Roanoke of Roanoke Hall: A Romance — page 89: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Roanoke of Roanoke Hall. 83 ' wailing ranks so effectually scared away the gulls that not one would approach within shot, and I was lamenting this fact one night to Meg when she remarked : ‘‘Hech, Ralph, what for dinna ye wauken betimes, and hae a pw’ at the wild-dyucks that flee ower at the dawin?” , Fully resolved to profit by this excellent advice, it was nevertheless three days before I succeeded in awaking at a sufficiently early hour. The evening before, however, Meg had startled me by exclaiming in the harsh, dread whisper from which I was never able to dis- sociate a cold shudder of fear.: “Hark till’t, Ralph mon, the clatter o’ the causey.” In shivering silence I listened to the faint clop, clop, clop, until that awful repetition of ‘‘ nearer, nearer, nearer” drove me to seek refuge from its appalling monotony in my own chamber. As a natural consequence of this premature retirement I awoke before daybreak, and hastily slipping on my garments I took my gun, and having passed through the silent, empty kitchen, tiptoed my way past Meg’s comichbooks.com