lay a' the
time as oonconcerned as a sleepin' bairn; the win' got nae mair grip
o' 't nor gien a' the angels had been poorin' ile oot o' widows'
cruses upo' 't; the verra tide came up quaieter nor ord'nar; and
the fowk war sair perplext as weel's frichtit.
"Jist as the clock o' the castel chappit the deid o' the nicht,
the clamour o' v'ices was hard throu' the thunner an' the win,' an'
the warder--luikin' doon frae the heich bartizan o' the muckle
tooer, saw i' the fire flauchts, a company o' riders appro'chin'
the castel, a' upo' gran' horses, he said, that sprang this gait
an' that, an shot fire frae their een. At the drawbrig they blew
a horn 'at rowtit like a' the bulls o' Bashan, an' whan the warder
challencht them, claimt hoose room for the nicht. Naebody had ever
hard o' the place they cam frae; it was sae far awa 'at as sane 's
a body hard the name o' 't, he forgot it again; but their beasts
war as fresh an' as fu' o' smeddum as I tell ye, an' no a hair o'
ane o' them turnt.
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