he wrote . `` There must be , to tie you down to a place like Lindsay for a year . Take care , master Eric ; you 've been too sensible all your life . A man is bound to make a fool of himself at least once , and when you did n't get through with that in your teens it may be attacking you now . '' David also wrote , expostulating more gravely ; but he did not express the suspicions Eric knew he must entertain . `` Good old David ! He is quaking with fear that I am up to something he ca n't approve of , but he wo n't say a word by way of attempting to force my confidence . '' It could not long remain a secret in Lindsay that `` the Master '' was going to the Gordon place on courting thoughts intent . Mrs. Williamson kept her own and Eric 's counsel ; the Gordons said nothing ; but the secret leaked out and great was the surprise and gossip and wonder . One or two incautious people ventured to express their opinion of the Master 's wisdom to the Master himself ; but they never repeated the experiment . Curiosity was rife . A hundred stories were circulated about Kilmeny , all greatly exaggerated in the circulation . Wise heads were shaken and the majority opined that it was a great pity . The Master was a likely young fellow ; he could have his pick of almost anybody , you might think ; it was too bad that he should go and take up with that queer , dumb niece of the Gordons who had been brought up in such a heathenish way . But then you never could guess what way a man 's fancy would jump when he set out to pick him a wife . They guessed Neil Gordon did n't like it much . He seemed to have got dreadful moody and sulky of late and would n't sing in the choir any more . Thus the buzz of comment and gossip ran . To those two in the old orchard it mattered not a whit . Kilmeny knew nothing of gossip .
To her , Lindsay was as much of an unknown world as the city XXXXX Eric 's home .
Gordon Williamson about at in like of that to with