CHAPTER TWELVE.
A LESSON FROM MAX.
"Caught a twenty-two-pound salmon, eh?" said The Mackhai, looking upfrom a letter he was reading.
"He thinks he caught it, father," said Kenneth, laughing; and, as theystood waiting in the dining-room, the boy related the adventure of theday, and how they had, after changing, gone for a long tramp across themountain slope, and chased the hares. "Well, be civil to him, Ken.Remember we are gentlemen. And even if he is the son of a miserableshark of a lawyer, let his father learn that the Mackhais can do goodfor evil."
Kenneth stared wonderingly in his father's face. "What does it allmean?" he thought, and he noted the lines of trouble and annoyancedeepening as The Mackhai let his eye fall upon his letter once more.
"My father must hate his father," thought Kenneth; "and he is too muchof a gentleman to show his dislike to his son. Why does he have himhere, then? A stupid, girlish muff of a fellow! One's obliged to laughat him, poor beggar!"
The Mackhai doubled up his letter angrily, and thrust it into hispocket.
"Did that boy hear the gong?" he said peevishly.
"I don't know, father. Shall I run up to his room?"
"No, certainly not. Treat him as you would any other visitor, but youare not his gillie. Ring, and send Grant."
The bell was touched: the butler entered directly.
"The young gentleman is not down yet, sir."
"Well, I know that," said his master sharply. "Go and tell him we arewaiting dinner."
The butler, as he turned, looked as if he would like to give notice toleave on the spot, but he said nothing, and left the room.
"It is a gross want of courtesy!" muttered The Mackhai angrily. "Am Ito be kept waiting by the son of a miserable pettifogging scoundrel of aLondon lawyer? The beginning of the end, Ken, I suppose!" he addedbitterly.
"I don't know what you mean, father."
"Wait. You'll know quite soon enough, my boy. Too soon, I'm afraid,and then--"
The door was thrown open by the butler with a flourish, and he stoodback holding it wide for Max to enter, looking very thin and scraggy, ina glossy new evening suit, with tight patent leather boots, handkerchiefin one hand, new white gloves in the other.
The Mackhai's brow contracted, and Kenneth gave his left leg a kick withhis right heel, so as to stop an inclination to laugh.
"I--I have--I have not kept you waiting?" faltered Max.
"Not very long," said The Mackhai coldly; "but we always sit down tomeals directly the gong has sounded."
The butler left the room.
"I am very sorry," faltered Max; "but I got so wet for the second timeto-day, that I thought I had better have a warm bath."
"Indeed!" said The Mackhai coldly. "Oh my, what a molly!" mutteredKenneth. "My father told me to be careful," continued Max.
"Pray follow out your father's advice," said The Mackhai, "and considerthat you are quite at home here."
"How jolly sarcastic father is!" thought Kenneth.
"Thank you," said Max politely.
"While this place is mine, I wish my guests to be quite at their ease,"continued The Mackhai; "but you will excuse me for saying that we neverdress for dinner."
"No, I thought not," said Max confusedly; "but I made myself so wet, andmy other suits were in the small portmanteau, and I've lost the key."
That dinner was hot, but very cold, and Max felt exceedingly glad whenit was over. His host tried to be polite, and asked questions about thesalmon-catching, but Max spoke in a hesitating way, and as if he thoughthe was being laughed at, and it was with a feeling of intense reliefthat he ceased to hear his host's voice, and escaped from the stony gazeof the butler, who, under an aspect of the most profound respect, seemedto glare at the visitor with a virulent look of hatred.
"They don't seem to like me at all down here," thought Max, as they rosefrom the table.
"I wonder what's the matter," thought Kenneth. "I never saw father seemso severe before."
Just then, looking very stern and out of temper, The Mackhai left theroom, and Kenneth, after a moment's hesitation, went after him; butchanged his mind directly, and returned to Max.
"I beg your pardon," he said. "Father does not seem to be well."
"I am sorry. I'm afraid he was put out because I kept you waiting."
"Oh, never mind that. I say, we can't go out with you like that, andit's such a jolly night. I don't know, though, if you put on anulster."
"I think I would rather not go out any more tonight," said Max,hesitating.
"All right. Then we'll go and have a game at billiards. Come along."
This was more to Max's taste, and, after Grant had been summoned to helplight the lamps, Kenneth shut the door, chuckling to himself about thebig beating he was going to give the Londoner, who, instead of taking acue, was gazing round the handsome billiard-room at the crossedclaymores, targes, and heads of red deer, whose antlers formed rests forspears and specimens of weapons from all parts of the world.
"Are those swords sharp?" asked Max.
"Sharp? Yes, I should think they are. They're the claymores myancestors used to handle to cut off the heads of the Macleods andMacdougals."
"Used there to be much fighting then?"
"Fighting? I should think there was. Every chief lived in a castle andhad a galley, and they used to fill them half full of pipers and halffull of fighting men, and go to war with their neighbours."
"It must have been very terrible."
"Not a bit of it. Very jolly--much better than living in these tametimes. Come along; you break."
Max played first, and handled his cue so easily that Kenneth stared.
"Hallo!" he said, "you've played before."
"Yes; we have a billiard-table at home."
"Oh!" ejaculated Kenneth, and the big beating did not seem so near. Notthat it proved to be more distant, only it was the other way on, for Maxplayed quietly and respectably, keeping up a steady scoring, whileKenneth's idea seemed to be that the best way was to hit the balls hard,so that they might chance to go somewhere.
This they did, but not so as to add to his score, and the consequencewas that, when Max marked a hundred, Kenneth was only thirty-three.
"Oh, I say!" he exclaimed, "I didn't know you could play like that."
"I often have a game with my father," said Max. "He always gives mefifty out of a hundred, and he can beat me, but he lets me winsometimes."
Kenneth whistled.
"I say," he said, "your father must be a very clever man."
"Yes," said Max, in a dull, quiet way, "I think he is very clever."
"You don't seem very much pleased about it."
"I'm afraid I'm very tired. It has been such a hard day."
"Hard! that's nothing. You wait till your legs get trained, you won'tthink this a hard day."
"I'm afraid I shan't be down here long enough for that."
"Oh, you don't know. Let's have another game, and see if I can't beatyou this time. Only, mind, none of your father's tricks."
Max started and turned scarlet.
"I mean, you will try."
"Of course," said Max; "I don't think it would be fair not to try one'sbest."
They played, and Kenneth came off worse.
They played again, and he was worse still; while, after the fourth game,he threw down his cue pettishly.
"It's of no use for me to play you. Why, you're a regularout-and-outer."
"Nonsense! These strokes are easy enough. Let me show you. Look atthe things you can do that I can't."
"You show me how to make those strokes, and I'll show you everything Iknow."
"I'll show you without making you promise that," said Maxgood-humouredly; and the rest of the evening was spent over the board,which they only quitted to say "good-night" and retire to their rooms;but Kenneth did not go to his until he had been to the butler's pantry,and then to the kitchen, which was empty, the servants
having retiredfor the night, after banking up the fire with peat, which would go onsmouldering and glowing for the rest of the night, and only wantstirring in the morning to burst into a blaze.
There was something very suspicious in Kenneth's movements as he crossedthe kitchen in the faint glow, and a great tom-cat glowered at him as hestole away to the fireside and watched.
At one moment it seemed as if Kenneth was going to the larder to make araid upon the provisions, but he stopped short of that door, and stoodlistening, and started violently as a sudden sound smote his ear.
It was the start of one troubled with a guilty conscience, for the soundwas only a sharp tack made by the great clock, preliminary to itsstriking eleven.
"How stupid!" muttered Kenneth; and then he started again, for he hearda door close rather loudly.
"Father!" he muttered, and he ran to the entry and listened again,before going cautiously to the fire, where he suddenly made two or threesnatches of a very suspicious character, and hurried out of the kitchenalong a stone passage. Then all was silent about the place, save thelapping and splashing of the water among the rocks outside.
Three Boys; Or, The Chiefs of the Clan Mackhai Page 12