grey grosbeaks and give them exercise. He was debating in his mind
whether they were suffering from confinement or not--a question which
the deportment of the birds never enabled him to solve completely--when
Bates wandered round beside him again, and betrayed that his mind was
still upon the subject of their conversation.

"Ye know," he began, with the deliberate interest of a Scotchman in an
argument, "I've been thinking on it, and I'm thinking your brother's in
the right of it."

"You do!" The words had thunderous suggestion of rising wrath.

"Well," said the other again, "ye're hard to please; ye were vexed a
while since because ye thought I was criticising him for lying low."

The answer to this consisted in threats thrown out at any man who took
upon himself to criticise his brother.

"And now, when I tell ye I'm thinking he's in the right of it, ye're
vexed again. Now, I'll tell ye: ye don't like to think the Rev. Mr.
Trenholme's in the right, for that puts ye in the wrong; but ye don't
like me to think he's in the wrong, because he's your brother. Well,
it's natural! but just let us discuss the matter. Now, ye'll agree with
me it's a man's duty to rise in the world if he can."

Upon which he was told, in a paraphrase, to mind his own business.