Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III CORMAC GOES TO NUPSDALE rode out at sunrise, Cormac and Toste, with the dogs and house-carles, and worked all day fetching in the sheep. It was hard work; and the dusk came down early and found them still at it. Toste, who knew where they were, said that it would be well to put into Nups- dale-stead for the night. "They'll feed us well, and we shall hear some good talk," he said. Cormac said it was all one to him where he stayed. He was ready to sleep out on the fell, or go home, as Toste pleased. Toste was for Nupsdale-stead. He knew the master of the house, and was known ofhim. "They will make you welcome, too," he told Cormac, "and you'll see the finest girl in the country, I believe." "Who's that, then?" says Cormac. "Why, Stangerd, Thorkel's daughter of Tongue. She's been fostered there these four years, and was like a spoiled hawk when I saw her last, three years back, I daresay. She will be of a likeable age by now—sixteen years old or thereabouts. A handful, I'll warrant her—a breaker of hearts." "We'll go to Nupsdale-stead," Cormac said. "I should like to see her." Toste went on with his meditations aloud. "A burning girl—a big girl. She'll set you afire. There'll be a pair of you." Cormac laughed, and threw his head up. Then they went on through the acres to the homestead, which was a spacious place well sheltered from the wind; and soon they heard the dogs give tongue from the roof, and soon it was their business to fightthem off, and keep their own from dismemberment. They were well received in the hall, where they found a company sitting at drink, a good fire, and a table where there would be supper by and by. Cormac looked about for the finest girl in the country; but there were no women in the hall: a son of the house served...