A Stranger Came Ashore Read Online Free Page A

lost than in the year before that. Moreover, Finn Learson himself settled down so quickly that he was no trouble at all to anyone –- quite the opposite, in fact.
    He worked hard, yet still he continued so polite and pleasant in his ways that both Janet and Elspeth were quite taken by his charm and declared he was a pleasure to have around. Peter was delighted to have such a strong and willing helper. Tam no longer barked or growled at him; so that, in no time at all it seemed, he was coming and going about the place as if he had always lived there.
    â€œHe’s a silent sort of man, though, isn’t he?” Old Da remarked one day to Janet. “A good listener, mark you – indeed, I’ve never seen a man for watching and listening so closely to everything that goes on. Yet he never has much to say on his own account.”
    â€œThat’s no great fault,” Janet exclaimed. “And one talker in the house is enough, surely?”
    Old Da laughed. “Now you’re having a dig at me,” he teased Janet, for it was perfectly true that Old Da was a great talker; and although they were all glad enough of his stories around the firein the winter time, Janet and Peter were inclined to complain that Robbie took all this kind of talk too seriously.
“Letting his imagination run away with him,”
they called it; which was a foolish habit, in their opinion, and therefore one which should be checked before it got too strong a grip on him.
    This was not to the point at that moment, however, and so Janet simply ignored Old Da’s teasing. “Anyway,” she finished, “the main thing is that Finn Learson is settling here as to the manner born, and that should be enough for all of us.”
    So the Hendersons went on talking from time to time among themselves about the new arrangement – all except Robbie, that is, for no one thought of asking
his
opinion. Moreover, he would not have known what to answer even if he had been asked, for Finn Learson was still given to smiling that odd little smile he had worn first on the night of the storm, and Robbie did not care for this.
    It was like someone smiling at a secret joke, he thought, and felt uneasy at such an idea. On the other hand, there was no doubt that Finn Learson had a powerful charm of manner which made him
want
to like the man …
    So Robbie swithered and swayed in the opinion that was never asked, and meanwhile, Finn Learson was getting acquainted with all the rest of the people in Black Ness. Very easy, he found this, too, for all that he was a man of few words, since there is nothing Shetlanders enjoy better than visiting back and forward in one another’s houses.
    Sooner or later also, on such occasions, out will come the fiddle. All the young folk – and very often some of those that are not so young – will get up to have a dance; and the first evening that this was the way of things in the Hendersons’ house, Finn Learson showed the lightest, neatest foot in the whole company.
    He was merry as a grig, too, clapping his hands in time to the fiddling, white teeth flashing all the time in a laugh, eyes glittering like two great dark fires in his handsome head. No amount ofleaping and whirling seemed to tire him, either; and curiously looking on at this with Robbie and Janet, Old Da remarked, “Well, there’s one stranger that knows how to make himself at home on the islands!”
    â€œIndeed, aye,” Janet agreed, admiring the light footwork that was going on. “A man who can dance like that is sure of a welcome in Black Ness.”
    And so it turned out, of course, for a good dancer is always a challenge to the skill of a good fiddler. Moreover, a handsome young man who is neat and light on his feet is a catch for any girl; and the result of all this was that Finn Learson soon found himself welcome anywhere the young folk were trying to stir things up for a bit of a dance.
    No one