But this sight is better than horsemen and swords." They were now in the hollow between the kirk and the Lodge, a cup of greenery surrounded by wood.

Behind, they still saw the belfry through the beeches; before, away to the right, the grey stone of a turret showed among the trees.

The burn that sang to Black John ran beneath them with a pleasant sound, and fifty yards of turf climbed up to the cottage where the old road joined the new and the avenue of the Lodge began.

Over this ascent the branches met, through which the sunshine glimmered and flickered, and down the centre came a white and brown cow in charge of an old woman.
"It's Bell Robb, that lives in the cottage there among the bushes.

I was at the parish school with her, Kate--she 's just my age--for we were all John Tamson's bairns in those days, and got our learning and our licks together, laird's son and cottar's daughter.
"People would count it a queer mixture nowadays, but there were some advantages in the former parish school idea; there were lots of cleverer subalterns in the old regiment, but none knew his men so well as I did.