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- float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -/* DIV */ -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } - -</style> -<title>WHITE HEATHER (VOL. I)</title> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="White Heather (Volume I of 3)" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="William Black" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1885" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="43444" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2013-08-11" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="White Heather (Volume I of 3) A Novel" /> - -<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> -<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> -<meta content="White Heather (Volume I of 3) A Novel" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="heather1.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" /> -<meta content="2013-08-11T22:58:04.131876+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43444" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> -<meta content="William Black" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="2013-08-11" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3.20a7 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="white-heather-vol-i"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">WHITE HEATHER (VOL. I)</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="align-None container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> -included with this eBook or online at -</span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: White Heather (Volume I of 3) -<br /> A Novel -<br /> -<br />Author: William Black -<br /> -<br />Release Date: August 11, 2013 [EBook #43444] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>WHITE HEATHER (VOLUME I OF 3)</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="align-None container titlepage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="x-large">WHITE HEATHER</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">A Novel</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">BY</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">WILLIAM BLACK</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">AUTHOR OF 'MACLEOD OF DARE,' -<br />'JUDITH SHAKESPEARE,' ETC.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics small">IN THREE VOLUMES</em></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="medium">VOL. I.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">London -<br />MACMILLAN AND CO. -<br />1885</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics small">The right of translation is reserved.</em></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container verso"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CONTENTS OF VOL. I.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER I.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#a-journey-northward">A JOURNEY NORTHWARD</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER II.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#meenie">MEENIE</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER III.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#on-the-loch">ON THE LOCH</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER IV.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#a-letter">A LETTER</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER V.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#beginnings">BEGINNINGS</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER VI.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#a-programme">A PROGRAMME</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER VII.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#an-eyrie">AN EYRIE</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER VIII.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#the-new-year-s-feast">THE NEW YEAR'S FEAST</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER IX.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#enticements">ENTICEMENTS</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER X.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#high-festival">HIGH FESTIVAL</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XI.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#a-revelation">A REVELATION</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XII.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#when-shadows-fall">'WHEN SHADOWS FALL'</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XIII.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#a-new-arrival">A NEW ARRIVAL</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XIV.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#about-illinois">'ABOUT ILLINOIS'</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XV.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#wild-times">WILD TIMES</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">CHAPTER XVI.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><a class="medium reference internal" href="#dreams-and-visions">DREAMS AND VISIONS</a></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-journey-northward"><span class="bold x-large">WHITE HEATHER.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER I.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A JOURNEY NORTHWARD.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>On a certain cold evening in January, and just as the -Scotch night-mail was about to start for the north, a stranger -drove up to Euston and alighted, and was glad enough to -escape from the chill draughts of the echoing station into -the glow and warmth and comfort of a sleeping-car. He -was a man of means apparently; for one half of this -carriage, containing four berths, and forming a room apart, -as it were, had been reserved for himself alone; while his -travelling impedimenta—fur-lined coats and hoods and rugs -and what not—were of an elaborate and sumptuous description. -On the other hand, there was nothing of ostentation -about either his dress or appearance or demeanour. He -was a tall, thin, quiet-looking man, with an aquiline nose, -sallow complexion, and keen but not unkindly gray eyes. -His short-cropped hair was grizzled, and there were deep -lines in the worn and ascetic face; but this may have been -the result of an exhausting climate rather than of any mental -care, for there was certainly no touch of melancholy in his -expression. His costume was somewhat prim and precise; -there was a kind of schoolmasterish look about the stiff -white collar and small black tie; his gloves were new and -neat. For the rest, he seemed used to travelling; he began -to make himself at home at once, and scarcely looked up -from this setting of things to rights when the conductor -made his appearance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Mr. Hodson, sir?' the latter said, with an inquiring -glance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'That's about what they call me,' he answered slowly, -as he opened a capacious dressing-bag covered with -crocodile-hide.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do you expect any friends to join you farther along, sir?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Not that I know of,' was the answer—and a pair of -dark-blue velvet slippers, with initials worked in gold, were -fished out and thrown upon the seat beside him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But when the conductor had got one of the lower -sleeping-berths made ready and the traveller had completed -his leisurely arrangements for passing the night in comfort, -a somewhat one-sided conversation ensued. This gaunt, -slow-speaking, reserved man proved to be quite talkative—in -a curious, measured, dry, and staccato fashion; and if -his conversation consisted chiefly of questions, these showed -that he had a very honest and simple concern in the welfare -of this other human being whom chance had thrown in his -way, and that he could express his friendly interest without -any touch of patronage or condescension. He asked first -about the railway-line; how the company's servants were -paid; what were their hours on duty; whether they had -formed any associations for relief in case of sickness; what -this particular man got for his work; whether he could -look forward to any bettering of his lot, and so forth. And -then, fixing his eyes more scrutinisingly on his companion, -he began to ask about his family affairs—where he lived; -what children he had; how often he saw them; and the -like; and these questions were so obviously prompted by -no idle curiosity, but by an honest sympathy, and by the -apparent desire of one human being to get to understand -fully and clearly the position and surroundings and prospects -of this other fellow-creature, that it was impossible for -any one to take offence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And how old is your little girl?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Eight, sir: she will be nine in May next.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What do you call her?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Caroline, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, you don't say!' he exclaimed, with his eyes—which -were usually calm and observant—lighting up with -some surprise. 'That is the name of my girl too—though -I can't call her little any more. Well now,' he added, as -he took out his purse and selected a sovereign from the -mass of coins, 'I think this is about what you ought to do. -When you get back to Camden Town, you start an account -in the Post Office Savings Bank, in your little girl's name, -and you put in this sovereign as a first deposit. Then, -whenever you have an odd sixpence or shilling to give -her—a birthday present, or that—you keep adding on and on; -and there will be a nice little sum for her in after years. -And if ever she asks, you can tell her it was the father of -an American Caroline who made her this little present; -and if she grows up to be as good a girl as the American -Carry, she'll do very well, I think.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The conductor scarcely knew how to express his thanks, -but the American cut him short, saying coolly—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I don't give the sovereign to you at all. It is in trust -for your daughter. And you don't look to me the kind of -man who would go and drink it.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He took out an evening newspaper, and, at the hint, -the conductor went away to get ready the berths in the -other end of the car. When he came back again to see if -the gentleman wanted anything further for the night, they -had thundered along the line until they were nearing -Rugby.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, yes,' Mr. Hodson said, in answer to the question, -'you might get me a bottle of soda-water when we get to -the station.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I have soda-water in the car, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Bring me a bottle, then, please.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And shall I get anything else for you, sir, at Rugby?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, I thank you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When the man returned with the soda-water, the traveller -had taken from his dressing-bag a bottle labelled 'Bromide -of Potassium' and he was just about to mix his customary -sleeping-draught when it occurred to him that perhaps this -conductor could tell him something of the new and far -country into which he was about to adventure for the first -time. And in making these inquiries he showed that he -was just as frank-spoken about his own plans and -circumstances as he expected other people to be about theirs. -When the conductor confessed that he knew next to nothing -about the north of Scotland, never having been farther than -Perth, and even then his knowledge of the country being -confined to the railway-line and the stations, Mr. Hodson -went on to say—in that methodical way of his, with little -rising inflexions here and there—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, it's bound to be different from London, anyway. -It can't be like London; and that's the main thing for me. -Why, that London fog, never moving, same in the morning, -same at night, it's just too dismal for anything; the inside -of a jail is a fool to it. 'Pears to me that a London -afternoon is just about as melancholy as they make it; if there's -anything more melancholy than that anywhere, I don't know -it. Well, now, it can't be like that at Cape Wrath.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I should think not, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I daresay if I lived in the town, and had my club, and -knew people, it might be different; and my daughter seems -to get through the time well enough; but young folks are -easily amused. Say, now, about this salmon fishing in the -north: you don't know when it begins?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You haven't seen anybody going yet with a bundle of -rods?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, sir, not this year yet.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Hope they haven't been playing it on me—I was told -I could begin on the eleventh. But it don't signify much -so long's I get out of that infernal cut-throat atmosphere of -London.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this point the train began to slow into Rugby -station, and the conductor left to attend to his duties; and -by the time they were moving out again and on their way -to the far north, Mr. Hodson had mixed and drunk his -nightly potion, and, partially undressed, was wrapped up in -the thick and warm coverings of the sleeping-berth, where, -whether owing to the bromide of potassium, or the jog-trot -rattle of the wheels, he was soon plunged in a profound -slumber.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, if part of his design in thus venturing upon a -journey to the north in mid-winter was to get away from -the monotonous mists of London, the next morning showed -him that so far he had been abundantly successful. The -day breaking caused him to open his eyes; and instinctively -he turned to the window. There before him was a strange, -and unusual, and welcome sight. No more dismal grays, -and the gathering down of a hopeless dusk; but the clear, -glad light of the morning—a band of flashing gold all -along the eastern horizon, behind the jet-black stems and -branches of the leafless trees; and over that the heavens -were all of a pale and luminous lilac, with clouds hanging -here and there—clouds that were dark and almost thunderous -in their purple look, but that really meant nothing but -beauty, as they lay there soft and motionless in the glowing -and mystical dawn. Quickly he got up. The windows -were thrown open. And this air that rushed in—so fresh, -so sweet, so full of all kinds of mellow and fragrant messages -from the hills, and the pine-woods, and the wide-lying -straths—did it not bring a strange kind of joy and surprise -with it?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'A beautiful morning, sir; we are getting near to Perth -now,' the conductor said, when he made his appearance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Are we in time?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, in very good time.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And no hurry about breakfast?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, sir; you don't start again till nine o'clock.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Even this big hollow station, with its wide stone -platforms and resounding arch: was it the white light that -filled it, or the fresh air that blew through it, that made it -quite a cheerful place? He was charmed with the accent -of the timid handmaiden who brought him his breakfast in -the refreshment room, and who waited on him in such a -friendly, half-anxious, shy fashion; and he wondered whether -he would dare to offer so pretty and well-mannered a young -lady anything over the customary charge in token of his -gratitude to her for her gentle ways. Perth itself: well, -there had been rain in the night, and the streets near the -station were full of mud; but then the cart ruts in the mud -were gleaming lines of gold; and the beautiful sky hung -over the slowly rising smoke of the houses; and the air was -everywhere so sweet and welcome. He had got into a new -world altogether; the weight of the London atmosphere -was lifted from him; he whistled 'Auld Lang Syne'—which -was the only Scotch air he knew—and the lugubrious tune -sounded quite pleasant on so joyous a morning.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Moreover, these were but first and commonplace experiences. -For by and by, when he had again taken his seat -to prosecute his journey—and he found himself the sole -occupant of the carriage—the sunrise had widened into the -full splendour of a sunlit day; and as the train sped away -to the north, he, sitting at the window there, and having -nothing to do but examine the new country he was entering, -was wholly amazed at the intensity and brilliancy of the -colouring around, and at the extraordinary vividness of the -light. The wide stretches of the Tay shone like burnished -silver; there were yellow straths and fields; and -beech hedges of a rich russet-red; and fir-woods of a deep -fresh green; and still farther away low-lying hills of a soft -and ruddy purple, touched sharp here and there with -patches of snow; and over all these a blue sky as of -summer. The moist, warm air that blew in at the window -seemed laden with pine odours; the country women at the -small stations had a fresh pink colour in their cheeks; -everywhere a new and glad and wholesome life seemed to -be abroad, and cheerfulness, and rich hues, and sunlight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'This is good enough,' he said to himself. 'This is -something like what I shipped for.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And so they sped on: through the soft, wide-stretching -woods of Murthly, and Birnam, and Dunkeld; through the -shadow and sudden gleams of Killiecrankie Pass; on by -Blair Athol and the banks of the Garry; until, with slow -and labouring breath, the train began to force its way up -the heights of the Grampians, in the lone neighbourhood -of the Drumouchter Forest. The air was keener here; the -patches of snow were nearer at hand; indeed, in some -places the line had evidently been cleared, and large snow -banks heaped up on each side. But by and by the motion -of the train seemed to become easier; and soon it was -apparent that the descent had begun; presently they were -rattling away down into the wide and shining valley of -Strathspey; and far over there on the west and north, and -keeping guard over the plain, as it were, rose the giant -masses of the Cairngorm Hills, the snow sparkling here -and there on their shoulders and peaks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not until half-past four in the afternoon that the -long railway journey came to an end; and during that time -he had come upon many a scene of historical interest and -pictorial beauty. He had been within a short distance -of the mournful 'haughs of Cromdale;' he had crossed -Culloden Moor. Nearing Forres, he had come within -sight of the Northern Sea; and thereafter had skirted the -blue ruffled waters of the Moray, and Cromarty, and Dornoch -Firths. But even when he had got to Lairg, a little -hamlet at the foot of Loch Shin, his travelling for the day -was not nearly over; there still remained a drive of -four-and-twenty miles; and although it was now dusk and the -weather threatened a change, he preferred to push on that -night. Travelling did not seem to tire him much; no -doubt he was familiar with immeasurably greater distances -in his own country. Moreover, he had learned that there -was nothing particular to look at in the stretch of wild -moorland that lay between him and his destination; and -then again, if it was dark now, there would be moonlight -later on. So he ate his dinner leisurely and in content, -until a waggonette with two stout horses was brought -round; then he got in; and presently they were away from -the little hamlet and out in a strange land of darkness -and silence, scarcely anything visible around them, the -only sound the jog-trot clatter of the horses' feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a desperately lonely drive. The road appeared -to go over interminable miles of flat or scarcely undulating -moorland; and even when the moonlight began to make -the darkness faintly visible, that only increased the sense -of solitude, for there was not even a single tree to break the -monotony of the sombre horizon line. It had begun to rain -also: not actual rain, but a kind of thin drizzle, that seemed -to mix itself up with the ineffectual moonlight, and throw -a wan haze over these far-reaching and desolate wastes. -Tramp, tramp went the horses' feet through this ghostly -world; the wet mist grew thicker and thicker and clung -around the traveller's hair; it was a chilling mist, moreover, -and seemed to search for weak places about the throat. -The only sharply defined objects that the eye could rest on -were the heads and upthrown ears of the horses, that shone -in the light sent forward by the lamps: all else was a -formless wilderness of gloom, shadows following shadows, and -ever the desolate landscape stretching on and on, and -losing itself in the night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The American stood up in the waggonette, perhaps to -shake off for a second the clammy sensation of the wet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Say, young man,' he observed—but in an absent kind -of way, for he was regarding, as far as that was possible, the -dusky undulations of the mournful landscape—'don't you -think now, that for a good wholesome dose of God-forsakenness, -this'll about take the cake?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ah beg your paurdon, sir,' said the driver, who was -apparently a Lowlander.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The stranger, however, did not seem inclined to continue -the conversation; he sank into his seat again; gathered -his rugs round him; and contented himself as heretofore -by idly watching the lamplight touching here and -there on the harness and lighting up the horses' heads and -ears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mile after mile, hour after hour, went by in this -monotonous fashion; and to the stranger it seemed as if he were -piercing farther and farther into some unknown land -unpeopled by any human creatures. Not a ray of light -from any hut or farmhouse was visible anywhere. But as -the time went on, there was at least some little improvement -in the weather. Either the moonlight was growing stronger, -or the thin drizzle clearing off; at all events he could now -make out ahead of him—and beyond the flat moorland—the -dusky masses of some mountains, with one great peak -overtopping them all. He asked the name.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'That is Ben Clebrig, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then through the mist and the moonlight a dull -sheet of silver began to disclose itself dimly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Is that a lake down there?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Loch Naver, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Then we are not far from Inver-Mudal?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No far noo; just a mile or two, sir,' was the consoling -answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And indeed when he got to the end of his journey, and -reached the little hostelry set far amid these moorland and -mountain wilds, his welcome there made ample amends. -He was ushered into a plain, substantially furnished, and -spacious sitting-room, brightly lit up by the lamp that stood -on the white cloth of the table, and also by the blazing glare -from the peats in the mighty fireplace; and when his eyes -had got accustomed to this bewilderment of warmth and -light, he found, awaiting his orders, and standing shyly at -the door, a pretty, tall, fair-haired girl, who, with the -softest accent in the world, asked him what she should bring -him for supper. And when he said he did not care to have -anything, she seemed quite surprised and even concerned. -It was a long, long drive, she said, in her shy and pretty -way; and would not the gentleman have some hare-soup—that -they had kept hot for him? and so forth. But her -coaxing was of no avail.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'By the way, what is your name, my girl?' he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Nelly, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, then, Nelly, do you happen to know whether -Lord Ailine's keeper is anywhere in the neighbourhood?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He is in the unn, sir, waiting for you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, indeed. Well, tell him I should like to see him. -And say, what is his name?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'That is his first name,' she explained.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'His "first name"? I thought that was one of our -Americanisms.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She did not seem to understand this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald Strang is his name, sir; but we jist call him -Ronald.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well, Nelly; you go and tell him I want to see him.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ferry well, sir,' she said; and away she went.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But little indeed did this indefatigable student of nature -and human nature—who had been but half interested by his -observations and experiences through that long day's -travel—know what was yet in store for him. The door opened; -a slim-built and yet muscular young man of eight-and-twenty -or so appeared there, clad in a smart deer-stalking costume -of brownish green; he held his cap in his hand; and round -his shoulder was the strap from which hung behind the brown -leather case of his telescope. This Mr. Hodson saw at a -glance; and also something more. He prided himself on -his judgment of character. And when his quick look had -taken in the keen, sun-tanned face of this young fellow, the -square, intellectual forehead, the firm eyebrows, the finely -cut and intelligent mouth, and a certain proud set of the -head, he said to himself, 'This is a </span><em class="italics">man</em><span>: there's something -here worth knowing.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good evening, sir,' the keeper said, to break the -momentary silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good evening,' said Mr. Hodson (who had been rather -startled out of his manners). 'Come and sit down by the -fire; and let's have a talk now about the shooting and the -salmon-fishing. I have brought the letters from the Duke's -agent with me.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, sir,' said Strang; and he moved a bit farther into -the room; but remained standing, cap in hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Pull in a chair,' said Mr. Hodson, who was searching -for the letters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Thank ye, sir; thank ye,' said the keeper; but he -remained standing nevertheless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hodson returned to the table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Sit down, man, sit down,' said he, and he himself -pulled in a chair. 'I don't know what your customs are over -here, but anyhow I'm an American citizen; I'm not a lord.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Somewhat reluctantly the keeper obeyed this injunction, -and for a minute or two seemed to be rather uncomfortable; -but when he began to answer the questions concisely -put to him with regard to the business before them, his -shyness wholly wore away, for he was the master of this -subject, not the stranger who was seeking for information. -Into the details of these matters it is needless to enter -here; and, indeed, so struck was the American with the -talk and bearing of this new acquaintance that the -conversation went far afield. And the farther afield it went, -the more and more was he impressed with the extraordinary -information and intelligence of the man, the independence -of his views, the shrewdness and sometimes sarcasm of his -judgments. Always he was very respectful; but in his -eyes—which seemed singularly dark and lustrous here -indoors, but which, out of doors and when he was after -the wary stag, or the still more wary hinds, on the far -slopes of Clebrig, contracted and became of a keen brownish -gray—there was a kind of veiled fire of humour which, as the -stranger guessed, might in other circumstances blaze forth -wildly enough. Mr. Hodson, of Chicago, was entirely -puzzled. A gamekeeper? He had thought (from his -reading of English books) that a gamekeeper was a -velveteen-coated person whose ideas ranged from the ale-house -to the pheasant-coverts, and thence and quickly back again. -But this man seemed to have a wide and competent knowledge -of public affairs; and, when it came to a matter of -argument (they had a keen little squabble about the -protection tariffs of America) he could reason hard, and was -not over-compliant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'God bless me,' Mr. Hodson was driven to exclaim at -last, 'what is a man of your ability doing in a place like -this? Why don't you go away to one of the big cities—or -over to America—where a young fellow with his wits -about him can push himself forward?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I would rather be "where the dun deer lie,"' said he, -with a kind of bashful laugh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You read Kingsley?' the other said, still more astonished.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'My brother lends me his books from time to time,' -Ronald said modestly. 'He's a Free Church minister in -Glasgow.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'A Free Church minister? He went through college, then?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, sir; he took his degree at Aberdeen.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But—but—' said the newcomer, who had come upon -a state of affairs he could not understand at all—'who -was your father, then? He sent your brother to college, -I presume?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no, sir. My father is a small farmer down the -Lammermuir way; and he just gave my brother Andrew -his wages like the rest, and Andrew saved up for the -classes.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You are not a Highlander, then?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But half-and-half, like my name, sir,' he said (and all -the shyness was gone now: he spoke to this stranger -frankly and simply as he would have spoken to a shepherd -on the hillside). 'My mother was Highland. She was a -Macdonald; and so she would have me called Ronald; -it's a common name wi' them.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hodson stared at him for a second or two in silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well,' said he, slowly, 'I don't know. Different men -have different ways of looking at things. I think if I were -of your age, and had your intelligence, I would try for -something better than being a gamekeeper.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am very well content, sir,' said the other placidly; -'and I couldna be more than that anywhere else. It's a -healthy life; and a healthy life is the best of anything—at -least that is my way of thinking. I wadna like to try -the toun; I doubt it wouldn't agree wi' me.' And then he -rose to his feet. 'I beg your pardon, sir; I've been -keeping ye late.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, Mr. Hodson was nothing loth to let him go; for -although he had arrived at the conviction that here was a -valuable human life, of exceptional quality and distinction, -being absolutely thrown away and wasted, still he had not -formed the arguments by which he might try to save it -for the general good, and for the particular good of the -young man himself. He wanted time to think over this -matter—and in cool blood; for there is no doubt that he -had been surprised and fascinated by the intellectual -boldness and incisiveness of the younger man's opinions and -by the chance sarcasms that had escaped him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I could get him a good opening in Chicago soon -enough,' he was thinking to himself, when the keeper had -left, 'but upon my soul I don't know the man who is fit -to become that man's master. Why, I'd start a newspaper -for him myself, and make him editor—and if he can't -write, he has got mother-wit enough to guide them who -can—but he and I would be quarrelling in a week. That -fellow is not to be driven by anybody.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He now rang the bell for a candle; and the slim and -yellow-haired Nelly showed him upstairs to his room, which -he found to be comfortably warm, for there was a blazing -peat fire in the grate, scenting all the air with its delicious -odour. He bade her good-night, and turned to open his -dressing-bag; but at the same moment he heard voices -without, and, being of an inquiring turn of mind, he went -to the window. The first thing he saw was that outside a -beautiful clear moon was now shining; the leafless -elm-trees and the heavy-foliaged pines throwing sharp black -shadows across the white road. And this laughing and -jesting at the door of the inn?—surely he heard Ronald's -voice there—the gayest of any—among the jibes that -seemed to form their farewells for the night? Then there -was the shutting of a door; and in the silence that ensued he -saw the solitary, straight-limbed, clean-made figure of a man -stride up the white road, a little dog trotting behind him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Come along, Harry, my lad,' the man said to his small -companion—and that, sure enough, was the keeper's voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then, in the stillness of the moonlight night, this -watcher and listener was startled to hear a clear and powerful -tenor voice suddenly begin to sing—in a careless fashion, -it is true, as if it were but to cheer the homeward going—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Come all ye jolly shepherds,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">That whistle through the glen,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">I'll tell ye of a secret</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">That courtiers dinna ken.</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">What is the greatest bliss</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">That the tongue o' man can name?—</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Tis to woo a bonnie lassie</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">When the kye come hame.'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>'Great heavens!' said Mr. Hodson to himself, 'such a -voice—and all Europe waiting for a new tenor! But at -seven or eight and twenty I suppose he is beyond training.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The refrain became more and more distant:</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'When the kye come hame,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">When the kye come hame,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Twixt the gloamin' and the mirk,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">When the kye come hame.'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Both the keeper and the little trotting terrier had -disappeared now, having turned a corner of the road where -there was a clump of trees. The traveller who had -wandered into these remote wilds sate down for a minute -or two to sum up his investigations of the evening, and -they were these:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Accounts of the deer seem shaky; but there may have -been bad shooting this last year, as he says. The -salmon-fishing sounds more likely; and then Carry could come -with us in the boat—which would make it less dull for -her. Anyhow, I have discovered the most remarkable -man I have met with as yet in the old country; and to -think of his being thrown away like that!'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="meenie"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER II.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">MEENIE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We may now follow Ronald Strang as he walks along to -his cottage, which, with its kennels and its shed for hanging -up the slain deer, stands on a little plateau by the roadside, -a short distance from the inn. The moonlight night is -white and beautiful, but far from silent; for the golden -plover are whistling and calling down by the lochside, and -the snipe are sending their curious harsh note across the -moorland wastes. Moreover, he himself seems to be in a -gay mood (perhaps glad to be over the embarrassment of -a first meeting with the stranger), and he is conversing -amicably with his little terrier. The subject is rats. -Whether the wise little Harry knows all that is said need -not be determined; but he looks up from time to time -and wags his stump of a tail as he trots placidly along. -And so they get up to the cottage and enter, for the outer -door is on the latch, thieves being unheard of in this -remote neighbourhood; though here Harry hesitates, for -he is uncertain whether he is to be invited into the -parlour or not. But the next moment all consideration of -this four-footed friend is driven out of his master's head. -Ronald had expected to find the parlour empty, and his -little sister, at present his sole housekeeper, retired to rest. -But the moment he opens the door, he finds that not only -is she there, sitting by the table near to the solitary lamp, -but that she has a companion with her. And well he -knows who that must be.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Dear me, Miss Douglas,' he exclaimed, 'have I kept -you so late!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The young lady, who now rose, with something of a -flush over her features—for she had been startled by his -sudden entrance—was certainly an extraordinarily pretty -creature: not so much handsome, or distinguished, or -striking, as altogether pretty and winning and gentle-looking. -She was obviously of a pure Highland type: the figure -slender and graceful, the head small and beautifully formed; -the forehead rather square for a woman, but getting its -proper curve from the soft and pretty hair; the features -refined and intelligent; the mouth sensitive; the expression -a curious sort of seeking to please, as it were, and ready to -form itself into an abundant gratitude for the smallest act -of kindness. Of course, much of this look was owing to her -eyes, which were the true Highland eyes; of a blue gray -these were, with somewhat dark lashes; wide apart, and shy, -and apprehensive, they reminded one of the startled eyes of -some wild animal; but they were, entirely human in their -quick sympathy, in their gentleness, in their appeal to all -the world, as it were, for a favouring word. As for her -voice—well, if she used but few of the ordinary Highland -phrases, she had undoubtedly a considerable trace of -Highland accent; for, although her father was an Edinburgh man, -her mother (as the elderly lady very soon let her neighbours -know) was one of the Stuarts of Glengask and Orosay; -and then again Meenie had lived nearly all her life in the -Highlands, her father never having risen above the position -of a parish doctor, and welcoming even such local -removals as served to improve his position in however slight -a way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Maggie,' said Miss Douglas (and the beautiful wide-apart -eyes were full of a shy apology), 'was feeling a little -lonely, and I did not like to leave her.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But if I had known,' said he, 'I would not have stayed -so late. The gentleman that is come about the shooting -is a curious man; it's no the salmon and the grouse and -the deer he wants to know about only; it's everything in -the country. Now, Maggie, lass, get ye to bed. And I -will see you down the road, Miss Douglas.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed there is no need for that,' said Meenie, with -downcast eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Would ye have a bogle run away with ye?' he said -good-naturedly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And so she bade good-night to the little Maggie, and -took up some books and drawings she had brought to -beguile the time withal; and then she went out into the -clear night, followed by the young gamekeeper.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And what a night it was—or rather, might have been—for -two lovers! The wide waters of the loch lay still and -smooth, with a broad pathway of silver stretching away into -the dusk of the eastern hills; not a breath of wind stirred -bush or tree; and if Ben Clebrig in the south was mostly -a bulk of shadow, far away before them in the northern -skies rose the great shoulders of Ben Loyal, pallid in the -moonlight, the patches of snow showing white up near the -stars. They had left behind them the little hamlet—which -merely consisted of a few cottages and the inn; they were -alone in this pale silent world. And down there, beneath -the little bridge, ran the placid Mudal Water: and if they -had a Bible with them?—and would stand each on one -side of the stream?—and clasp hands across? It was a -night for lovers' vows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Maggie is getting on well with her lessons,' the pretty -young lady said, in that gentle voice of hers. 'She is very -diligent.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'm sure I'm much obliged to ye, Miss Douglas,' was -the respectful answer, 'for the trouble ye take with her. -It's an awkward thing to be sae far from a school. I'm -thinking I'll have to send her to my brother in Glasgow, -and get her put to school there.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, indeed, indeed,' said she, 'that will be a change now. -And who will look after the cottage for you, Ronald?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She addressed him thus quite naturally, and without -shyness; for no one ever dreamed of calling him anything -else.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, I suppose Mrs. MacGregor will give the place a -redd[#] up from time to time. But a keeper has but half -learned his business that canna shift for himself; there's -some of the up-country lodges with ne'er a woman-body -within a dozen miles o' them.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] 'Redd,' a setting to rights.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>'It is your brother the minister that Maggie will be -going to?' she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh yes; he is married, and has a family of his own; -she will be comfortable there.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, it is strange,' said she, 'that you should have a -brother in Glasgow, and I a sister, and that your mother -should be Highland and mine too.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But this was putting himself and her on much too -common a footing; and he was always on his guard against -that, however far her gentleness and good-nature might -lead her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'When is your father coming back, Miss Douglas?' -said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, I really do not know,' she said. 'I do not think -he has ever had so wide a district to attend to, and we are -never sure of his being at home.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It must be very lonely for a young lady brought up -like you,' he ventured to say, 'that ye should have no -companions. And for your mother, too; I wonder she -can stand it.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no,' she said, 'for the people are so friendly -with us. And I do not know of any place that I like -better.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By this time they were come to the little wooden gate -of the garden, and he opened that for her. Before them -was the cottage, with its windows, despite the moonlight on -the panes, showing the neat red blinds within. She gave -him her hand for a second.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good night, Ronald,' said she pleasantly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good night, Miss Douglas,' said he; 'Maggie must not -keep you up so late again.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And therewith he walked away back again along the -white road, and only now perceived that by some accident -his faithful companion Harry had been shut in when they -left. He also discovered, when he got home, that his sister -Maggie had been so intent puzzling over some arithmetical -mysteries which Meenie had been explaining to her, that -she had still further delayed her going to bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What, what?' said he, good-humouredly. 'Not in bed -yet, lass?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The little red-headed, freckled-faced lassie obediently -gathered up her belongings, but at the door she lingered -for a moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald,' said she, timidly, 'why do ye call Meenie -"Miss Douglas?" It's not friendly.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'When ye're a bit older, lass, ye'll understand,' he said, -with a laugh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Little Maggie was distressed in a vague way, for she had -formed a warm affection for Meenie Douglas, and it seemed -hard and strange that her own brother should show himself -so distant in manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do you think she's proud? for she's not that,' the little -girl made bold to say.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Have ye never heard o' the Stuarts of Glengask?' said -he; and he added grimly, 'My certes, if ye were two or -three years older, I'm thinking Mrs. Douglas would have -told ye ere now how Sir Alexander used to call on them in -Edinburgh every time he came north. Most folk have -heard that story. But however, when Meenie, as ye like -to call her, goes to live in Edinburgh or Glasgow, or some -o' the big towns, of course she'll be Miss Douglas to every -one, as she ought to be here, only that she's taken a fancy -to you, and, my lass, fairly spoils ye with her kindness. -Now, off with ye, and dinna fash your head about what I -or any one else calls her; if she's content to be Meenie to -you, ye should be proud enough.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As soon as she was gone he stirred up the peats, lit his -pipe, and drew in a chair to the small table near the fire. -It was his first pipe that evening, and he wished to have it -in comfort. And then, to pass the time, he unlocked and -opened a drawer in the table, and began to rummage -through the papers collected there—all kinds of shreds and -fragments they were, scored over mostly in pencil, and -many of them bearing marks as if the writing had been -done outside in the rain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fact was, that in idle times, when there was no -trapping to be done, or shooting of hoodie-crows, or -breaking-in of young dogs, he would while away many an hour -on the hillside or along the shores of the loch by stringing -verses together. They were done for amusement's sake. -Sometimes he jotted them down, sometimes he did not. -If occasionally, when he had to write a letter to a friend of -his at Tongue, or make some request of his brother in -Glasgow, he put these epistles into jingling rhyme, that was -about all the publication his poetical efforts ever achieved; -and he was most particular to conceal from the 'gentry' -who came down to the shooting any knowledge that he -scribbled at all. He knew it would be against him. He -had no wish to figure as one of those local poets (and -alas! they have been and are too numerous in Scotland) who, -finding within them some small portion of the afflatus of a -Burns, or a Motherwell, or a Tannahill, are seduced away -from their lawful employment, gain a fleeting popularity in -their native village, perhaps attain to the dignity of a notice -in a Glasgow or Edinburgh newspaper, and subsequently and -almost inevitably die of drink, in the most abject misery of -disappointment. No; if he had any ambition it was not -in that direction; it was rather that he should be known as -the smartest deerstalker and the best trainer of dogs in -Sutherlandshire. He knew where his strength lay, and -where he found content. And then there was another -reason why he could not court newspaper applause with -these idle rhymes of his. They were nearly all about -Meenie Douglas. Meenie-olatry was written all across -those scribbled sheets. And of course that was a dark -secret known only to himself; and indeed it amused him, -as he turned over the loose leaves, to think that all the -Stuarts of Glengask and Orosay (and that most severe and -terrible of them all, Mrs. Douglas) could not in the least -prevent his saying to Meenie just whatever he pleased—within -the wooden confines of this drawer. And what had -he not said? Sometimes it was but a bit of careless -singing—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Roses white, roses red,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Roses in the lane,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Tell me, roses red and white,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Where is Meenie gane?</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O is she on Loch Loyal's side?</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Or up by Mudal Water?</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">In vain the wild doves in the woods</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Everywhere have sought her.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Roses white, roses red,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Roses in the lane,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Tell me, roses red and white,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Where is Meenie gane?</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Well, now, supposing you are far away up on Ben -Clebrig's slopes, a gun over your shoulder, and idly looking -out for a white hare or a ptarmigan, if you take to humming -these careless rhymes to some such tune as 'Cherry Ripe,' -who is to hinder? The strongest of all the south winds -cannot carry the tidings to Glengask nor yet to Orosay's -shores. And so the whole country-side—every hill and -stream and wood and rock—came to be associated with -Meenie, and saturated with the praise and glory of her. -Why, he made the very mountains fight about her!</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ben Loyal spake to Ben Clebrig,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And they thundered their note of war:</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'You look down on your sheep and your sheepfolds;</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">I see the ocean afar.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'You look down on the huts and the hamlets,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the trivial tasks of men;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">I see the great ships sailing</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Along the northern main.'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ben Clebrig laughed, and the laughter</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Shook heaven and earth and sea:</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'There is something in that small hamlet</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">That is fair enough for me—</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Ay, fairer than all your sailing ships</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Struck with the morning flame:</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">A fresh young flower from the hand of God—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Rose Meenie is her name!'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>But at this moment, as he turned over this mass of -scraps and fragments, there was one, much more audacious -than the rest, that he was in search of, and when he found -it a whimsical fancy got into his head. If he were to make -out a fair copy of the roughly scrawled lines, and fold that -up, and address it to Meenie, just to see how it looked? -He took out his blotting-pad, and selected the best sheet -of note-paper he could find; and then he wrote (with a -touch of amusement, and perhaps of something else, too, -in his mind the while) thus—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O wilt thou be my dear love?</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">(Meenie and Meenie),</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O wilt thou be my ain love?</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">(My sweet Meenie),</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Were you wi' me upon the hill,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">It's I would gar the dogs be still,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">We'd lie our lane and kiss our fill,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">(My love Meenie).</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Aboon the burn a wild bush grows</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">(Meenie and Meenie),</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And on the lush there blooms a rose</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">(My sweet Meenie);</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And wad ye tak the rose frae me,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And wear it where it fain would be,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">It's to your arms that I would flee,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">(Rose-sweet Meenie!)</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>He carefully folded the paper and addressed it outside—so:</span></p> -<dl class="docutils"> -<dt class="noindent"><span class="italics">Miss Wilhelmina Stuart Douglas,</span></dt> -<dd><dl class="docutils first last"> -<dt class="noindent"><span class="italics">Care of James Douglas, Esq., M.D.,</span></dt> -<dd><dl class="docutils first last"> -<dt class="noindent"><span class="italics">Inver-Mudal,</span></dt> -<dd><p class="first last noindent pfirst"><span class="italics">Sutherlandshire.</span></p> -</dd> -</dl> -</dd> -</dl> -</dd> -</dl> -<p class="pfirst"><span>And then he held it out at arm's length, and regarded it, -and laughed, in a contemptuous kind of way, at his own -folly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well,' he was thinking to himself, 'if it were not for -Stuart of Glengask, I suppose the day might come when I -could send her a letter like that; but as it is, if they were -to hear of any such madness, Glengask and all his kith and -kin would be for setting the heather on fire.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He tossed the letter back on the blotting-pad, and rose -and went and stood opposite the blazing peats. This -movement aroused the attention of the little terrier, who -immediately jumped up from his snooze and began to -whimper his expectation. Strang's heart smote him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'God bless us!' he said aloud. 'When a lass gets -into a man's head, there's room for nothing else; he'll -forget his best friends. Here, Harry, come along, and I'll -get ye your supper, my man.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He folded up the blotting-pad and locked it in the drawer, -blew out the candles, called Harry to follow him into the -kitchen, where the small terrier was duly provided for and -left on guard. Then he sought out his own small room. -He was whistling as he went; and, if he dreamt of -anything that night, be sure it was not of the might and -majesty of Sir Alexander Stuart of Glengask and Orosay. -These verses to Meenie were but playthings and -fancies—for idle hours.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="on-the-loch"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER III.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">ON THE LOCH.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A considerable wind arose during the night; Mr. Hodson -did not sleep very well; and, lying awake towards morning, -he came to the conclusion that he had been befooled, or -rather that he had befooled himself, with regard to that -prodigy of a gamekeeper. He argued with himself that -his mental faculties must have been dulled by the long -day's travel; he had come into the inn jaded and tired; -and then finding himself face to face with an ordinarily -alert and intrepid intellect, he had no doubt exaggerated -the young man's abilities, and made a wonder of him where -no wonder was needed. That he was a person of considerable -information and showed common sense was likely -enough. Mr. Hodson, in his studies of men and things, -had heard something of the intelligence and education to -be found among the working classes in Scotland. He had -heard of the handloom weavers who were learned botanists; -of the stone-masons who were great geologists; of the village -poets who, if most of their efforts were but imitations of -Ferguson and Burns and Tannahill, would here and there, -in some chance moment of inspiration, sing out some true -and pathetic song, to be taken to the hearts of their -countrymen, and added to a treasure-store of rustic -minstrelsy such as no other nation in the world has ever -produced. At the same time he was rather anxious to meet -Strang again, the better to get the measure of him. And -as he was also curious to see what this neighbourhood into -which he had penetrated looked like, he rose betimes in -the morning—indeed, before the day was fully declared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The wind still moaned about the house, but outside -there was no sign of any storm; on the contrary, everything -was strangely calm. The lake lay a dark lurid purple -in the hollow of the encircling hills; and these, along the -eastern heavens, were of the deepest and softest olive -green; just over them was a line of gleaming salmon-red, -keen and resplendent as if molten from a furnace; and -over that again soft saffron-dusky clouds, deepening in tone -the higher they hung in the clear pale steel hues of the -overhead sky. There was no sign of life anywhere—nothing -but the birch woods sloping down to the shore; -the moorland wastes of the lower hills; and above these -the giant bulk and solemn shadows of Ben Clebrig,[#] dark -against the dawn. It was a lovely sight; he began to -think he had never before in his life felt himself so much -alone. But whence came the sound of the wind that -seemed to go moaning down the strath towards the purple -lake?</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] That is, the Hill of the Playing Trout.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Well, he made no doubt that it was up towards the -north and west that the storm was brewing; and he -remembered that a window in the sitting-room below looked -in that direction; there he would be able to ascertain -whether any fishing was practicable. He finished his -dressing and went down. The breakfast table was laid; a -mighty mass of peats was blazing cheerfully in the spacious -fireplace. And the storm? Why, all the wide strath on -this northern side of the house was one glow of yellow -light in the now spreading sunrise; and still farther away -in the north the great shoulders of Ben Loyal[#] had caught -a faint roseate tinge; and the same pale and beautiful -colour seemed to transfuse a large and fleecy cloud that -clung around the snow-scarred peak. So he came to -the conclusion that in this corner of the glen the wind -said more than it meant; and that they might adventure -on the loch without risk of being swamped or blown -ashore.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] More properly Ben Laoghal, the Hill of the Calves.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The slim tall Highland lass made her appearance with -further plenishings for the table, and 'Good moarning!' -she said, in her pretty way, in answer to his greeting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Say, now, has that man come down from Tongue yet?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, sir,' said Nelly, 'he wass no come down yet.' And -then she looked up with a demure smile. 'They -would be keeping the New Year at Tongue last night.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Keeping the New Year on the 14th of January?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It's the twelfth is the usual day, sir,' she explained, -'but that was Saturday, and they do not like a Saturday -night, for they have to stop at twelve o'clock, and so most -of them were for keeping it last night.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, indeed. Then the festive gentleman won't show -up to-day?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But it is of no matter whateffer whether he comes or -no; for I am sure that Ronald will be willing to lend a -hand. Oh, I am sure of it. I will ask him myself.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'</span><em class="italics">You</em><span> will ask him?' was Mr. Hodson's internal soliloquy. -'It is to </span><em class="italics">you</em><span> he will grant the favour. Indeed!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He fixed his eyes on her,</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He is a good-looking young fellow, that Ronald.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She did not answer that; she was putting the marmalade, -and the honey, and the cream on the table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He is not married?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, now, when he thinks about getting married, I -suppose he'll pretty well have his choice about here?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed there iss others besides him,' said Nelly rather -proudly, but her face was red as she opened the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, whether it was owing to the intervention of Nelly -or not, as soon as Mr. Hodson was ready to start he found -Ronald waiting for him without; and not only that, but he -had already assumed command of the expedition, having -sent the one gillie who had arrived down to bale the boat. -And then he would overhaul Mr. Hodson's fishing-gear—examining -the rods, testing the lines and traces, and rejecting -all the spoon baits, angels, sand-eels, and what not, that -had been supplied by the London tackle-maker, for two or -three of the familiar phantom minnows. Mr. Hodson -could scarcely believe that this was the same man who last -night had been discussing the disestablishment of state -churches and the policy of protecting native industries. -He had not a word for anything but the business before -him; and the bold fashion in which he handled those -minnows, all bristling with hooks, or drew the catgut traces -through his fingers (Mr. Hodson shivered, and seemed to -feel his own fingers being cut to the bone), showed that he was -as familiar with the loch as with the hillside or the kennel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'm not much on salmon-fishing myself,' the American -remarked modestly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It's rather early in the season, sir, I'm afraid,' was the -answer. 'But we might get a fish after all; and if we do -it'll be the first caught in Scotland this year, I warrant.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They set out and walked down to the shore of the loch, -and there Mr. Hodson seated himself on the gunwale of -the flat-bottomed coble, and watched the two men putting -the rods together and fixing the traces. The day had now -declared itself; wild and stormy in appearance, but fair on -the whole; great floods of sunshine falling suddenly on the -yellow slopes and the russet birch woods; and shadows -coming as rapidly across the far heights of Clebrig, steeping -the mountains in gloom. As for the gillie who had been -proof against the seductions of keeping the New Year, and -who was now down on one knee, biting catgut with his -teeth, he was a man as tall and as sallow as Mr. Hodson -himself, but with an added expression of intense melancholy -and hopelessness. Or was that but temporary?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Duncan doesna like that boat,' Ronald said, glancing -at Mr. Hodson.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The melancholy man did not speak, but shook his head -gloomily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the gillie did not answer, Ronald said—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He thinks there is no luck with that boat.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'That boat?' the gillie said, with an angry look towards -the hapless coble. 'She has the worst luck of any boat in -Sutherland—</span><em class="italics">tam her</em><span>,' he added, under his breath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'In my country,' the American said, in his slow way, -'we don't mind luck much; we find perseverance about as -good a horse to win with in the end.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was soon to have his perseverance tried. Everything -being ready they pushed off from the shore, Ronald -taking stroke oar, the gillie at the bow; Mr. Hodson left -to pay out the lines of the two rods, and fix these in the -stern, when about five-and-thirty yards had gone forth. At -first, it is true, he waited and watched with a trifle of anxiety. -He wanted to catch a salmon; it would be something to -write about to his daughter; it would be a new experience -for himself. But when time passed and the boat was slowly -rowed along the loch at a measured distance from the shore, -without any touch of anything coming to make the point -of either rod tremble, he rather gave up his hope in that -direction, and took to talking with Ronald. After all, it -was not salmon-fishing alone that had brought him into -these wilds.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I suppose it is really too early in the season,' he -observed, without much chagrin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Rayther,' said Ronald.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Rawther,' said the melancholy gillie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But at that instant something happened that startled -every one of them out of their apathy. The top of one of -the rods was violently pulled at, and then there was a long -shrill yell of the reel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'There he is, sir! there he is, sir!' Ronald called.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hodson made a grab blindly—for he had been -looking at the scenery around—at one of the rods. It was -the wrong one. But before he knew where he was, Ronald -had got hold of the other and raised the top so as to keep -a strain on the fish. The exchange of the rods was effected -in a moment. Then when Ronald had wound in the other -line and put the rod at the bow, he took to his oar again, -leaving Mr. Hodson to fight his unknown enemy as best -he might, but giving him a few words of direction from -time to time, quietly, as if it were all a matter of course.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Reel in, sir, reel in—keep an even strain on him—let -him go—let him go if he wants——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, the fish was not a fierce fighter; after the first -long rush he scarcely did anything; he kept boring -downwards, with a dull, heavy weight. It seemed easy work; -and Mr. Hodson—triumphant in the hope of catching his -first salmon—was tempted to call aloud to the melancholy -gillie—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, Duncan, how about luck now?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I think it's a kelt,' the man answered morosely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the sinister meaning of this reply was not understood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I don't know what you call him,' said Mr. Hodson, -holding on with both hands to the long, lithe grilse-rod -that was bent almost double. 'Celt or Saxon, I don't -know; but I seem to have got a good grip of him.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Then he heard Ronald say, in an undertone, to the -gillie—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'A kelt? No fears. The first rush was too heavy for -that.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the gillie responded sullenly—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He's following the boat like a cow.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What is a kelt, anyway?' the American called out. -'Something that swims, I suppose? It ain't a man?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I hope it's no a kelt, sir,' said Ronald—but doubtfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But what is a kelt, then, when he's at home?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'A salmon, sir, that hasna been down to the sea; we'll -have to put him back if he is.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whirr! went the reel again; the fish, kelt or clean -salmon, had struck deep down. But the melancholy -creature at the bow was taking no further interest in the -fight. He was sure it was a kelt. Most likely the minnow -would be destroyed. Maybe he would break the trace. -But a kelt it was. He knew the luck of this 'tammed' -boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The struggle was a tedious one. The beast kept boring -down with the mere force of its weight, but following the -coble steadily; and even Ronald, who had been combating -his own doubts, at length gave in: he was afraid it was a -kelt. Presently the last suspicion of hope was banished. -With a tight strain on him, the now exhausted animal -began to show near the surface of the water—his long -eel-like shape and black back revealing too obviously what -manner of creature he was. But this revelation had no -effect on the amateur fisherman, who at last beheld the -enemy he had been fighting with so long. He grew quite -excited. A kelt?—he was a beautiful fine fish! If he -could not be eaten he could be stuffed! Twenty pounds -he was, if an ounce!—would he throw back such a trophy -into the loch?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ronald was crouching in the stern of the boat, the big -landing-net in his hand, watching the slow circling of the -kelt as it was being hauled nearer and nearer. His -sentiments were of a different kind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ah, you ugly brute!—ah, you rascal!—ah—ah!'—and -then there was a deep scoop of the landing-net; and the -next minute the huge eel-like beast was in the bottom of -the boat, Duncan holding on to its tail, and Ronald gripping -it by the gills, while he set to work to get the minnow out -of its jaws. And then without further ado—and without -stopping to discuss the question of stuffing—the creature -was heaved into the water again, with a parting benediction -of 'Bah, you brute!' It took its leave rapidly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, it's a pity, sir,' Ronald said; 'that would have been -a twenty-four-pound salmon if he had been down to the sea.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It's the luck of this tammed boat,' Duncan said gloomily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Mr. Hodson could not confess to any such keen -sense of disappointment. He had never played so big a -fish before, and was rather proud that so slight a grilse-rod -and so slender a line should (of course, with some discretion -and careful nursing on his part) have overmastered so big -a beast. Then he did not eat salmon; there was no loss -in that direction. And as he had not injured the kelt in -any way, he reflected that he had enjoyed half-an-hour's -excitement without doing harm to anything or anybody, -and he was well content. So he paid out the two lines -again, and set the rods, and began to renew his talk with -Ronald touching the customs connected with the keeping -of the New Year.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After all, it was a picturesque kind of occupation, kelts -or no kelts. Look at the scene around them—the lapping -waters of the loch, a vivid and brilliant blue when the skies -were shining fair, or black and stormy again when the clouds -were heavy in the heavens; and always the permanent -features of the landscape—the soft yellows of the lower -straths, where the withered grass was mixed with the orange -bracken; the soft russet of the leafless birch woods fringing -the shores of the lake; the deep violet shadows of Ben -Clebrig stretching up into the long swathes of mist; and -then the far amphitheatre of hills—Ben Hee, and Ben -Hope, and Ben Loyal—with sunlight and shade inter-mingling -their ethereal tints, but leaving the snow-streaks -always sparkling and clear. He got used to the monotony -of the slow circling of the upper waters of the lake. He -forgot to watch the points of the rods. He was asking all -kinds of questions about the stags and the hinds, about -ptarmigan, and white hares, and roe, about the price of -sheep, the rents of crofts, the comparative wages of gillies, -and shepherds, and foresters, and keepers, and stalkers, and -the habits and customs of land-agents and factors. And at -length, when it came to lunch-time, and when they landed, -and found for him a sheltered place under the lee of a big -rock, and when Ronald pointed out to him a grassy bank, -and said rather ruefully—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I dinna like to see that place empty, sir. That's where -the gentlemen have the salmon laid out, that they may look -at them at lunch-time—'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hodson, as he opened the little basket that had -been provided for him, answered cheerfully enough—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'My good friend, don't you imagine that I feel like -giving it up yet. I'm not finished with this lake, and I'll -back perseverance against luck any day. Seems to me -we've done very well so far; I'm con-tent.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By and by they went back into the coble again, and -resumed their patient pursuit; and there is little doubt that -by this time Ronald had come to the conclusion that this -stranger who had come amongst them was a singularly odd -and whimsical person. It was remarkable enough that he -should have undertaken this long and solitary journey in -order to fish for salmon, and then show himself quite -indifferent as to whether he got any or not; and it was -scarcely human for any one to betray no disappointment -whatever when the first fish caught proved to be a kelt; -but it was still stranger that a man rich enough to talk -about renting a deer-forest should busy himself with the -petty affairs of the very poorest people around. Why, he -wanted to know how much Nelly the housemaid could -possibly save on her year's wages; whether she was supposed -to lay by something as against her wedding-day; or whether -any of the lads about would marry her for her pretty face -alone. And when he discovered that Mr. Murray, the -innkeeper, was about to give a New Year supper and dance -to the lads and lasses of the neighbourhood, he made no -scruple about hinting plainly that he would be glad of an -invitation to join that festive party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Not if I'm going to be anything of a wet blanket,' he -said candidly. 'My dancing days are over, and I'm not -much in the way of singing; but I'll tell them an American -story; or I'll present them with a barrel of whisky—if that -will keep the fun going.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'm sure they'll be very glad, sir,' Ronald said, 'if ye -just come and look on. When there's gentlemen at the -Lodge, they generally come down to hear the pipes, and -the young gentlemen have a dance too.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What night did you say?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Monday next, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, he had only intended remaining here for a day or -two, to see what the place was like; but this temptation -was too great. Here was a famous opportunity for the -pursuit of his favourite study—the study of life and manners. -This, had Ronald but known it, was the constant and -engrossing occupation that enabled this contented traveller -to accept with equanimity the ill-luck of kelt-catching; it -was a hobby he could carry about with him everywhere; -it gave a continuous interest to every hour of his life. He -cared little for the analyses of science; he cared less for -philosophical systems; metaphysics he laughed at; but -men and women—the problems of their lives and surroundings, -their diverse fortunes and aspirations and dealings -with each other—that was the one and constant subject -that engrossed his interest. No doubt there was a little -more than this; it was not merely as an abstract study -that he was so fond of getting to know how people lived. -The fact was that, even after having made ample provision -for his family, he still remained possessed of a large fortune; -his own expenditure was moderate; and he liked to go -about with the consciousness that here or there, as occasion -served, he could play the part of a little Providence. It -was a harmless vanity; moreover, he was a shrewd man, -not likely to be deceived by spurious appeals for charity. -Many was the young artist whom he had introduced to -buyers; many the young clerk whom he had helped to a -better situation; more than one young woman in the -humblest of circumstances had suddenly found herself -enabled to purchase her wedding outfit (with a trifle over, -towards the giving her greater value in her lover's eyes), -through the mysterious benevolence of some unknown -benefactor. This man had been brought up in a country -where every one is restlessly pushing forward; and being -possessed of abundant means, and a friendly disposition, -it seemed the most natural thing in the world that here or -there, at a fitting opportunity, he should lend a helping -hand. And there was always this possibility present to -him—this sense of power—as he made those minute -inquiries of his into the conditions of the lives of those -amongst whom he chanced to be living.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The short winter day was drawing to a close; the -brilliant steely blue of the driven water had given place -to a livid gray; and the faint gleams of saffron-yellow -were dying out in the western skies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Suppose we'd better be going home now,' Mr. Hodson -remarked at a venture, and with no great disappointment in -his tone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'm afraid, sir, there's no much chance now,' Ronald said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We must call again; they're not at home to-day,' the -other remarked, and began with much complacency to reel -in one of the lines.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was doing so slowly, and the men were as slowly -pulling in for the shore in the gathering dusk, when </span><em class="italics">whirr!</em><span> -went the other reel. The loud and sudden shriek in this -silence was a startling thing; and no less so was the -springing into the air—at apparently an immense distance -away—of some creature, kelt or salmon, that fell into the water -again with a mighty splash. Instinctively Mr. Hodson had -gripped this rod, and passed the other one he had been -reeling in to Strang. It was an anxious moment. </span><em class="italics">Whirr!</em><span> -went another dozen yards of line; and again the fish sprang -into the air—this time plainly visible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'A clean fish, sir! a clean fish!' was the welcome cry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But there was no time to hazard doubts or ask questions; -this sudden visitor at the end of the line had not at all -made up his mind to be easily captured. First of all he -came sailing in quietly towards the boat, giving the -fisherman all he could do to reel in and keep a strain on him; -then he whirled out the line so suddenly that the rod was -nearly bent double; and then, in deep water, he kept -persistently sulking and boring, refusing to yield an inch. -This was a temporary respite.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, now, is this one all right?' Mr. Hodson called -out—but he was rather bewildered, for he knew not what -this violent beast might not be after next, and the gathering -darkness looked strange, the shadows of Clebrig overhead -seeming to blot out the sky.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'A clean fish, sir,' was the confident answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No doubt o' that, sir,' even the melancholy Duncan -admitted; for he foresaw a dram now, if not a tip in -actual money.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then slowly and slowly the salmon began to yield to -the strain on him—which was considerable, for this was the -heavier of the two rods—and quickly the line was got in, -the pliant curve of the rod remaining always the same; -while Mr. Hodson flattered himself that he was doing very -well now, and that he was surely becoming the master of -the situation. But the next instant something happened -that his mind was not rapid enough to comprehend: -something dreadful and horrible and sudden: there was a -whirring out of the reel so rapid that he had to lower the -point of the rod almost to the water; then the fish made -one flashing spring along the surface—and this time he saw -the creature, a gleam of silver in the dusk—and then, to -his unspeakable dismay and mortification, he felt the line -quite slack. He did utter a little monosyllable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He's off, sir,' the melancholy gillie said in a tone of -sad resignation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Not a bit, sir, not a bit! Reel in, quick!' Ronald -called to him: and the fisherman had sense enough to -throw the rod as far back as he could to see if there was -yet some strain on it. Undoubtedly the fish was still -there. Moreover, this last cantrip seemed to have taken -the spirit out of him. By and by, with a strong, steady -strain on him, he suffered himself to be guided more -and more towards the boat, until, now and again, they -could see a faint gleam in the dark water; and now -Ronald had relinquished his oar, and was crouching down -in the stern—this time not with the landing-net in his -hand, but with the bright steel clip just resting on the -gunwale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He's showing the white feather now, sir; give him a -little more of the butt.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, he had not quite given in yet: each time he -came in sight of the boat he would make another ineffectual -rush, but rarely getting down deeper than three or four -yards. And then, with a short line and the butt well -towards him, he began to make slow semicircles this way -and that; and always he was being steadily hauled nearer -the coble; until with one quick dip and powerful upward -pull Ronald had got him transfixed on the gaff and -landed—the huge, gleaming, beautiful silver creature!—in the -bottom of the boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well done, sir!—a clean fish!—a beauty—the first -caught in Scotland this year, I know!'—these were the -exclamations he heard now; but he scarcely knew how it -had all happened, for he had been more excited than he -was aware of. He felt a vague and general sense of -satisfaction; wanted to give the men a glass of whisky, and had -none to give them; thought that the capture of a salmon -was a noble thing; would have liked his daughter Carry -to hear the tidings at once; and had a kind of general -purpose to devote the rest of that year to salmon-fishing in -the Highlands. From this entrancement he was awakened -by a dispute between the two men as to the size of the fish.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He's twelve pounds, and no more,' the melancholy -Duncan said, eyeing him all over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Look at his shoulders, man,' Ronald rejoined. 'Fourteen -pounds if he's an ounce. Duncan, lad, ye've been -put off your guessing by the sight of the kelt.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He's a good fish whateffer,' Duncan was constrained -to admit—for he still foresaw that prospect of a dram when -they returned to the inn, with perhaps a more substantial -handselling of good luck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course, they could do no more fishing that afternoon, -for it was nearly dark; but it was wonderful how the -capture of this single salmon seemed to raise the spirits of -the little party as they got ashore and walked home. There -was a kind of excitement in the evening air. They talked -in a rapid and eager way—about what the fish had done; -what were the chances of such and such a rush; the -probable length of time it had been up from the sea; the -beauty of its shape; the smallness of its head; the -freshness of its colour, and so forth—and there was a kind of -jubilation abroad. The first fish caught in Scotland that -year!—of course, it must be packed forthwith and sent -south to his daughter Carry and her friends. And Mr. Hodson -was quite facetious with the pretty Nelly when she -came in to lay the table for dinner; and would have her -say whether she had not yet fixed her mind on one or other -of these young fellows around. As for the small hamlet of -Inver-Mudal, it was about as solitary and forlorn a -habitation as any to be found in the wilds of northern Scotland; -and he was there all by himself; but with the blazing -peat-fire, and the brilliant white cloth on the dinner-table, and -the consciousness that the firm, stout-shouldered, clean-run -fourteen-pounder was lying in the dairy on a slab of cold -stone, he considered that Inver-Mudal was a most enjoyable -and sociable and comfortable place, and that he had not -felt himself so snug and so much at home for many and -many a day.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-letter"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IV.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A LETTER.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>After dinner he found himself with a pretty long evening -before him, and thought he could not do better than -devote the major part of it to writing to his daughter. He -would not confess to himself that he wanted her to know -at once that he had caught his first salmon; that was but -a trivial incident in the life of a philosopher and student -of mankind; still she would be glad to hear of his -adventures; and it was not an unpleasant way of passing the -time. So he wrote as follows:—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'MY DARLING CARRY—You will be rejoiced to learn that -I have discovered a harbour of refuge for you, where that -minute organ you call your mind may lay aside its heaviest -load of trouble. Here, at last, is one corner of Europe where -you need have no fear of anybody mistaking you for one -of the Boston girls of fiction; indeed you might go about -all day talking your beloved Texas with impunity; although, -my dear young lady, that is a habit you would do well to -drop, for sooner or later it will get you into trouble when -you are least expecting it. But short of scalping children -or using a bowie-knife for a fork, I think you might do -or say anything you pleased here; it is the most out-of-the-world -sort of place; a community of fifteen or twenty, I -should guess, hidden away in a hole of a valley, and -separated from the rest of the universe by great ranges of -mountains and interminable miles of moorland. The people -seem very friendly, but shy; and I don't quite catch on to -them yet, for their speech bothers me—scarcely any two -of them seem to have the same accent; but I hope to get -to know something more about them next Monday, when -they have a New Year celebration, which I am invited to -the same. Would you like to join in? By all means come -if you care to; the station is Lairg; wire, and I will meet -you there. You will miss the wild excitement of paying -afternoon calls and drinking tea; but you will get sunlight -and fresh air into your lungs. The talk about the fierce -weather is all nonsense. There is a sprinkling of snow on -the higher hills, but the temperature is quite agreeable. -In any case I expect you to come here with me in March, -when the salmon-fishing will begin in earnest; and I have -no doubt you will have made the acquaintance of the -whole of the people in a couple of days, shy as they are. -There is another point I have not forgotten. As you seem -determined to set yourself up for your lifetime with -reminiscences of your travels in Europe, I have had to consider -what you could carry away from here. I am afraid that -Inver-Mudal jewellery wouldn't make much of a show; -and I haven't seen any shell necklaces or silk scarves or -blue pots about. But what about a Highland maid? I -suppose the N.Y. Customs officers wouldn't charge much -for that article of </span><em class="italics">vertu</em><span>. Now the maid who waits on me -here is very pretty and gentle in manner; and I suppose -she could be induced to go—for a proper consideration; -and you could begin the training of her now, and have her -quite accomplished by the time we got home. Sounds -rather like slavery, don't it?—but she would be going to -the land of the free, and the banner would wave over her. -She gets eighty dollars a year and her board; I'd go better -than that, if you took a fancy to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But the most remarkable person here—perhaps it is -the contrast between his personal abilities and his position -that is the striking thing—is a deerstalker and gamekeeper -whom they familiarly call Ronald; and I confess that, -with all I had heard of the intelligence of the Scotch -peasantry, this fellow, before I had been talking with him -ten minutes, rather made me open my eyes. And yet, -looking back over the different subjects we fell upon, I -don't know that he said anything so very remarkable on -any one of them. I think it is rather the personal character -of the man that is impressive—the manliness and independence -of his judgment, and yet his readiness to consider -the other side if you can convince him; his frank (and, I -should say, foolish) recognition of the differences of social -position; and then a kind of curious self-respect he has -which refuses to allow him to become quite friendly, though -you may be willing enough to forget that you are talking -of taking a shooting on which he is one of the </span><em class="italics">employés</em><span>, -and anxious only to converse with him as man to man. -I'm afraid this is rather mixed, but you would have to see -him to understand quite well what manner of person he is—a -good-looking fellow too, well knit together, with a -keen, hard face, full of life and a half-concealed force of -humour. I should judge he would make a pretty fair king -of good company in the unrestrained intercourse of a few -boon companions; and I imagine he has a hard head if -there should be any drinking going on. What to do with -him I don't know. It is absurd he should be where he is. -His brother has been to college, taken his degree, and is -now in the Scotch Church somewhere. But this fellow -seems quite content to trap foxes and shoot gray crows, -and, in the autumn, look after the grouse-shooting and -deerstalking of other people. A man of his brains would -not be in that position for a fortnight in our country. -Here everything is fixed. He thinks it is </span><em class="italics">natural</em><span> for him -to be in a subservient position. And yet there is a curious -independence about the fellow; I don't know what inducement -I could put before him to get him out of it. Suppose -we said, "Come you with us to America, and we'll run -you for President;" I'm afraid he'd quote Kingsley in our -face, and be off to "where the dun deer lie." In fact his -reverence for the star-spangled banner appears to be of a -mitigated description. I found he knew more than I -expected about our wire-pulling gentry at home; but then, -on the other hand, I discovered that he knew nothing -about the necessity of protecting the industries of a young -country beyond what he had read in the English papers, -and you know what high old Mother Hubbardism that is. -Now I want to do something for this fellow, and don't know -how. He's too good a man to be thrown away—a kind -of upper servant, as it were, of his lordship. He has -plenty of ability and he has plenty of knowledge in a dozen -different directions, if they could only be </span><em class="italics">applied</em><span>. But -then he is a dogged kind of a creature—he is not pliant; -if you can show him sufficient reason for changing he -might change, otherwise not one inch will he budge. What -is the inducement to be? It is useless offering him an -allotment of land in Nebraska; here he has miles and -miles of the most picturesque territory conceivable, of -which, save for a month or two in the autumn, he is the -absolute master. He enjoys an ownership over these hills -and moors and lochs more obvious than that of the Duke -himself; he would not exchange that for the possession of a -bit of table-land on the Platte Valley, unless he were a fool, -and that he is far from being. The Presidentship? Well, I -waved your beloved banner over him, but he didn't enthuse -worth a cent. However, I must cast about and see what is -to be done with him, for I am really interested in the man.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this moment there was a tapping at the door, and -Nelly appeared with a huge armful of peats, which she -began to build up dexterously in the fireplace, always -leaving a central funnel open.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Say, my girl, when will this letter go south?' Mr. Hodson -asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'To-morrow moarning,' was the answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And the fish, too?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, sir, by the mail cart.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Has Duncan packed it in the rushes yet?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no, sir, Ronald will do that; he can do it better -as any of them; he would not let any one else do it, for -they're saying it iss the first fish of the year, and he's very -proud of your getting the fish, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'</span><em class="italics">Ich auch!</em><span>' observed Mr. Hodson to himself; and he -would probably have continued the conversation, but that -suddenly a strange noise was heard, coming from some -distant part of the inn—a harsh, high, note, all in monotone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What's that now, Nelly?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It will be Ronald tuning his pipes,' said she, as she -was going to the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, he can play the pipes too?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed, yes, sir; and better as any in Sutherland, I -hef heard them say,' she added.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Just as she opened the door the drones and chanter -broke away into a shrill and lively march that seemed to -flood the house with its penetrating tones.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I think it's "Dornoch Links" he's playing,' Nelly said, -with a quiet smile, 'for there's some of the fisher-lads come -through on their way to Tongue.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She left then; but the solitary occupant of the sitting-room -thought he could not do better than go to the door -and listen for a while to this strange sort of music, which -he had never heard played properly before. And while he -could scarcely tell one tune from another except by the -time—the slow, wailing, melancholy Lament, for example, -was easily enough distinguished from the bright and lively -Strathspey—here and there occurred an air—the '79th's -Farewell,' or the 'Barren Rocks of Aden,' or the 'Pibroch -of Donald Dhu,' had he but known the names of them—which -had a stately and martial ring about it; he guessed -that it was meant to lead the tramp of soldiers. And he -said to himself—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Here, now, is this fellow, who might be piper to a -Highland regiment, and I daresay all the use he makes of -his skill is to walk up and down outside the dining-room -window of the Lodge and play to a lot of white-kneed -Englishmen when they come down for the autumn shooting.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He returned to his letter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I have the honour to inform you that the first salmon -caught on any Scotch loch this year was caught by me this -afternoon, and to-morrow will be on its way to you. If -you don't believe the story, look at the salmon itself for -evidence. And as regards this loch-fishing, it appears to -me you might have a turn at it when we come up in March—taking -one of the two rods; a little practice with Indian -clubs meanwhile would enable you to make a better fight -of it when you have to keep a continuous strain on a -fourteen-pound fish for twenty minutes or half an hour. -You must have some amusement or occupation; for there -is no society—except, by the way, the doctor's daughter, -who might be a companion for you. I have not seen her -yet; but the handmaiden I have mentioned above informs -me that she is "a ferry pretty young lady, and ferry much -thought of, and of a ferry great family too." I should not -imagine, however, that her Highland pride of blood would -bar the way against your making her acquaintance; her -father is merely the parish doctor—or rather, the district -doctor, for he has either two or three parishes to look -after—and I don't suppose his emoluments are colossal. They -have a pretty cottage; it is the swell feature of the village, -if you can call the few small and widely scattered houses a -village. You could practise Texas talk on her all day -long; I daresay she wouldn't know.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good-night; it's rather sleepy work being out in that -boat in the cold. Good-night, good-night; and a kiss from -the Herr Papa.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, by this time the fisher-lads had left the inn and -were off on the way to Tongue—and glad enough to have -a moonlight night for the weary trudge. Ronald remained -behind for a while, drinking a glass of ale with the -inn-keeper; and generally having to keep his wits about him, -for there was a good deal of banter going on. Old John -Murray was a facetious person, and would have it that Nelly -was setting her cap at Ronald; while the blushing Nelly, -for her part, declared that Ronald was nothing but a poor -south-country body; while he in fair warfare had to retort -that she was 'as Hielan's a Mull-drover.' The quarrel -was not a deadly one; and when Ronald took up his pipes -in order to go home, he called out to her in parting—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Nelly, lass, see you get the lads to clean out the barn -ere Monday next; and put on your best ribbons, lassie; -I'm thinking they'll be for having a spring o' Tullochgorum.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The pipes were over his shoulder as he walked away -along the moonlit road; but he did not tune up; he had -had enough playing for that evening. And be sure that in -his mind there was no discontent because he had no -allotment of land on the Platte Valley, nor yet a place in a -Chicago bank, nor the glory of being pipe-major to a -Highland regiment. He was perfectly content as he was; and -knew naught of these things. If there was any matter -troubling him—on this still and moonlight night, as he -walked blithely along, inhaling the keen sweet air, and -conscious of the companionship of the faithful Harry—it -was that the jog-trot kind of tune he had invented for -certain verses did not seem to have sufficient definiteness -about it. But then the verses themselves—as they kept -time to his tramp on the road—were careless and -light-hearted enough:</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The blossom was white on the blackthorn tree,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the mavis was singing rarely;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">When Meenie, Love Meenie, walked out wi' me,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">All in the springtime early.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Meenie, Love Meenie, your face let me see,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Meenie, come answer me fairly;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Meenie, Love Meenie, will you wed me,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">All in the springtime early?'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Meenie but laughed; and kentna the pain</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">That shot through my heart fu' sairly:</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Kind sir, it's a maid that I would remain,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">All in the springtime early.'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>And 'Hey, Harry, lad,' he was saying, as he entered -the cottage and went into the little parlour, where a candle -had been left burning, 'we'll have our supper together -now; for between you and me I'm just as hungry as a gled.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="beginnings"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER V.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">BEGINNINGS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Next day promised to give them sharper work on the loch. -The weather had changed towards the morning; showers -of hail had fallen; and now all the hills around—Ben -Hee and Ben Hope and Ben Loyal—had their far peaks -and shoulders powdered over, while the higher slopes -and summit of the giant Clebrig were one solid mass of -white. It was much colder, too; and the gusts of wind that -came hurling along Strath Terry[#] struck down on the loch, -spreading out like black fans, and driving the darkened -water into curling crisp foam. It was a wild, changeable, -blowy morning; sunlight and gloom intermingled; and -ever the wind howled and moaned around the house, and -the leafless trees outside bent and shivered before the -wintry blast.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] No doubt corrupted from </span><em class="italics small">Strath Tairibh</em><span class="small">, -the Strath of the Bull.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>When the tall Highland lass brought in breakfast it -appeared that the recusant gillie had not yet come down -from Tongue; but it was no matter, she said; she would -call Ronald. Now this exactly suited Mr. Hodson, who -wanted to have some further speech with the young man—in -view of certain far-reaching designs he had formed; -and what better opportunity for talk than the placid trolling -for salmon on the lake there? But courtesy demanded -some small protest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am afraid I cannot ask him a second day,' he -remarked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh,' said she (for she did not wish the gentleman to -imagine that she thought over much of the smart young -keeper), 'he ought to be ferry glad if he can be of use -to any one. He is jist amusing himself with the other -lads.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Which was strictly true at this moment. On the little -plateau outside Ronald's cottage two or three of them were -standing together. They had got a heavy iron ball, to -which was attached about a yard and a half of rope, and -one after another was trying who could launch this ball the -farthest, after swinging it three or four times round his -head. It came to Ronald's turn. He was not the most -thick-set of those young fellows; but he was wiry and -muscular. He caught the rope with both hands, swung -the heavy weight round his head some four or five times—his -teeth getting ever and ever more firmly clenched the -while—and then away went the iron ball through the air, -not only far outstripping all previous efforts, but unluckily -landing in a wheelbarrow and smashing sadly a jacket -which one of the lads had thrown there when he entered -upon this competition. When he somewhat ruefully took -up the rent garment, there was much ironical laughing; -perhaps that was the reason that none of them heard Nelly -calling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The tall, slim Highland maid was pretty angry by this -time. She had come out of the house without any -head-gear on; and the cold wind was blowing her yellow hair -about her eyes; and she was indignant that she had to -walk so far before attracting the attention of those idle lads.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald, do you hear!' she called; and she would not -move another yard towards them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then he happened to notice her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, lass, what is't ye want?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Come away at once!' she called, in not the most -friendly way. 'The gentleman wants you to go down to -the loch.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But he was the most good-natured of all these young -fellows; the lasses about ordered him this way or that just -as they pleased.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What!' he called to her, 'hasna Fraser come down -from Tongue yet?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, he has not.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Bless us; the whisky must have been strong,' said he, -as he picked up his jacket. 'I'll be there in a minute, -Nelly.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And so it was that when Mr. Hodson went into the -little front hall, he found everything in trim readiness for -getting down to the loch—the proper minnows selected; -traces tried; luncheon packed; and his heavy waterproof -coat slung over Ronald's arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Seems you think I can't carry my own coat?' Mr. Hodson -said; for he did not like to see this man do anything -in the shape of servant work; whereas Ronald performed -these little offices quite naturally and as a matter of -course.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'll take it, sir,' said he; 'and if you're ready now we'll -be off. Come along, Duncan.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And he was striding away with his long deerstalker step, -when Mr. Hodson stopped him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Wait a bit, man; I will walk down to the loch with you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So Duncan went on, and the American and Ronald -followed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Sharp this morning.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Rayther sharp.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But this must be a very healthy life of yours—out in -the fresh air always—plenty of exercise—and so forth.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Just the healthiest possible, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But monotonous a little?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>''Deed no, sir. A keeper need never be idle if he -minds his business; there's always something new on hand.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Then we'll say it is a very enjoyable life, so long as -your health lasts, and you are fit for the work?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was apparently a question.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, sir, the head stalker on the Rothie-Mount forest -is seventy-two years of age; and there is not one of the -young lads smarter on the hill than he is.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'An exception, doubtless. The betting is all against -your matching that record. Well, take your own case: -what have you to look forward to as the result of all your -years of labour? I agree with you that in the meantime it -is all very fine; I can understand the fascination of it, even, -and the interest you have in becoming acquainted with the -habits of the various creatures, and so forth. Oh yes, I -admit that—the healthiness of the life, and the interest of -it; and I daresay you get more enjoyment out of the -shooting and stalking than Lord Ailine, who pays such a -preposterous price for it. But say we give you a fairly long -lease of health and strength sufficient for the work: we'll -take you at sixty; what then? Something happens—rheumatism, -a broken leg, anything—that cripples you. You -are superseded; you are out of the running; what is to -become of you?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, sir,' said Ronald instantly, 'I'm thinking his -lordship wouldna think twice about giving a pension to a -man that had worked for him as long as that.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a luckless answer. For Mr. Hodson, whose first -article of belief was that all men are born equal, had come -to Europe with a positive resentment against the very -existence of lords, and a detestation of any social system -that awarded them position and prestige merely on account -of the accident of their birth. And what did he find now? -Here was a young fellow of strong natural character, of -marked ability, and fairly independent spirit, so corrupted -by this pernicious system that he looked forward quite -naturally to being helped in his old age by his lordship—by -one of those creatures who still wore the tags and rags -of an obsolete feudalism, and were supposed to 'protect' -their vassals. The House of Peers had a pretty bad time -of it during the next few minutes; if the tall, sallow-faced, -gray-eyed man talked with little vehemence, his slow, -staccato sentences had a good deal of keen irony in them. -Ronald listened respectfully. And perhaps the lecture was -all the more severe that the lecturer had but little opportunity -of delivering it in his own domestic circle. Truly it -was hard that his pet grievance won for him nothing but a -sarcastic sympathy there; and that it was his own daughter -who flouted him with jibes and jeers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, you know, pappa dear,' she would say as she -stood at the window of their hotel in Piccadilly, and -watched the carriages passing to and fro beneath her, -'lords may be bad enough, but you know they're not half -as bad as the mosquitoes are at home. They don't worry -one half as much; seems to me you might live in this -country a considerable time and never be worried by one -of them. Why, that's the worst of it. When I left home, -I thought the earls and marquises would just be crowding -us; and they don't seem to come along at all. I confess -they are a mean lot. Don't they know well enough that -the first thing ['the fooist thing,' she said, of course; but -her accent sounded quite quaint and pretty if you happened -to be looking at the pretty, soft, opaque, dark eyes] the -first thing an American girl has to do when she gets to -Europe is to have a lord propose to her, and to reject him? -But how can I? They won't come along! It's just too -horrid for anything; for of course when I go back home -they'll say—"It's because you're not a Boston girl. -London's full of lords; but it's only Boston girls they run -after; and, poor things, they and their coronets are always -being rejected. The noble pride of a Republican country; -wave the banner!"'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But here Mr. Hodson met with no such ill-timed and -flippant opposition. Ronald the keeper listened -respectfully, and only spoke when spoken to; perhaps the -abstract question did not interest him. But when it came -to the downright inquiry as to whether he, Strang, -considered his master, Lord Ailine, to be in any way whatever -a better man than himself, his answer was prompt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, sir, he is,' he said, as they walked leisurely along -the road. 'He is a better man than me by two inches -round the chest, as I should guess. Why, sir, the time -that I hurt my kneecap, one night we were coming down -Ben Strua, our two selves, nothing would hinder his -lordship but he must carry me on his back all the way -down the hill and across the burn till we reached the -shepherd's bothy. Ay, and the burn in spate; and the -night as dark as pitch; one wrong step on the swing-bridge, -and both of us were gone. There's Peter McEachran at -Tongue, that some of them think's the strongest man in -these parts; and I offered to bet him five shillings he -wouldna carry me across that bridge—let alone down the -hill—on a dark night. But would he try? Not a bit, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I should think Peter Mac—what's his name?—was a -wiser man than to risk his neck for five shillings,' -Mr. Hodson said drily. 'And you—you would risk -yours—for what?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, they were saying things about his lordship,' Ronald -said carelessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Then he is not worshipped as a divinity by everybody?' -the American said shrewdly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the keeper answered, with much nonchalance—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I suppose he has his ill-wishers and his well-wishers, -like most other folk; and I suppose, like most other folk, -he doesna pay ower great attention to what people say of -him.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They did not pursue the subject further at this moment, -for a turn of the road brought them suddenly within sight -of a stranger, and the appearance of a stranger in these -parts was an event demanding silence and a concentration -of interest. Of course, to Ronald Strang Miss Meenie -Douglas was no stranger; but she was obviously a source -of some embarrassment: the instant he caught sight of her -his face reddened, and as she approached he kept his eyes -fixed on the ground. It was not that he was ashamed she -should see him acting the part of a gillie; for that he did -not care in the least, it was as much a part of his work as -anything else; what vexed him was lest some sign of -recognition should show the stranger gentleman that Miss -Douglas had formed the acquaintance of the person who -was at the moment carrying his waterproof and his -fishing-rods. And he hoped that Meenie would have the sense to -go by without taking any notice of him; and he kept his -eyes on the road, and walked forward in silence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Who is she?' Mr. Hodson asked, in an undertone, -and with some astonishment, for he had no idea there -was any such neatly-dressed and pretty young lady in the -neighbourhood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ronald did not answer, and they drew nearer. Indeed, -Meenie was looking quite beautiful this morning; for the -cold air had brightened up the colour in her cheeks; and -the wide-apart blue-gray eyes were clear and full of light; -and her brown hair, if it was tightly braided and bound -behind, had in front been blown about a little by the wind, -and here and there a stray curl appeared on the fair white -forehead. And then again her winter clothing seemed to -suit the slight and graceful figure; she looked altogether -warm, and furry, and nice, and comfortable; and there -was a sensible air about her dress—the blue serge skirt, -the tight-fitting sealskin coat (but this was a present from -the laird of Glengask and Orosay) and the little brown -velvet hat with its wing of ptarmigan plumage (this was a -present not from Glengask, and probably was not of the -value of three halfpence, but she wore it, nevertheless, -when she was at her smartest). And if Ronald thought -she was going to pass him by without a word, he was -mistaken. It was not her way. As she met them, one -swift glance of her Highland eyes was all she bestowed on -the stranger; then she said, pleasantly, as she passed—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good morning, Ronald.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was forced to look up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good morning, Miss Douglas,' said he, with studied -respect; and they went on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Miss Douglas?' Mr. Hodson repeated, as soon as -they were beyond hearing. 'The doctor's daughter, I -presume?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But—but—I had no idea—why, she is a most uncommonly -pretty young lady—one of the most interesting -faces I have seen for many a day. You did not say there -was such a charming young person in the place; why, she -adds a new interest altogether; I fancy my daughter won't -be long in making her acquaintance when she comes here.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Indeed, as they got down to the boat, and the two men -set about getting the rods ready, all his talk was about the -pretty young lady he had seen; and he scarcely noticed -that Ronald, in answering these questions, showed a very -marked reserve. He could not be got to speak of her -except in curt answers; perhaps he did not like to have -the melancholy Duncan listening; at all events, he showed -a quite absorbing interest in the phantom minnows, and -traces, and what not. Moreover, when they got into the -boat, there was but little opportunity for conversation. -The day had become more and more squally; there was a -considerable sea on; it was all the two men could do to -keep sufficient way on the coble so that the phantoms -should spin properly. Then every few minutes a rain-cloud -would come drifting across—at first mysterious and awful, -as if the whole world were sinking into darkness; then a -few big drops would patter about; then down came the -sharp clattering shower, only to be followed by a marvellous -clearing up again, and a burst of watery sunshine along the -Clebrig slopes. But these changes kept Mr. Hodson -employed in sheltering himself from the rain while it lasted, -and then getting off his waterproof again lest perchance -there might come a salmon at one of the lines. That event -did actually occur; and when they least expected it. In -one of the heaviest of the squalls they had such a fight to -get the boat along that the minnows, sinking somewhat, -caught the bottom. Of course the rowers had to back -down—or rather to drift down—to get the lines released; -and altogether the prospect of affairs seemed so unpromising—the -heavens darkening with further rain, the wind blowing -in sharper and sharper gusts, and the water coming heavily -over the bows—that Mr. Hodson called out that, as soon -as he had got the minnows free, they might as well run the -coble on to the land, and wait for calmer weather. But -this was a lee shore. The men were willing to give up for -a time—but not until they had got to the sheltered side; -so he was counselled to put out the lines again, slowly, -and they began anew their fight against the gale. Well, -he was actually paying out the first of the lines with his -hand, when suddenly—and without any of the preliminary -warnings that usually tell of a salmon being after a -minnow—the line was snatched from his fingers, and out went the -reel with that sharp long shriek that sends the whole boat's -crew into an excitement of expectation. But there was -no spring into the air away along there in the darkened -and plunging waters; as he rapidly got in his line, he -knew only of a dull and heavy strain; and the men had -to keep on with their hard pulling against the wind, for -the fish seemed following the boat in this sulky and heavy -fashion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What do you think?' Mr. Hodson said, half turning -round, and not giving plainer voice to his anxieties.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'm afraid it's a kelt, sir,' the dismal gillie answered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Looks like it, don't it?' the fisherman said rather -dolefully; for the fish showed no sign of life whatever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We'll see by and by,' was Ronald's prudent answer; -but even he was doubtful; the only good feature being -that, if the fish showed no fight, at least he kept a heavy -strain on the rod.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it seemed as if everything was conspiring against -them. The black heavens above them burst into a torrent -of rain; and with that came a squall that tore the water -white, and blew them down on the fish in spite of their -hardest efforts. Shorter and shorter grew the line as it was -rapidly got in, and still the fish did not show; it was now -so near to the boat that any sudden movement on its part -was almost certain to produce a catastrophe. Nor could -they drive the boat ashore; the beach was here a mass of -sharp stones and rocks; in three minutes the coble would -have been stove in. With faces set hard the two men -pulled and pulled against the storm of wind and rain; and -Mr. Hodson—seated now, for he dared not attempt to stand -up, the boat was being thrown about so by the heavy -waves—could only get in a little more line when he had the -chance, and look helplessly on, and wait.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then, all of a sudden, there was a long shrill shriek—heard -loud above the din of wind and water—continued -and continued, and in vain he tried to arrest this wild rush; -and then, some seventy or eighty yards away, there was a -great white splash among the rushing black waves—and -another—and another—and then a further whirling out of -some fifteen yards of line, until he glanced with alarm at -the slender quantity left on the reel. But presently he -began to get some in again; the men were glad to let the -boat drift down slowly; harder and harder he worked at -the big reel, and at last he came to fighting terms with the -animal—kelt or salmon, as it might be—with some five-and-twenty -yards out, and the squall moderating a little, so that -the men could keep the boat as they wanted. Nay, he -ventured to stand up now, wedging his legs and feet so that -he should not be suddenly thrown overboard; and it was -quite evident, from the serious purpose of his face, that all -possibility of this being a kelt had now been thrown aside.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No kelt is he, Ronald?' he called aloud.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Not a bit, sir! There's no kelt about that one. But -give him time; he's a good big fish, or I'm sore mistaken.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were far from the end yet, however. The long rush -and the splashing had exhausted him for a while; and the -fisherman, with a firm application of the butt, thought he -could make the fish show himself; but still he kept boring -steadily down, sometimes making little angry rushes of a -dozen yards or so. And then all of a sudden began some -wild cantrips. There was another rush of ten or a dozen -yards; and a clear leap into the air—a beautiful, great, -silvery creature he looked amid all this hurrying gloom; -and then another downward rush; and then he came to the -surface again, and shook and tugged and struck with his tail -until the water was foaming white about him. These were -a few terribly anxious seconds, but all went happily by, -and then it was felt that the worst of the fighting was over. -After that there was but the sullen refusal to come near -the boat—the short sheering off whenever he saw it or one -of the oars; but now, in the slow curves through the water, -he was beginning to show the gleam of his side; and -Ronald was crouching down in the stern, gaff in hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Steady, sir, steady,' he was saying, with his eye on -those slow circles; 'give him time, he's no done yet; a -heavy fish, sir—a good fish that—twenty pounds, I'm -thinking—come along, my beauty, come along—</span><em class="italics">the butt -now, sir!</em><span>' And then, as the great gleaming fish, head up, -came sheering along on its side, there was a quick dive of -the steel clip, and the next second the splendid creature -was in the bottom of the coble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hodson sank down on to his seat; it had been a long -fight—over half an hour; he was exhausted with the strain -of keeping himself balanced; and he was also (what he had -not perceived in this long spell of excitement) wet to the -skin. He pulled out a spirit-flask from the pocket of his -waterproof—as ill-luck would have it, that useful garment -happened to be lying in the bottom of the boat when the -fight began—and gave the two men a liberal dram; he -then took a sip himself; and when there had been a general -quarrel over the size of the fish—nineteen the lowest, -twenty-two the highest guess—they began to consider what -they ought to do next. The weather looked very ugly. It -was resolved to get up to the head of the loch anyhow, -and there decide; and so the men took to their oars again, -and began to force their way through the heavy and -white-crested waves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But long ere they had reached the head of the loch -Mr. Hodson had become aware of a cold feeling about his -shoulders and back, and quickly enough he came to the conclusion -that sitting in an open boat, with clothes wet through, -on a January day, did not promise sufficient happiness. He -said they might put him ashore as soon as possible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed, sir, it's no much use going on in this weather,' -Ronald said, 'unless maybe you were to try the fly.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I thought you said it was rather early for the fly.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Rayther early,' Ronald admitted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Rawther,' said Duncan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Anyhow,' observed Mr. Hodson, 'I don't feel like sitting -in this boat any longer in wet clothes. I'm going back to -the inn right now; maybe the afternoon will clear up—and -then we might have another try.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They got ashore at last, and Mr. Hodson at once started -off for the inn; and when the two men had got the rods -taken down, and the fish tied head and tail for the better -carrying of it, they set out too. But Ronald seemed -unusually depressed and silent. Where was the careless -joke—the verse of an idle song—with which he was wont to -brave the discomforts of wind and weather? The two men -strode along without a word; and it was not likely that -Duncan the dismal should be the first to break the silence. -Nay, when they got to the inn, Ronald would not go in for -a minute or two, as was his custom, to see the fish weighed -and have a chat. He went on to his own cottage; got the -key of the kennel; and presently he and the dogs were -leaving the little scattered hamlet, taking the lonely -moorland road that led away up the Mudal valley.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He knew not why he was so ill at ease; but something -had gone wrong. Had his mind been disturbed and disquieted -by the American gentleman's plainly hinting to him -that he was living in a fool's paradise; and that old age, and -illness, and the possible ingratitude of his master were things -to be looked forward to? Or was it that the sudden -meeting with Meenie, with this stranger looking on, seemed -to have revealed to him all at once how far away she was -from him? If she and he had met, as every day they did, -and passed with the usual friendly greeting, it would all -have been quite simple and ordinary enough; but with this -stranger looking on,—and she appearing so beautiful and -refined and neatly dressed, and wearing moreover the -present given her by Glengask and Orosay—while he, on -the other hand, was carrying the gentleman's waterproof -and a bundle of rods—well, that was all different somehow. -And why had she said 'Good-morning!' with such a pointed -friendliness? He did not wish this stranger to imagine that -Miss Douglas and he were even acquaintances. And then -he thought that that very night he would burn all those -stupid verses he had written about her; that secret and -half-regretful joy of his—of imagining himself in a position -that would entitle him to address her so—was all too daring -and presuming. It is true, she wore the ptarmigan's wing -she had begged him to get for her (and never in all the -years had he so gladly sped up the Clebrig slopes as when -she sent him on that errand), but that was a trifle; any -young lady, if she wanted such a thing, would naturally -ask the nearest gamekeeper. And then the other young -lady—the American young lady—when she came, and -made Meenie's acquaintance: would not they be much -together? Meenie would be still farther and farther away -then. He would himself have to keep studiously aloof, if -in the generosity of her heart she wished to be as friendly -as ever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, these were not very bitter or tragic thoughts; and -yet—and yet—there was something wrong. He scarcely -knew what it was, but only that the little hamlet—as he -returned to it after a long and solitary wandering—did not -seem to be the simple and natural and happy place that it -used to be. But one thing he was glad of. The second -gillie had now arrived from Tongue. Consequently his -services would no longer be needed in the coble; he would -return to his own ways; and be his own master. And as -for companions?—well, Clebrig and he had long been -friends.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-programme"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VI.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A PROGRAMME.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>That same evening little Maggie, having made herself as -smart and neat as possible, went along the dark road to the -doctor's house, was admitted, and forthwith passed upstairs -to Miss Douglas's own room. It was an exceedingly small -apartment; but on this cold winter night it looked remarkably -warm and snug and bright, what with the red peats in -the fireplace, and the brilliant little lamp on the table; and -it was prettily decorated too, with evidences of feminine -care and industry everywhere about. And Meenie herself -was there—in her gown of plain blue serge; and apparently -she had been busy, for the table was littered with patterns -and designs and knitting-needles and what not, while a large -mass of blue worsted was round the back of a chair, waiting -for the winding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Help me to clear the table, Maggie,' she said good-naturedly, -when her visitor entered, 'and then we will get -tea over: I declare I have so many things to think of that -I am just driven daft.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then she said—with some touch of anger—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do you know that I saw your brother—on a cold, wet -day like this—and he was walking along the road, with his -jacket open, and paying no heed at all to the weather? -Maggie, why do you not make him take some care of -himself? In January—and he goes about as if it were -June! How would you like it if he were to catch a bad -cold and have to take to his bed? Why do you not make -him take care of himself?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He would only laugh at me,' the little Maggie said -ruefully. 'He doesna mind anything. I do my best to -get his clothes dried when he comes in wet; but he doesna -like to be bothered—especially if he's writing or reading; -he says that a pipe keeps the harm away. I'm sure if you -would speak to him, Meenie, he would take a great deal -more care.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What, me!' the girl said—and there was a touch of -colour in the pretty refined face; and then she added, with -a good-humoured smile, 'No, he would not mind what I -said, I know. But it is little matter; for with such a -wilful man you can do nothing except by cunning. Do you -see the wool there, Maggie?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She laughed; but the little, red-haired, freckled girl -looked rather frightened.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no, Meenie, I dare not take it,' she said. 'He -would know I had not the money to buy all that wool; and -then he would ask; and I should be scolded—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Nonsense, nonsense!' the other cried, in her friendly -way. 'Do you think a man would ask any such questions? -It would never occur to him at all! When the jersey is all -knitted and complete, you will just say to him, "Ronald, -here is a jersey that I have knitted for you all by myself; -and you are to put it on whenever there is a cold morning;" -and you will see he will think your knitting it yourself -explains everything. Ask about the wool?—he will never -think of such a thing. If you hang the jersey on the nail -of his bedroom door, it will be all a matter of course; I -should not wonder, now, if he forgot to say "Thank you."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And then there is another thing,' Maggie said, rather -timidly and wistfully. 'How am I to tell him that I knitted -the jersey when you know that you will do the most of it? -For it is always that; you did nearly all the socks that we -gave to Ronald; and he thinks it was me.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But here the good humour left Meenie Douglas's face—that -was suddenly grown red and embarrassed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'How can you talk such foolishness?' she said, rather -sharply. 'If I show you here or there how you are to go -on, is that doing the knitting for you? I wonder you have -no more sense, Maggie. Of course, I will have to begin -the jersey for you; and if I cast on the stitches for the -width of the neck, what is that? It is what any one would -do for you—Mrs. Murray, or one of the girls at the inn. -And I hope you are not going away with that idea in your -head; or sooner or later you will be telling somebody that -I am knitting a jersey for your brother—that would be a -fine thing!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A timid appealing hand was put on her arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am sure that Ronald would rather never see or hear -of any jersey than have anything make you angry, Meenie.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The trouble was over in a moment: the girl was -essentially quick and generous and kind-hearted; and this -small lassie was about her only companion. Moreover, tea -was brought in at this moment by the maidservant; and so -the question of the proportion of work contributed by either -of them to Ronald's woollen gear was put aside.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And what do you think of this now, Maggie?' the elder -said, with some eagerness in her face and eyes. 'You know -the great preparations they are making for Monday -night—the long barn is to be cleared; and they are going to have -a chimney made and a fireplace; and long tables all the -way down, and wooden forms to sit on; and some of the -lads, they say, are talking of a chandelier to be made out of -hoops, and candles stuck all the way round. And all that -trouble for the grown-up folk! Is it fair? Oh, it is quite -absurd to have such a deal of trouble; and all for the -grown-up people. Now, if Ronald would help me—and -you know he is such a favourite he always has his own way -with everybody—would it not be a fine thing to ask Mr. Murray -to leave all those preparations as they are for a day -or two—perhaps till Wednesday—and by that time we -could have messages sent to the farms round about, and all -the children brought in for a soirée? Why should the -grown-up people have everything? And there would be -nobody but ourselves,—that's Ronald and you and I, -Maggie,—for the children would have more freedom and amusement -that way—you see my father is not likely to be back -by then, or we might ask him—and then, with nearly a -week, we could send to Tongue for a great many -things—and—and—have a splendid children's party just as fine as -fine could be.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was quite excited over this matter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Look,' she said, going and fetching a sheet of paper -which was written over in a bold, large hand (her own -handwriting was small and neat enough, but this had been -assumed for so important a public purpose); 'look at the -programme—it is all guess work as yet, of course, for I -have not asked Ronald; but I am sure he will help us; -and if he says it is to be done, then everything will go -right—they will keep the barn for us; and the people will send -the children; and those of them who can't go back will stay -the night at the inn. I have saved my pocket-money for -months for it; but who could have expected such a chance—the -barn all fitted up, and the fire to keep it warm, and -the chandelier? There now, Maggie, what do you think?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The little Maggie took up the big sheet of paper, wondering; -for all this was a wild and startling project amid -the monotony of their life in this remote and small hamlet.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>CHILDREN'S SOIREE.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics">Inver-Mudal, Wednesday, January 23.</em></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span>MR. RONALD STRANG in the Chair.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span>PROGRAMME.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><em class="italics">Psalm</em><span> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . </span><em class="italics">Old Hundredth</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics">Service of Tea and Cake.</em></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><em class="italics">Address</em><span> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAIRMAN.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics">Service of Raisins.</em></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><em class="italics">Song</em><span> . . . 'My love she's but a lassie yet.' . . MR. RONALD STRANG. -<br /></span><em class="italics">Reading</em><span> . . 'The Cameronian's Dream.' . . . . . . Miss M. DOUGLAS. -<br /></span><em class="italics">Song</em><span> . . . 'O dinna cross the burn, Willie.' . . MR. RONALD STRANG. -<br /></span><em class="italics">Pipe-Music</em><span> 'Lord Breadalbane's March.' . . . . . MR. RONALD STRANG.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics">Service of Oranges.</em></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><em class="italics">Hymn</em><span> . . . 'Whither, pilgrims, are you going?' . . CHILDREN. -<br /></span><em class="italics">Duet</em><span> . . . 'Huntingtower.' . . . . . . . . . . . . { Miss M. DOUGLAS -<br /> { & Miss M. STRANG.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>But at this point Maggie broke into pure affright.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, Meenie!' she cried—'how can I?—-before them all!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But only before children!' was the quick remonstrance. -'Would you have Ronald do everything? Why, look—an -address—a song—a song—a march on the pipes—is he -to have no rest at all?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But you, Meenie—you can sing so well and without -trouble—I know I will spoil everything——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no, you will spoil nothing; and we will get through -very well.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ferry well,' she said, in spite of her Edinburgh birth; -and she was evidently vastly proud of her skill in drawing -up so brilliant and varied a programme. Maggie continued -her reading—but now in some alarm:</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><em class="italics">Song</em><span> . . . . 'The Laird o' Cockpen.' . . . . . MR. RONALD STRANG. -<br /></span><em class="italics">Reading</em><span> . . 'Jeanie Morrison.' . . . . . . . Miss M. DOUGLAS.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics">Service of Shortbread.</em></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><em class="italics">Song</em><span> . . . . 'Gloomy Winter's now awa'.' . . . MR. RONALD STRANG. -<br /></span><em class="italics">Song</em><span> . . . . 'Auld Lang Syne.' . . . . . . . . THE COMPANY. -<br /></span><em class="italics">Vote of thanks to the Chairman</em><span> . . . . . . . . Miss M. DOUGLAS.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><em class="italics">Finale.</em></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"><em class="italics">Pipe-Music, 'Caidil gu lo'</em><span> (Sleep on till day) MR. RONALD STRANG.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Meenie looked and laughed with pleasure; she was quite -proud of her skill of arrangement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But, Meenie,' her companion said, 'why have ye not -put down a duet between you and Ronald? He can sing -so well; and you; and that would be prettier far than -anything. Do ye no mind the time we were a' away fishing -at Loch Loyal; and we were walking back; and Ronald -was telling us of what he saw in a theatre in Edinburgh? -And when he told us about the young lady's sweetheart -coming in a boat at night, and singing to her below the -window, you knew what it was well enough—and you tried -it together—oh! that was so fine! Will ye no ask him to -sing that with ye?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meenie's face flushed somewhat; and she would have -evaded the question with a little laugh but that it was -repeated. Whereupon she said—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, now, Maggie, you have such a memory! And I -have no doubt there was nonsense going on as we were -walking back from Loch Loyal—for a beautiful night it -was, in the middle of summer, when there is no darkness -at all in the skies all the night long. Oh yes, I remember -it too; and very well; but it was amongst ourselves; we -are not going to have any such nonsense before other -people. And if we were to sing "O hush thee, my baby," -would not the children be thinking it was a hint for them -to go away to bed? And besides, surely I have asked -Ronald to do enough for us; do you not think he will be -surprised, and perhaps angry, when he sees how often his -name comes there?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed no, I'm sure,' Maggie said promptly. 'There's -just nothing that he wouldna do for you, Meenie.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But I will wait till I see him in a good humour,' said -her friend, laughing, 'before I ask him for so much.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Mich,' she said; unawares she had caught up a good -many of the local touches.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And do ye think ye could ever find him in an ill-humour -wi' you?' Maggie said, almost reproachfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no answer to the question; the programme -was put aside.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well, then,' Meenie said, 'we will suppose that is -settled. And what is next? Why, Maggie, if I had not -the brain of a prime minister, I could never get through so -many schemes. Oh, this is it: of course we shall be very -much obliged to them if they lend us the barn and all its -fittings and we should do something for them in return. -And I am sure the lads will be thinking of nothing but the -carpentering; and the lasses at the inn will be thinking -only of the cooking of the supper, and their own ribbons -and frocks. Now, Maggie, suppose you and I were to do -something to make the barn look pretty; I am sure Ronald -would cut us a lot of fir-branches, for there's nothing else -just now; and we could fix them up all round the barn; -and then—look here.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had got a lot of large printed designs; and a heap -of stiff paper of various colours.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We will have to make paper flowers for them, because -there's none growing just now; and very well they will look -among the fir-branches. Oh yes, very well indeed. Red -and white roses do not grow on fir-branches—it does not -need the old man of Ross to tell us that; but they will -look very well whatever; and then large orange lilies, and -anything to make a bold show in so big a place. And if -the lads are making a chandelier out of the hoops of a -barrel, we will ask them to let us put red worsted round -the hoops; that will look very well too. For we must -do something to thank them, Maggie; and then, indeed, -when it comes to our turn, we will have the chance too -of looking at the decorations when we have the children's -soirée.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Maggie looked up quickly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But, Meenie, you are coming to the party on Monday -night too?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no embarrassment on the beautiful, fine, -gentle face. She only said—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, no one has asked me.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the little Maggie flushed with shame and vexation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed, now! Did Ronald not speak to you about it?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, I have known about it for a long time,' she said -lightly, 'and I was very glad to hear of it, for I thought it -was a great chance for me to get the loan of the barn.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But you—you, Meenie—that they did not ask you first -of all!' the younger girl cried. 'But it can only be that -every one is expected to come—every one except the small -children who canna sit up late. And I'm sure I did not -expect to go; but Mr. Murray, he was joking and saying -that I would have to dance the first dance wi' him; and -Ronald said I might be there for a while. But—but—I'm -no going if you're no going, Meenie.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But that is nonsense, Maggie,' the other said -good-naturedly. 'Of course you must go. And I should like -well enough——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am sure Mr. Murray would put you at the head of -the table—by his own side—and proud, too!' Maggie -exclaimed warmly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And I am sure I should not wish anything like that,' -Meenie said, laughing. 'I would far rather go with you. -I would like to see some of the dancing.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, Meenie,' her companion said, with eyes full of -earnestness, 'did you ever see Ronald dance the sword-dance?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, I have not, Maggie.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'They say there is none can do it like him. And if he -would only go to the Highland meetings, he could win prizes -and medals—and for the pipe-playing too, and the tossing -the caber. There is not one of the lads can come near -him; but it is not often that he tries; for he is not proud.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am glad that he does not go to the Highland meetings,' -Meenie said, rather quietly, and with her eyes cast down.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, he is not proud,' said Maggie, continuing (for she -had but the one hero in all the world), 'although there is -nothing he canna do better than any of them. There was -one of the gentlemen said to him last year—the gentleman -hadna been shooting very well the day before—he said, -"Ronald, let one of the gillies look after the dogs to-day, -and go you and bring your gun, and make up for my -mistakes;" and when he came home in the evening, he -said, "It was a clean day's shooting the day; we did not -leave one wounded bird or hare behind us." And another -gentleman was saying, "Ronald, if ye could sell your -eye-sight, I would give ye five hundred pounds for't." And -Duncan was saying that this gentleman that's come for the -fishing, he doesna talk to Ronald about the salmon and the -loch, but about everything in the country, and Ronald -knows as well as him about such things. And his lordship, -too, he writes to Ronald, "Dear Ronald," and quite -friendly; and when he was going away he gave Ronald his -own pipe, that has got a silver band on it, and his -tobacco-pouch, with the letters of his name worked in silk. And -there's not one can say that Ronald's proud.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, this was very idle talk; and moreover it was continued, -for the red-haired and freckled little sister was never -weary of relating the exploits of her handsome brother—the -adventures he had had with wild-cats, and stags, and seals, -and eagles, and the like; and, strangely enough, Miss -Douglas showed no sign of impatience whatever. Nay, she -listened with an interest that scarcely allowed her to -interrupt with a word; and with satisfaction and approval, to -judge by her expression; and all that she would say from -time to time—and absently—was:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But he is so careless, Maggie! Why don't you speak to -him? You really must make him more heedful of himself.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, the night was going by; and Maggie's praises -and recitals had come to an end. Meenie went down to -the door to see her friend comfortably wrapped up; but -there was no need of escort; the stars were shining clear, -though the wind still howled blusteringly. And so they -said good-bye; and Maggie went on through the dark to -the cottage, thinking that Meenie Douglas was the most -beautiful and sweet and warm-hearted companion she was -ever likely to meet with through all her life, and wondering -how it came about that Ronald and Mr. Murray and the rest -of them had been so disgracefully neglectful in not inviting -her to the New Year's festivities on the forthcoming -Monday. Ronald, at least, should hear of his remissness, -and that at once.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="an-eyrie"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">AN EYRIE.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>'Come along, Harry, my lad,' the young keeper cried next -morning to his faithful terrier, 'and we'll go and have a -look up the hill.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He slipped a cartridge or two into his pocket, more by -custom than design as it were; put his gun over his -shoulder; and went out into the cold clear air, the little -terrier trotting at his heels. The vague unrest of the -previous evening was altogether gone now; he was his -natural self again; as he strode along the road he was -lightly singing—but also under his breath, lest any -herd-laddie should overhear—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Roses red, roses white,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Roses in the lane,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Tell me, roses white and red,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Where is Meenie gane!</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>And when he got as far as the inn he found that the -mail-cart had just arrived, so he turned aside to have a little -gossip with the small group of shepherds and others who -had come to see whether there were any newspapers or -letters for them. He was a great favourite with these; -perhaps also an object of envy to the younger of the lads; -for he lived the life of a gentleman, one might say, and was -his own master; moreover, where was there any one who -looked so smart and dressed so neatly—his Glengarry cap, -his deerstalking jacket, his knickerbockers, his hand-knitted -socks, and white spats, and shoes, being all so trim and -well cared for, even in this wild winter weather? There -was some laughing and joking about the forthcoming -supper-party; and more than one of them would have had -him go inside with them to have 'a glass,' but he was proof -against that temptation; while the yellow-haired Nelly, -who was at work within, happening to turn her eyes to the -window, and catching sight of him standing there, and being -jealous of his popularity with all those shepherd-lads and -gillies, suddenly said to her mistress—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'There's Ronald outside, mem, and I think he might go -away and shoot something for the gentleman's dinner.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well,' said Mrs. Murray; 'go and say that I -would be very much obliged to him indeed if he would -bring me a hare or two the first time he is going up the -hill, but at his own convenience, to be sure.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But that was not the message that Nelly went to deliver. -She wanted to show her authority before all these half-critical -idlers, and also, as a good-looking lass, her independence -and her mastery over men-folk.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald,' said she, at the door of the inn, 'I think you -might just as well be going up the hill and bringing us -down a hare or two, instead of standing about here doing -nothing.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Is that Highland manners, lass?' he said, but with -perfect good humour. 'I'm thinking ye might say "if ye -please." But I'll get ye a hare or two, sure enough, and -ye'll keep the first dance for me on Monday night.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed I am not sure that I will be at the dancing at -all,' retorted the pretty Nelly; but this was merely to cover -her retreat—she did not wish to have any further conversation -before that lot of idle half-grinning fellows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As for Ronald, he bade them good-morning, and went -lightly on his way again. He was going up the hill -anyway; and he might as well bring down a brace of hares for -Mrs. Murray; so, after walking along the road for a mile or -so, he struck off across some rough and partly marshy -ground, and presently began to climb the lower slopes of -Clebrig, getting ever a wider and wider view as he ascended, -and always when he turned finding beneath him the -wind-stirred waters of the loch, where a tiny dark object, -slow-moving near the shores, told him where the salmon fishers -were patiently pursuing their sport.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No, there were no more unsettling notions in his brain; -here he was master and monarch of all he surveyed; and -if he was profoundly unconscious of the ease with which he -breasted this steep hillside, at least he rejoiced in the -ever-widening prospect—as lochs and hills and stretches of -undulating moorland seemed to stretch ever and ever -outward until, afar in the north, he could make out the Kyle -of Tongue and the faint line of the sea. It was a wild and -changeable day; now filled with gloom, again bursting -forth into a blaze of yellow sunshine; while ever and anon -some flying tag of cloud would come sweeping across the -hillside and engulf him, so that all he could then discern -was the rough hard heather and bits of rock around his -feet. It was just as one of these transient clouds was -clearing off that he was suddenly startled by a loud -noise—as of iron rattling on stones; and so bewildering was this -unusual noise in the intense silence reigning there that -instinctively he wheeled round and lowered his gun. And -then again, the next second, what he saw was about as -bewildering as what he had heard—a great creature, quite -close by, and yet only half visible in the clearing mist, with -huge outspread wings, dragging something after it across -the broken rocks. The truth flashed upon him in an -instant; it was an eagle caught in a fox-trap; the strange -noise was the trap striking here and there on a stone. At -once he put down his gun on an exposed knoll and gave -chase, with the greatest difficulty subduing the eager desire -of the yelping Harry to rush forward and attack the huge -bird by himself. It was a rough and ludicrous pursuit -but it ended in capture—though here, again, circumspection -was necessary, for the eagle, with all his neck-feathers -bristling, struck at him again and again with the talons that -were free, only one foot having been caught in the trap. -But the poor beast was quite exhausted; an examination of -the trap showed Ronald that he must have flown with this -weight attached to his leg all the way from Ben Ruach, some -half dozen miles away; and now, though there was yet an -occasional automatic motion of the beak or the claws, as -though he would still strike for liberty, he submitted to be -firmly seized while the iron teeth of the trap were being -opened. And then Ronald looked at his prize (but still with -a careful grip). He was a splendid specimen of the golden -eagle—a bird that is only found here and there in -Sutherlandshire, though the keepers are no longer allowed to kill -them—and, despite himself, looking at the noble creature, -he began to ask himself casuistical questions. Would not -this make a handsome gift for Meenie?—he could send the -bird to Macleay at Inverness, and have it stuffed and -returned without anybody knowing. Moreover, the keepers -were only charged to abstain from shooting such golden -eagles as they might find on their own ground; and he knew -from the make of the trap that this one must have come -from a different shooting altogether; it was not a Clebrig -eagle at all. But he looked at the fierce eye of the beast, -and its undaunted mien; he knew that, if it could, it would -fight to the death; and he felt a kind of pride in the -creature, and admiration for it, and even a sort of sympathy -and fellow-feeling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'My good chap,' said he, 'I'm not going to kill you in -cold blood—not me. Go back to your wife and weans, -wherever they are. Off!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And he tried to throw the big beast into the air. But -this was not like flinging up a released pigeon. The eagle -fell forward, and stumbled twice ere it could get its great -wings into play; and then, instead of trying to soar -upward, it went flapping away down wind—increasing in -speed, until he could see it, now rising somewhat, cross -the lower windings of Loch Naver, and make away for the -northern skies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It's a God's mercy,' he was saying to himself, as he -went back to get his gun, 'that I met the creature in the -daytime; had it been at night, I would hae thought it was -the devil.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Some two or three hundred feet still farther up the -hillside he came to his own eyrie—a great mass of rock, -affording shelter from either southerly or easterly winds, -and surrounded with some smaller stones; and here he -sate contentedly down to look around him—Harry crouched -at his feet, his nose between his paws, but his eyes -watchful. And this wide stretch of country between Clebrig -and the northern sea would have formed a striking prospect -in any kind of weather—the strange and savage loneliness -of the moorlands; the solitary lakes with never a sign of -habitation along their shores; the great ranges of mountains -whose silent recesses are known only to the stag and the -hind; but on such a morning as this it was all as unstable -and unreal as it was wildly beautiful and picturesque;—for -the hurrying weather made a kind of phantasmagoria of -the solid land; bursts of sunlight that struck on the yellow -straths were followed by swift gray cloud-wreaths blotting -out the world; and again and again the white snow-peaks -of the hills would melt away and become invisible only to -reappear again shining and glorious in a sky of brilliant -blue; until, indeed, it seemed as if the earth had no -substance and fixed foundation at all, but was a mere dream, -an aerial vision, changed and moved and controlled by -some unseen and capricious hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then again, on the dark and wind-driven lake far -below him, that small object was still to be made out—like -some minute, black, crawling water insect. He took -out his glass from its leather case, adjusted it, and placed -it to his eye. What was this? In the world suddenly -brought near—and yet dimly near, as though a film -interposed—he could see that some one was standing up in the -stern of the boat, and another crouching down, by his side. -Was that a clip or the handle of the landing-net; in other -words, was it a salmon or a kelt that was fighting them -there? He swept the dull waters of the loch with his -glass; but could make out no splashing or springing -anywhere near them. And then he could see by the curve of -the rod that the fish was close at hand; there was a minute -or two longer of anxiety; then a sudden movement on the -part of the crouching person—and behold a silver-white -object gleams for a moment in the air and then disappears!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good!' he says to himself—with a kind of sigh of -satisfaction as if he had himself taken part in the struggle -and capture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>How peaceful looks the little hamlet of Inver-Mudal! -The wild storm-clouds, and the bursts of sunlight, and the -howling winds seem to sail over it unheeded; down in the -hollow there surely all is quiet and still. And is Meenie -singing at her work, by the window; or perhaps -superintending Maggie's lessons; or gone away on one of the -lonely walks that she is fond of—up by the banks of the -Mudal Water? It is a bleak and a bare stream; there is -scarce a bush on its banks; and yet he knows of no other -river—however hung with foliage and flowers—that is so -sweet and sacred and beautiful. What was it he wrote in -the bygone year—one summer day when he had seen her -go by—and he, too, was near the water, and could hear -the soft murmuring over the pebbles? He called the -idle verses</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>MUDAL IN JUNE.</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Mudal, that comes from the lonely mere,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Silent or whispering, vanishing ever,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Know you of aught that concerns us here?—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">You, youngest of all God's creatures, a river.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Born of a yesterday's summer shower,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And hurrying on with your restless motion,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Silent or whispering, every hour,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">To lose yourself in the great lone ocean.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Your banks remain; but you go by,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Through day and through darkness swiftly sailing:</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Say, do you hear the curlew cry,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the snipe in the night-time hoarsely wailing?</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Do you watch the wandering hinds in the morn;</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Do you hear the grouse-cock crow in the heather;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Do you see the lark spring up from the corn,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">All in the radiant summer weather?</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O Mudal stream, how little you know</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">That Meenie has loved you, and loves you ever;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And while to your ocean home you flow,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">She says good-bye to her well-loved river!—</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O see you her now—she is coming anigh—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the flower in her hand her aim discloses:</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Laugh, Mudal, your thanks as you're hurrying by—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">For she flings you a rose, in the month of roses!</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Well, that was written as long ago as last midsummer; and -was Meenie still as far away from him as then, and as -ignorant as ever of his mute worship of her, and of these -verses that he had written about her? But he indulged -in no day-dreams. Meenie was as near to him as he had -any right to expect—giving him of an assured and constant -friendship; and as for these passing rhymes—well, he tried -to make them as worthy of her as he could, though he -knew she should never see them; polishing them, in so -far as they might be said to have any polish at all, in -honour of her; and, what is more to the point, at once -cutting out and destroying any of them that seemed to -savour either of affectation or of echo. No: the rude -rhymes should at least be honest and of his own invention -and method; imitations he could not, even in fancy, lay -at Meenie's feet. And sometimes, it is true, a wild -imagination would get hold of him—a whimsical thing, that he -laughed at: supposing that life—the actual real life here -at Inver-Mudal—were suddenly to become a play, a poem, -a romantic tale; and that Meenie was to fall in love with -him; and he to grow rich all at once; and the Stuarts of -Glengask to be quite complaisant: why, then, would it not -be a fine thing to bring all this collection of verses to -Meenie, and say 'There, now, it is not much; but it shows -you that I have been thinking of you all through these -years?' Yes, it would be a very fine thing, in a romance. -But, as has been said, he was one not given to day-dreams; -and he accepted the facts of life with much equanimity; -and when he had written some lines about Meenie that he -regarded with a little affection—as suggesting, let us say, -something of the glamour of her clear Highland eyes, and -the rose-sweetness of her nature, and the kindness of her -heart—and when it seemed rather a pity that she should -never see them—if only as a tribute to her gentleness -offered by a perfectly unbiassed spectator—he quickly -reminded himself that it was not his business to write verses -but to trap foxes and train dogs and shoot hoodie-crows. -He was not vain of his rhymes—except where Meenie's -name came in. Besides, he was a very busy person at -most seasons of the year; and men, women, and children -alike showed a considerable fondness for him, so that his -life was full of sympathies and interests; and altogether -he cannot be regarded, nor did he regard himself, as a -broken-hearted or blighted being. His temperament was -essentially joyous and healthy; the passing moment was -enough; nothing pleased him so much as to have a grouse, -or a hare, or a ptarmigan, or a startled hind appear within -sure and easy range, and to say 'Well, go on. Take your -life with you. Rather a pleasant day this: why shouldn't -you enjoy it as well as I?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, on this blustering and brilliant morning he -had not come all the way up hither merely to get a brace of -hares for Mrs. Murray, nor yet to be a distant spectator of -the salmon-fishing going on far below. Under this big -rock there was a considerable cavity, and right at the back -of that he had wedged in a wooden box lined with tin, and -fitted with a lid and a lock. It was useful in the autumn; -he generally kept in it a bottle of whisky and a few bottles -of soda-water, lest any of the gentlemen should find -themselves thirsty on the way home from the stalking. But on -this occasion, when he got out the key and unlocked the -little chest, it was not any refreshment of that kind he was -after. He took out a copy-book—a cheap paper-covered -thing such as is used in juvenile schools in Scotland—and -turned to the first page, which was scrawled over with -pencilled lines that had apparently been written in time of -rain, for there were plenty of smudges there. It had -become a habit of his that, when in these lonely rambles -among the hills, he found some further rhymes about -Meenie come into his head, he would jot them down in -this copy-book, deposit it in the little chest, and probably -not see them again for weeks and weeks, when, as on the -present occasion, he would come with fresh eyes to see it -there were any worth or value in them. Not that he took -such trouble with anything else. His rhyming epistles to -his friends, his praises of his terrier Harry, his songs for -the Inver-Mudal lasses to sing—these things were thrown -off anyhow, and had to take their chance. But his solitary -intercommunings away amid these alpine wastes were of a -more serious cast; insensibly they gathered dignity and -repose from the very silence and awfulness of the solitudes -around; there was no idle and pastoral singing here about -roses in the lane. He regarded the blurred lines, striving -to think of them as having been written by somebody else:</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Through the long sad centuries Clebrig slept,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Nor a sound the silence broke,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Till a morning in Spring a strange new thing</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Betrayed him and he awoke;</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And he laughed, and his joyous laugh was heard</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">From Erribol far to Tongue;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And his granite veins deep down were stirred,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the great old mountain grew young.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Twas Love Meenie he saw, and she walked by the shore,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And she sang so sweet and so clear,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">That the sound of her voice made him see again</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The dawn of the world appear;</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And at night he spake to the listening stars</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And charged them a guard to keep</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">On the hamlet of Inver-Mudal there</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the maid in her innocent sleep,</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Till the years should go by; and they should see</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Love Meenie take her stand</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Mong the maidens around the footstool of God—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">She gentlest of all the band!</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>He tore the leaf out, folded it, and put it in his pocket.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Another one for the little bookie that's never to be -seen,' said he, with a kind of laugh; for indeed he treated -himself to a good deal of satire, and would rather have -blown his brains out than that the neighbourhood should -have known he was writing these verses about Meenie -Douglas.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And hey, Harry, lad!' he called, as he locked the -little cupboard again, 'I'm thinking we must be picking up -a hare now, if it's for soup for the gentleman's dinner the -night. So ye were bauld enough to face an eagle? I -doubt, if both his feet had been free, but ye might have -had a lift in the air, and seen the heavens and the earth -spread out below ye.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He shouldered his gun and set out again—making his -way towards some rockier ground, where he very soon -bagged the brace of hares he wanted. He tied their legs -together, slung them over his shoulder, and began to -descend the mountain again—usually keeping his eye on -the minute black speck on the loch, lest there might be -occasion again for his telescope.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He took the two hares—they looked remarkably like -cats, by the way, for they were almost entirely white—into -the inn, and threw them on to the chair in the passage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'There you are, Nelly, lass,' said he, as the fair-haired -Highland maid happened to go by.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'All right,' said she, which was no great thanks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Mr. Murray, in the parlour, had heard the keeper's -voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald,' he cried, 'come in for a minute, will ye?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Murray was a little, wiry, gray-haired, good-natured -looking man, who, when Ronald entered the parlour, was -seated at the table, and evidently puzzling his brains over -a blank sheet of paper that lay before him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Your sister Maggie wass here this morning,' the inn-keeper -said—still with his eyes fixed upon the paper—'and -she wass saying that maybe Meenie—Miss Douglas—would -like to come with the others on Monday night—ay, and -maybe Mrs. Douglas herself too as well—but they would hef -to be asked. And Kott pless me, it is not an easy thing, if -you hef to write a letter, and that is more polite than -asking—it is not an easy thing, I am sure. Ronald,' he said, -raising his eyes and turning round, 'would you tek a -message?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Where?' said Ronald—but he knew well enough, and -was only seeking time to make an excuse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'To Mrs. Douglas and the young lass; and tell them -we will be glad if they will come with the others on Monday -night—for the doctor is away from home, and why should -they be left by themselves? Will you tek the message, -Ronald?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'How could I do that?' Ronald said. 'It's you that's -giving the party, Mr. Murray.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But they know you so ferry well—and—and there will -be no harm if they come and see the young lads and lasses -having a reel together—ay, and a song too. And if -Mrs. Douglas could not be bothered, it's you that could bring -the young lady—oh yes, I know ferry well—if you will -ask her, she will come.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am sure no,' Ronald said hastily, and with an -embarrassment he sought in vain to conceal. 'If Miss -Douglas cares to come at all, it will be when you ask her. -And why should ye write, man? Go down the road and -ask her yourself—I mean, ask Mrs. Douglas; it's as simple -as simple. What for should ye write a letter? Would ye -send it through the post too? That's ceremony for -next-door neighbours!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But Ronald, lad, if ye should see the young lass -herself——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no; take your own message, Mr. Murray; they -can but give you a civil answer.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Murray was left doubting. It was clear that the -awful shadow of Glengask and Orosay still dwelt over the -doctor's household; and that the innkeeper was not at all -sure as to what Mrs. Douglas would say to an invitation -that she and her daughter Meenie—or Williamina, as the -mother called her—should be present at a merry-meeting -of farm lads, keepers, gillies, and kitchen wenches.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="the-new-year-s-feast"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VIII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">THE NEW YEAR'S FEAST.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Loud and shrill in the empty barn arose the strains of the -</span><em class="italics">Athole March</em><span>, warning the young lasses to hasten with the -adjustment of their ribbons, and summoning the young -lads about to look sharp and escort them. The long and -narrow table was prettily laid out; two candelabra instead -of one shed a flood of light on the white cover; the walls -were decorated with evergreens and with Meenie's -resplendent paper blossoms; the peats in the improvised -fireplace burned merrily. And when the company began -to arrive, in twos and threes, some bashful and hesitating, -others merry and jocular, there was a little embarrassment -about the taking of places until Ronald laid down his pipes -and set to work to arrange them. The American gentleman -had brought in Mrs. Murray in state, and they were -at the head of the table; while Ronald himself took the -foot, in order, as he said, to keep order—if he were -able—among the lasses who had mostly congregated there. Then -the general excitement and talking was hushed for a minute, -while the innkeeper said grace; and then the girls—farm -wenches, some of them, and Nelly, the pretty parlour-maid, -and Finnuala, the cook's youngest sister, who was but lately -come from Uist and talked the quaintest English, and -Mr. Murray's two nieces from Tongue, and the other young -lasses about the inn—all of them became demure and -proper in their manner, for they were about to enjoy the -unusual sensation of being waited upon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This, of course, was Ronald's doing. There had been -a question as to which of the maids were to bring in supper -for so large a number; so he addressed himself to the -young fellows who were standing about.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You lazy laddies,' he said, 'what are ye thinking o'? -Here's a chance for ye, if there's a pennyworth o' spunk -among the lot o' ye. They lasses there wait on ye the -whole year long, and make the beds for ye, and redd the -house; I'm thinking ye might do worse than wait on them -for one night, and bring in the supper when they sit down. -They canna do both things; and the fun o' the night -belongs to them or to nobody at all.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At first there was a little shamefaced reluctance—it was -'lasses' work,' they said—until a great huge Highland tyke—a -Ross-shire drover who happened to be here on a visit—a -man of about six feet four, with a red beard big enough -for a raven to build in, declared that he would lend a hand, -if no one else did; and forthwith brought his huge fist -down on the bar-room table to give emphasis to his words. -There was some suspicion that this unwonted gallantry was -due to the fact that he had a covetous eye on Jeannie, -Donald Macrae's lass, who was a very superior -dairy-mistress, and was also heir-presumptive to her father's -farmstead and about a score of well-favoured cattle; but -that was neither here nor there; he was as good as his -word; he organised the brigade, and led it; and if he -swallowed a stiff glass of whisky before setting out from -the kitchen for the barn, with a steaming plate of soup in -each hand, that was merely to steady his nerves and -enable him to face the merriment of the whole gang of those -girls. And then when this red-bearded giant of a Ganymede -and his attendants had served every one, they fetched -in their own plates, and sat down; and time was allowed -them; for the evening was young yet, and no one in a hurry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now if Mr. Hodson had been rather doubtful lest his -presence might produce some little restraint, he was speedily -reassured, to his own great satisfaction, for he was really a -most good-natured person and anxious to be friendly with -everybody. In the general fun and jollity he was not even -noticed; he could ask Mrs. Murray any questions he chose -without suspicion of being observant; the young lady next -him—who was Jeannie Macrae herself, and to whom he -strove to be as gallant as might be—was very winsome and -gentle and shy, and spoke in a more Highland fashion than -he had heard yet; while otherwise he did not fare at all -badly at this rustic feast, for there were boiled fowls and -roast hares after the soup, and there was plenty of ale -passed round, and tea for those who wished it. Nay, on -the contrary, he had rather to push himself forward and -assert himself ere he could get his proper share of the work -that was going on. He insisted upon carving for at least -half a dozen neighbours; he was most attentive to the -pretty Highland girl next him; and laughed heartily at -Mrs. Murray's Scotch stories, which he did not quite -understand; and altogether entered into the spirit of the -evening. But there was no doubt it was at the other end -of the table that the fun was getting fast and furious; and -just as little doubt that Ronald the keeper was suffering -considerably at the hands of those ungrateful lasses for -whom he had done so much. Like a prudent man, he -held his tongue and waited his opportunity; taking their -teasing with much good humour; and paying no heed to -the other young fellows who were urging him to face and -silence the saucy creatures. And his opportunity came in -the most unexpected way. One of the girls, out of pure -mischief, and without the least notion that she would be -overheard, rapped lightly on the table, and said: -'Mr. Ronald Strang will now favour us with a song.' To her -amazement and horror there was an almost instant silence; -for an impression had travelled up the table that some -announcement was about to be made.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What is it now? What are you about down there?' -their host called to them—and the silence, to her who had -unwittingly caused it, was terrible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But another of the girls, still bent on mischief, was bold -enough to say.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, it's Ronald that's going to sing us a song.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Sing ye a song, ye limmer, ere ye're through with your -supper?' Ronald said sharply. 'I'd make ye sing -yourself—with a leather strap—if I had my will o' ye.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But this was not heard up the table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well, then, Ronald,' the innkeeper cried, graciously. -'Come away with it now. There is no one at all can -touch you at that.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, do not ask him,' the pretty Nelly said—apparently -addressing the company, but keeping her cruel eyes on him. -'Do not ask Ronald to sing. Ronald is such a shy lad.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He glanced at her; and then he seemed to make up -his mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well, then,' said he, 'I'll sing ye a song—and -let's have a chorus, lads.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now in Sutherlandshire, as in many other parts of the -Highlands, the chief object of singing in company is to -establish a chorus; and the audience, no matter whether -they have heard the air or not, so soon as it begins, proceed -to beat time with hand and heel, forming a kind of accompanying -tramp, as it were; so that by the time the end of -the first verse is reached, if they have not quite caught the -tune, at least they can make some kind of rhythmic noise -with the refrain. And on this occasion, if the words were -new—and Ronald, on evil intent, took care to pronounce -them clearly—the air was sufficiently like 'Jenny dang the -Weaver' for the general chorus to come in, in not more -than half a dozen keys. This was what Ronald sang—and -he sang it in that resonant tenor of his, and in a rollicking -fashion—just as if it were an impromptu, and not a weapon -that he had carefully forged long ago, and hidden away to -serve some such chance as the present:</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O lasses, lasses, gang your ways,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And dust the house, or wash the claes,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ye put me in a kind o' blaze—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ye'll break my heart among ye!</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The girls rather hung their heads—the imputation that -they were all setting their caps at a modest youth who -wanted to have nothing to do with them was scarcely what -they expected. But the lads had struck the tune somehow; -and there was a roaring chorus, twice repeated, with heavy -boots marking the time—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ye'll break my heart among ye!</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>And then the singer proceeded—gravely—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">At kirk or market, morn or e'en,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The like o' them was never seen,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">For each is kind, and each a queen;—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ye'll break my heart among ye!</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>And again came the roaring chorus from the delighted lads—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ye'll break my heart among ye!</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There was but one more verse—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">There's that one dark, and that one fair,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And yon has wealth o' yellow hair;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Gang hame, gang hame—I can nae mair—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ye'll break my heart among ye!</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Yellow hair? The allusion was so obvious that the -pretty Nelly blushed scarlet—all the more visibly because -of her fair complexion; and when the thunder of the -thrice-repeated refrain had ceased, she leant forward and -said to him in a low voice, but with much terrible meaning—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'My lad, when I get you by yourself, I'll give it to you!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They had nearly finished supper by this time; but ere -they had the decks cleared for action, there was a formal -ceremony to be gone through. The host produced his -</span><em class="italics">quaich</em><span>—a small cup of horn, with a handle on each side; -and likewise a bottle of whisky; and as one guest after -another took hold of the quaich with the thumb and forefinger -of each hand, the innkeeper filled the small cup with -whisky, which had then to be drank to some more or less -appropriate toast. These were in Gaelic for the most -part—'</span><em class="italics">To the goodman of the inn</em><span>'; '</span><em class="italics">To the young girls that are -kind, and old wives that keep a clean house</em><span>'; '</span><em class="italics">Good health; -and good luck in finding things washed ashore</em><span>,' and so -forth—and when it came to Mr. Hodson's turn, he would have -a try at the Gaelic too.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I think I can wrestle with it, if you give me an easy one,' -he remarked, as he took the quaich between his fingers and -held it till it was filled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no, sir, do not trouble about the Gaelic,' said his -pretty neighbour Jeannie—blushing very much, for there -was comparative silence at the time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But I want to have my turn. If it's anything a white -man can do, I can do it.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Say </span><em class="italics">air do shlàinte</em><span>—that is, your good health,' said -Jeannie, blushing more furiously than ever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He carefully balanced the cup in his hands, gravely -turned towards his hostess, bowed to her, repeated the -magic words with a very fair accent indeed, and drained off -the whisky—amid the general applause; though none of -them suspected that the swallowing of the whisky was to -him a much more severe task than the pronunciation -of the Gaelic. And then it came to Ronald's turn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no, Mr. Murray,' said the slim-waisted Nelly, who -had recovered from her confusion, and whose eyes were -now as full of mischief as ever, 'do not ask Ronald to say -anything in the Gaelic; he is ashamed to hear himself speak. -It is six years and more he has been trying to say "a young -calf," and he cannot do it yet.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And besides, he's thinking of the lass he left behind in -the Lothians,' said her neighbour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And they're all black-haired girls there,' continued the -fair-haired Nelly. 'Ronald, drink "</span><em class="italics">mo nighean dubh</em><span>."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He fixed his eyes on her steadily, and said: '</span><em class="italics">Tir nam -beann, nan gleann, s'nan gaisgeach;</em><span>[#] and may all the saucy -jades in Sutherland find a husband to keep them in order -ere the year be out.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] The land of hills and glens and heroes.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>And now two or three of the lasses rose to clear the -table; for the red-bearded drover and his brigade had not -the skill to do that; and the men lit their pipes; and there -was a good deal of joyous </span><em class="italics">schwärmerei</em><span>. In the midst of it -all there was a rapping of spoons and knuckles at the upper -end of the table; and it was clear, from the importance of -his look, that Mr. Murray himself was about to favour the -company—so that a general silence ensued. And very well -indeed did the host of the evening sing—in a shrill, high-pitched -voice, it is true, but still with such a multitude of -small flourishes and quavers and grace notes as showed -he had once been proud enough of his voice in the days -gone by. 'Scotland yet' he sang; and there was a -universal rush at the chorus—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'And trow ye as I sing, my lads,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The burden o't shall be,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Auld Scotland's howes, and Scotland's knowes,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And Scotland's hills for me,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">I'll drink a cup to Scotland yet,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Wi' a' the honours three.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>And was their American friend to be excluded?—not if he -knew it. He could make a noise as well as any; and he -waved the quaich—which had wandered back to him—round -his head; and strident enough was his voice with</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">I'll drink a cup to Scotland yet,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Wi' a' the honours three.'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>'I feel half a Scotchman already,' said he gaily to his -hostess.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed, sir, I wish you were altogether one,' she said -in her gentle way. 'I am sure I think you would look a -little better in health if you lived in this country.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But I don't look so ill, do I?' said he—rather -disappointed; for he had been striving to be hilarious, and -had twice drank the contents of the quaich, out of pure -friendliness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, no, sir,' said Mrs. Murray politely, 'not more -than most of them I hef seen from your country; but -surely it cannot be so healthy as other places; the young -ladies are so thin and delicate-looking whatever; many a -one I would like to hef kept here for a while—for more -friendly young ladies I never met with anywhere—just to see -what the mountain air and the sweet milk would do for her.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, then, Mrs. Murray, you will have the chance of -trying your doctoring on my daughter when she comes up -here a few weeks hence; but I think you won't find much -of the invalid about her—it's my belief she could give -twenty pounds to any girl I know of in a go-as-you-please -race across the stiffest ground anywhere. There's not much -the matter with my Carry, if she'd only not spend the whole -day in those stores in Regent Street. Well, that will be -over when she come here; I should think it'll make her -stare some, if she wants to buy a veil or a pair of gloves.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the girls at the foot of the table had been teasing -Ronald to sing something; silence was forthwith procured; -and presently—for he was very good natured, and sang -whenever he was asked—the clear and penetrating tenor -voice was ringing along the rafters:</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'The news frae Moidart cam' yestreen,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Will soon gar many ferlie,[#]</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">For ships o' war hae just come in</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And landed royal Charlie.'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span class="small">[#] 'Ferlie,' wonder.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was a well-known song, with a resounding chorus:</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Come through the heather, around him gather,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ye're a' the welcomer early;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Around him cling wi' a' your kin,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">For wha'll be king but Charlie?'</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Nay, was not this the right popular kind of song—to have -two choruses instead of one?—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Come through the heather, around him gather,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Come Ronald, and Donald, come a'thegither</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And claim your rightfu' lawfu' king,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">For who'll be king but Charlie?'</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>This song gave great satisfaction; for they had all taken -part in the chorus; and they were pleased with the melodious -result. And then the lasses were at him again:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald, sing "Doon the burn, Davie lad."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald, will you not give us "Logan Water" now?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald, "Auld Joe Nicholson's Bonnie Nannie" or -"My Peggy is a young thing" whichever you like best -yourself.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no,' said the pretty Nelly, 'ask him to sing, "When -the kye come hame," and he will be thinking of the -black-haired lass he left in the Lothians.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Gae wa', gae wa',' said he, rising and shaking himself -free from them. 'I ken what'll put other things into your -heads—or into your heels, rather.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He picked up his pipes, which had been left in a corner, -threw the drones over his shoulder, and marched to the -upper end of the barn; then there was a preliminary groan -or two, and presently the chanter broke away into a lively -reel tune. The effect of this signal, as it might be called, -was magical; every one at once divined what was needed; -and the next moment they were all helping to get the long -table separated into its component parts and carried out -into the dark. There was a cross table left at the upper -end, by the peat-fire, for the elderly people and the -spectators to sit at, if they chose; the younger folk had -wooden forms at the lower end; but the truth is that they -were so eager not to have any of the inspiriting music -thrown away that several sets were immediately formed, and -off they went to the brisk strains of </span><em class="italics">Miss Jenny Gordon's -Favourite</em><span>—intertwisting deftly, setting to partners again, -fingers and thumbs snapped in the air, every lad amongst -them showing off his best steps, and ringing whoops sent -up to the rafters as the reel broke off again into a quick -strathspey. It was wild and barbaric, no doubt; but -there was a kind of rhythmic poetry in it too; Ronald -grew prouder and prouder of the fire that he could infuse -into this tempestuous and yet methodical crowd; the -whoops became yells; and if the red-bearded drover, -dancing opposite the slim-figured Nelly, would challenge -her to do her best, and could himself perform some -remarkable steps and shakes, well, Nelly was not ashamed to -raise her gown an inch or two just to show him that he was -not dancing with a flat-footed creature, but that she had -swift toes and graceful ankles to compare with any. And -then again they would trip off into the figure 8, swinging -round with arms interlocked; and again roof and rafter -would 'dirl' with the triumphant shouts of the men. Then -came the long wailing monition from the pipes; the sounds -died down; panting and laughing and rosy-cheeked the -lasses were led to the benches by their partners; and a -general halt was called.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Little Maggie stole up to her brother.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'm going home now, Ronald,' she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well,' he said. 'Mind you go to bed as soon as -ye get in. Good-night, lass.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good-night, Ronald.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was going away, when he said to her—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Maggie, do ye think that Miss Douglas is not coming -along to see the dancing? I thought she would do that if -she would rather no come to the supper.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In truth he had had his eye on the door all the time he -was playing </span><em class="italics">Miss Jenny Gordon's Favourite</em><span>.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am sure if she stays away,' the little Maggie said, 'it -is not her own doing. Meenie wanted to come. It is -very hard that everybody should be at the party and not -Meenie.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, well, good-night, lass,' said he; for the young folk -were choosing their partners again, and the pipes were -wanted. Soon there was another reel going on, as fast and -furious as before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At the end of this reel—Meenie had not appeared, by the -way, and Ronald concluded that she was not to be allowed -to look on at the dancing—the yellow-haired Nelly came -up to the top of the room, and addressed Mrs. Murray in -the Gaelic; but as she finished up with the word </span><em class="italics">quadrille</em><span>, -and as she directed one modest little glance towards -Mr. Hodson, that amiable but astute onlooker naturally inferred -that he was somehow concerned in this speech. Mrs. Murray -laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, sir, the girls are asking if you would not like to -have a dance too; and they could have a quadrille.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I've no cause to brag about my dancing,' he said -good-humouredly, 'but if Miss Nelly will see me through, I dare -say we'll manage somehow. Will you excuse my ignorance?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now the tall and slender Highland maid had not in any -way bargained for this—it was merely friendliness that had -prompted her proposal; but she could not well refuse; and -soon one or two sets were formed; and a young lad called -Munro, from Lairg, who had brought his fiddle with him for -this great occasion, proceeded to tune up. The quadrille, -when it came off, was performed with more of vigour than -science; there was no ignominious shirking of steps—no -idle and languid walking—but a thorough and resolute -flinging about, as the somewhat bewildered Mr. Hodson -speedily discovered. However, he did his part gallantly, -and was now grown so gay that when, at the end of the -dance, he inquired of the fair Nelly whether she would like -to have any little refreshment, and when she mildly -suggested a little water, and offered to go for it herself, he -would hear of no such thing. No, no; he went and got -some soda-water, and declared that it was much more -wholesome with a little whisky in it; and had some himself -also. Gay and gallant?—why, certainly. He threw off -thirty years of his life; he forgot that this was the young -person who would be waiting at table after his daughter -Carry came hither: he would have danced another quadrille -with her; and felt almost jealous when a young fellow -came up to claim her for the </span><em class="italics">Highland Schottische</em><span>—thus -sending him back to the society of Mrs. Murray. And it -was not until he had sate down that he remembered he had -suggested to his daughter the training of this pretty -Highland girl for the position of maid and travelling companion. -But what of that? If all men were born equal, so were -women; and he declared to himself that any day he would -rather converse with Nelly the pretty parlour-maid than -(supposing him to have the chance) with Her Illustrious -Highness the Princess of Pfalzgrafweiler-Gunzenhausen.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the meantime Ronald, his pipes not being then -needed, had wandered out into the cold night-air. There -were some stars visible, but they shed no great light; the -world lay black enough all around. He went idly and -dreamily along the road—the sounds in the barn growing -fainter and fainter—until he reached the plateau where -his own cottage stood. There was no light in it anywhere; -doubtless Maggie had at once gone to bed, as she had -been bid. And then he wandered on again—walking a -little more quietly—until he reached the doctor's house. -Here all the lights were out but one; there was a red glow -in that solitary window; and he knew that that was -Meenie's room. Surely she could not be sitting up and -listening?—even the skirl of the pipes could scarcely be -heard so far; and her window was closed. Reading, -perhaps? He knew so many of her favourites—'The -Burial March of Dundee,' 'Jeannie Morrison,' 'Bonny -Kilmeny,' 'Christabel,' the 'Hymn before Sunrise in the -Valley of Chamounix,' and others of a similar noble or -mystical or tender kind; and perhaps, after all, these -were more in consonance with the gentle dignity and -rose-sweetness of her mind and nature than the gambols of a lot -of farm-lads and wenches? He walked on to the bridge, -and sate down there for a while, in the dark and the silence; -he could hear the Mudal Water rippling by, but could see -nothing. And when he passed along the road again, the -light in the small red-blinded window was gone; Meenie -was away in the world of dreams and phantoms—and he -wondered if the people there knew who this was who had -come amongst them, with her wondering eyes and sweet ways.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went back to the barn, and resumed his pipe-playing -with all his wonted vigour—waking up the whole thing, as -it were; but nothing could induce him to allow one or -other of the lads to be his substitute, so that he might go -and choose a partner for one of the reels. He would not -dance; he said his business was to keep the merry-making -going. And he and they did keep it going till between -five and six in the morning, when all hands were piped for -the singing of 'Auld Lang Syne:' and thereafter there was -a general dispersal, candles going this way and that through -the blackness like so many will-o'-the-wisps; and the last -good-nights at length sank into silence—a silence as -profound and hushed as that that lay over the unseen -heights of Clebrig and the dark and still lake below.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="enticements"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IX.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">ENTICEMENTS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>At about eleven o'clock on the same morning Miss Douglas -was standing at the window of her own little room looking -rather absently at the familiar wintry scene without, and -occasionally turning to a letter that she held in her hand, -and that she had apparently just then written. Presently, -however, her face brightened. There was a faint sound in -the distance as of some one singing; no doubt that was -Ronald; he would be coming along the road with the dogs, -and if she were in any difficulty he would be the one to -help. So she waited for a second or two, hoping to be -able to signal him to stop; and the next minute he was in -sight, walking briskly with his long and steady stride, the -small terrier at his heels, the other dogs—some handsome -Gordon setters, a brace of pointers, and a big brown -retriever—ranging farther afield.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But why was it, she asked herself, that whenever he -drew near her father's cottage he invariably ceased his -singing? Elsewhere, as well she knew, he beguiled the -tedium of these lonely roads with an almost constant -succession of songs and snatches of songs; but here he invariably -became mute. And why did he not raise his eyes to the -window—where she was waiting to give him a friendly wave -of the hand, or even an invitation to stop and come within-doors -for a minute or two? No, on he went with that long -stride of his, addressing a word now and again to one or -other of the dogs, and apparently thinking of nothing else. -So, as there was nothing for it now but to go out and -intercept him on his return, she proceeded to put on her -ulster and a close-fitting deerstalker's cap; and thus fortified -against the gusty north wind that was driving clouds and -sunshine across the loch and along the slopes of Clebrig, she -left the cottage, and followed the road that he had taken.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As it turned out, she had not far to go; for she saw -that he was now seated on the parapet of the little bridge -spanning the Mudal Water, and no doubt he was cutting -tobacco for his pipe. When she drew near, he rose; when -she drew nearer, he put his pipe in his waistcoat pocket.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good-morning, Ronald!' she cried, and the pretty -fresh-tinted face smiled on him, and the clear gray-blue -Highland eyes regarded him in the most frank and friendly -way, and without any trace whatever of maiden bashfulness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good-morning, Miss Douglas,' said he; he was far -more shy than she was.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What a stupid thing happened this morning,' said she. -'When I heard that the American gentleman was going -south, I wanted to tell the driver to bring the children from -Crask with him as he came back in the evening; and I -sent Elizabeth round to the inn to tell him that; and -then—what do you think!—they had started away half an hour -before there was any need. But now I have written a letter -to the Crask people, asking them to stop the waggonette as -it comes back in the afternoon, and telling them that we -will make the children very comfortable here for the night; -and if only I could get it sent to Crask everything would -be arranged. And do you think now you could get one of -the young lads to take it to Crask if I gave him a shilling?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She took out her purse, and selected a shilling from the -very slender store of coins there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It is not much for so long a walk,' she said, rather -doubtfully. 'Eight miles there and eight back—is it -enough, do you think?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, I'll get the letter sent for ye, Miss Douglas, easily -enough,' said he—and indeed he had already taken it from -her hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then she offered him the shilling, but with a little -gesture he refused it. And then—for there flashed upon -her mind a sudden suspicion that perhaps he might choose -to walk all that way himself just to please her (indeed, he -had done things like that before)—she became greatly -embarrassed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Give me the letter, Ronald,' said she, 'and I will find -some one myself. You are going away now with the dogs.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no,' said he, 'I will see that the Crask folk get -your message.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And the money to pay the lad?' said she timidly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Dinna bother your head wi' that,' he answered. -'There's enough money scattered about the place just -now—the American gentleman was free-handed this morning. -Ay, and there's something I've got for you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'For me?' she said, with her eyes opening somewhat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well,' said he (and very glad he was to have the letter -safe and sound in his possession), 'I was telling him about -the children's party to-morrow night; and he's a friendly -kind o' man, that; he said he would like to have been at -it, if he could have stayed; and I'm sure he would have -got on wi' them well enough, for he's a friendly kind o' man, -as I say. Well, then, I couldna tell him the exact number -o' the bairns; but no matter what number, each one o' them -is to find sevenpence under the teacup—that's a penny for -each fish he got. Ay, he's a shrewd-headed fellow, too; -for says he "I suppose, now, the old people will be for -having the children save up the sixpence, so at least they'll -have the penny to spend;" and he was curious even to find -out where the bairns in a place like this got their toys, or -if sweeties ever came their way. "It's little enough of -either o' them," I said to him, "they see, except when Miss -Douglas has been to Lairg or Tongue;" and he was very -anxious to make your acquaintance, I may tell ye, but he -said he would wait till his daughter came with him the next -time. I'm thinking the bairns will be pleased to find a -little packet of money in the saucers; and it's not too much -for a man to pay for the luck o' getting seven salmon in the -middle of January—for who could have expected that?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then Meenie laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It's little you know, Ronald, what is in store for you -to-morrow night. It will be the hardest night's work you -ever undertook in your life.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'm not afraid o't,' he answered simply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But you do not know yet.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She opened her ulster and from an inside pocket -produced the formidable document that she had shown to -Ronald's sister; and then she buttoned the long garment -again, and contentedly sate herself down on the low stone -parapet, the programme in her hand. And now all trace -of embarrassment was fled from her; and when she spoke -to him, or smiled, those clear frank eyes of hers looked -straight into his, fearing nothing, but only expecting a -welcome. She did not, as he did, continually remember -that she was Miss Douglas, the doctor's daughter, and he -merely a smart young deerstalker. To her he was simply -Ronald—the Ronald that every one knew and liked; who -had a kind of masterful way throughout this neighbourhood, -and was arbiter in all matters of public concern; but who, -nevertheless, was of such amazing good nature that there -was no trouble he would not undertake to gratify her -slightest wish. And as he was so friendly and obliging -towards her, she made no doubt he was so to others; and -that would account for his great popularity, she considered; -and she thought it was very lucky for this remote little -hamlet that it held within it one who was capable of -producing so much good feeling, and keeping the social -atmosphere sweet and sound.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As for him, he met this perfect friendship of hers with a -studied respect. Always, if it was on the one side 'Ronald,' -on the other it was 'Miss Douglas.' Why, her very costume -was a bar to more familiar relations. At this moment, as -she sate on the stone parapet of the bridge, looking down at -the document before her, and as he stood at a little distance, -timidly awaiting what she had to say, it occurred to him -again, as it had occurred before, that no matter what dress -it was, each one seemed to become her better than any -other. What was there particular in a tight-fitting gray -ulster and a deerstalker's cap? and yet there was grace -there, and style, and a nameless charm. If one of the -lasses at the inn, now, were sent on an errand on one of -these wild and blustering mornings, and got her hair blown -about, she came back looking untidy; but if Miss Douglas -had her hair blown about, so that bits and curls of it got free -from the cap or the velvet hat, and hung lightly about her -forehead or her ears or her neck, it was a greater witchery -than ever. Then everything seemed to fit her so well and -so easily, and to be so simple; and always leaving her—however -it was so managed—perfect freedom of movement, so -that she could swing a child on to her shoulder, or run -after a truant, or leap from bank to bank of a burn without -disturbing in the least that constant symmetry and neatness. -To Ronald it was all a wonder; and there was a still -further wonder always seeming to accompany her and -surround her. Why was it that the bleakest winter day, on -these desolate Sutherland moors, suddenly grew filled with -light when he chanced to see a well-known figure away -along the road—the world changing into a joyful thing, as -if the summer were already come, and the larks singing in -the blue? And when she spoke to him, there was a kind -of music in the air; and when she laughed—why, Clebrig -and Ben Loyal and the whispering Mudal Water seemed -all to be listening and all to be glad that she was happy -and pleased. She was the only one, other than himself, -that the faithful Harry would follow; and he would go with -her wherever she went, so long as she gave him an -occasional word of encouragement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Will I read you the programme, Ronald?' said she, -with just a trace of mischief in the gray-blue eyes. 'I'm -sure you ought to hear what has to be done, for you are -to be in the chair, you know.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Me?' said he, in astonishment. 'I never tried such -a thing in my life.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh yes,' she said cheerfully. 'They tell me you are -always at the head of the merry-makings: and is not this -a simple thing? And besides, I do not want any other -grown people—I do not want Mr. Murray—he is a very -nice man—but he would be making jokes for the grown-up -people all the time. I want nobody but you and Maggie -and myself besides the children, and we will manage it -very well, I am sure.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a touch of flattery in the proposal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed, yes,' said he at once. 'We will manage well -enough, if ye wish it that way.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well, then,' said she, turning with a practical air -to the programme. 'We begin with singing Old Hundred, -and then the children will have tea and cake—and the -sixpence and the penny. And then there is to be an -address by the Chairman—that's you, Ronald.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Bless me, lassie!' he was startled into saying; and -then he stammered an apology, and sought safety in a -vehement protest against the fancy that he could make a -speech—about anything whatever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, that is strange,' said Meenie looking at him, and -rather inclined to laugh at his perplexity. 'It is a strange -thing if you cannot make a little speech to them; for I -have to make one—at the end. See, there is my name.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He scarcely glanced at the programme.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And what have you to speak about, Miss Douglas?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'About you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'About me?' he said, rather aghast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It is a vote of thanks to the chairman—and easy enough -it will be, I am sure. For I have only to say about you -what I hear every one say about you; and that will be -simple enough.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The open sincerity of her friendship—and even of her -marked liking for him—was so apparent that for a second -or so he was rather bewildered. But he was not the kind -of man to misconstrue frankness; he knew that was part -of herself; she was too generous, too much inclined to -think well of everybody; and the main point to which he -had to confine himself was this, that if she, out of her -good-nature, could address a few words to those children—about -him or any other creature or object in the world—it -certainly behoved him to do his best also, although he -had never tried anything of the kind before. And then a -sudden fancy struck him; and his eyes brightened eagerly. -'Oh yes, yes,' he said, 'I will find something to say. -I would make a bad hand at a sermon; but the bairns -have enough o' that at times; I dare say we'll find -something for them o' another kind—and they'll no be sorry -if it's short. I'm thinking I can find something that'll -please them.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And what was this that was in his head?—what but -the toast of the Mistress of the Feast! If Meenie had -but known, she would doubtless have protested against the -introduction of any mutual admiration society into the -modest hamlet of Inver-Mudal; but at that moment she -was still scanning the programme.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Now you know, Ronald,' she said, 'it is to be all quiet -and private; and that is why the grown-up people are to be -kept out except ourselves. Well, then, after they have had -raisins handed round, you are to sing "My love she's but a -lassie yet"—that is a compliment to the little ones; and then -I will read them something; and then you are to sing "O -dinna cross the burn, Willie"—I have put down no songs -that I have not heard you sing. And then if you would -play them "Lord Breadalbane's March" on the pipes——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She looked up again, with an air of apology.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do you think I am asking too much from you, Ronald?' -she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed not a bit,' said he promptly. 'I will play or -sing for them all the night long, if you want; and I'm sure -it's much better we should do it all ourselves, instead o' -having a lot o' grown-up folk to make the bairns shy.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It is not the chairman anyway, that will make them -shy—if what they say themselves is true,' said Meenie very -prettily; and she folded up her programme and put it in -her pocket again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She rose; and he whistled in the dogs, as if he would -return to the village.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I thought you were taking them for a run,' said she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, they have been scampering about; I will go back now.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nor did it occur to her for a moment that she would -rather not walk back to the door of her mother's house -with him. On the contrary, if she had been able to attract -his notice when he passed, she would have gone down to -the little garden-gate, and had this conversation with him -in view of all the windows. If she wanted him to do -anything for her, she never thought twice about going along -to his cottage and knocking at the door; or she would, in -the event of his not being there, go on to the inn and ask -if any one had seen Ronald about. And so on this -occasion she went along the road with him in much -good-humour; praising the dogs, hoping the weather would -continue fine, and altogether in high spirits over her plans -for the morrow.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, they were not to part quite so pleasantly. -At the small garden-gate, and evidently awaiting them, -stood Mrs. Douglas; and Ronald guessed that she was in -no very good temper. In truth, she seldom was. She -was a doll-like little woman, rather pretty, with cold clear -blue eyes, fresh-coloured cheeks, and quite silver-white hair, -which was carefully curled and braided—a pretty little old -lady, and one to be petted and made much of, if only she -had had a little more amiability of disposition. But she was -a disappointed woman. Her big good-natured husband had -never fulfilled the promise of his early years, when, in a -fit of romance, she married the penniless medical student -whom she had met in Edinburgh. He was not disappointed -at all; his life suited him well enough; he was -excessively fond of his daughter Meenie, and wanted no -other companion when she was about; after the hard work -of making a round of professional visits in that wild district, -the quiet and comfort and neatness of the little cottage at -Inver-Mudal were all that he required. But it was far -otherwise with the once ambitious little woman whom he -had married. The shadow of the dignity of the Stuarts of -Glengask still dwelt over her; and it vexed her that she -had nothing with which to overawe the neighbours or to -convince the passing stranger of her importance. Perhaps -if she had been of commanding figure, that might have -helped her, however poor her circumstances might be; as -it was, being but five feet two inches in height—and rather -toy-like withal—everything seemed against her. It was -but little use her endeavouring to assume a majestic manner -when her appearance was somehow suggestive of a glass -case; and the sharpness of her tongue, which was considerable, -seemed to be but little heeded even in her own house, -for both her husband and her daughter were persons of an -easy good humour, and rather inclined to pet her in spite -of herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good morning, Mrs. Douglas,' Ronald said respectfully, -and he raised his cap as they drew near.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good morning, Mr. Strang,' she said, with much -precision, and scarcely glancing at him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She turned to Meenie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Williamina, how often have I told you to shut the gate -after you when you go out?' she said sharply. 'Here -has the cow been in again.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It cannot do much harm at this time of the year,' -Meenie said lightly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I suppose if I ask you to shut the gate that is enough? -Where have you been? Idling, I suppose. Have you -written to Lady Stuart to thank her for the Birthday Book?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed to Ronald (who wished to get away, but -could scarcely leave without some civil word of parting) -that she referred to Lady Stuart in an unmistakably clear -tone. She appeared to take no notice of Ronald's presence, -but she allowed him to hear that there was such a person -as Lady Stuart in existence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, mother, it only came yesterday, and I haven't -looked over it yet,' Meenie said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I think when her ladyship sends you a present,' observed -the little woman, with severe dignity, 'the least you can -do is to write and thank her at once. There are many -who would be glad of the chance. Go in and write the -letter now.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well, mother,' said Meenie, with perfect -equanimity; and then she called 'Good morning, Ronald!' -and went indoors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What was he to do to pacify this imperious little dame? -As a gamekeeper, he knew but the one way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Would a hare or two, or a brace of ptarmigan be of -any use to you, Mrs. Douglas?' said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed,' she answered, with much dignity, 'we have -not had much game of any kind of late, for at Glengask -they do not shoot any of the deer after Christmas.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This intimation that her cousin, Sir Alexander, was the -owner of a deer-forest might have succeeded with anybody -else. But alas! this young man was a keeper, and very -well he knew that there was no forest at all at Glengask, -though occasionally in October they might come across a -stag that had been driven forth from the herd, or they might -find two or three strayed hinds in the woods later on; while, -if Mrs. Douglas had but even one haunch sent her in the -year—say at Christmas—he considered she got a very fair -share of whatever venison was going at Glengask. But of -course he said nothing of all this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, very well,' said he, 'I'm thinking o' getting two or -three o' the lads to go up the hill for a hare-drive one o' -these days. The hares 'll be the better o' some thinning -down—on one or two o' the far tops; and then again, when -we've got them it's no use sending them south—they're no -worth the carriage. So if ye will take a few o' them, I'm -sure you're very welcome. Good morning, ma'am.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good morning,' said she, a little stiffly, and she turned -and walked towards the cottage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As for him, he strode homeward with right goodwill; -for Meenie's letter was in his pocket; and he had forthwith -to make his way to Crask—preferring not to place any -commission of hers in alien hands. He got the dogs -kennelled up—all except the little terrier; he slung his -telescope over his shoulder, and took a stick in his hand. -'Come along, Harry, lad, ye'll see your friends at Crask ere -dinner time, and if ye're well-behaved ye'll come home in -the waggonette along wi' the bairns.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a brisk and breezy morning; the keen north wind -was fortunately behind him; and soon he was swinging -along through the desolate solitudes of Strath Terry, his -footfall on the road the only sound in the universal -stillness. And yet not the only sound, for sometimes he -conversed with Harry, and sometimes he sent his clear tenor -voice ringing over the wide moorland, and startling here or -there a sheep, the solitary occupant of these wilds. For -no longer had he to propitiate that domineering little dame; -and the awful shadow of Glengask was as nothing to him; -the American, with his unsettling notions, had departed; -here he was at home, his own master, free in mind, and -with the best of all companions trotting placidly at his -heels. No wonder his voice rang loud and clear and -contented:—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'"'Tis not beneath the burgonet,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Nor yet beneath the crown,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'Tis not on couch of velvet,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Nor yet on bed of down."</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Harry, lad, do ye see that hoodie? Was there ever such -impudence? I could maist kill him with a stone. But -I'll come along and pay a visit to the gentleman ere the -month's much older:—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">"'Tis beneath the spreading birch,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">In the dell without a name,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Wi' a bonnie, bonnie lassie,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">When the kye come hame."</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>What think ye o' that now?—for we'll have to do our best -to-morrow night to please the bairns. Ah, you wise wee -deevil!—catch you drinking out o' a puddle when ye see -any running water near.</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">"When the kye come hame, when the kye come hame,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Twixt the gloaming and the mirk, when the kye come hame."</span></div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="high-festival"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER X.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">HIGH FESTIVAL.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>A children's tea-party in a Highland barn sounds a trivial -sort of affair; and, as a spectacle, would doubtless suffer in -contrast with a fancy-dress ball in Kensington or with a -State concert at Buckingham Palace. But human nature -is the important thing, after all, no matter what the -surroundings may be; and if one considers what the ordinary -life of these children was—the dull monotony of it in those -far and bleak solitudes; their ignorance of pantomime -transformation scenes; their lack of elaborately illustrated -fairy tales, and similar aids to the imagination enjoyed by -more fortunate young people elsewhere—it was surely an -interesting kind of project to bring these bairns away from -the homely farm or the keeper's cottage, in the depth of -mid-winter, and to march them through the blackness of a -January evening into a suddenly opening wonderland of -splendour and colour and festivity. They were not likely -to remember that this was but a barn—this beautiful place, -with its blazing candelabra, and its devices of evergreens -and great white and red roses, and the long table -sumptuously set forth, and each guest sitting down, finding -himself or herself a capitalist to the extent of sevenpence. And -so warm and comfortable the lofty building was; and so -brilliant and luminous with those circles of candles; and -the loud strains of the pipes echoing through it—giving -them a welcome just as if they were grown-up people: no -wonder they stared mostly in silence at first, and seemed -awestruck, and perhaps were in doubt whether this might -not be some Cinderella kind of feast, that they might -suddenly be snatched away from—and sent back again -through the cold and the night to the far and silent cottage -in the glen. But this feeling soon wore off; for it was no -mystical fairy—though she seemed more beautiful and -gracious, and more richly attired than any fairy they had -ever dreamed about—who went swiftly here and there and -everywhere, arranging their seats for them, laughing and -talking with them, forgetting not one of their names, and -as busy and merry and high-spirited as so great an occasion -obviously demanded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Moreover, is it not in these early years that ideals are -unconsciously being formed—from such experiences as are -nearest?—ideals that in after-life may become standards of -conduct and aims. They had never seen any one so -gentle-mannered as this young lady who was at once their -hostess and the little mother of them all, nor any one so -dignified and yet so simple and good-humoured and kind. -They could not but observe with what marked respect -Ronald Strang (a most important person in their eyes) -treated her—insisting on her changing places with him, lest -she should be in a draught when the door was opened; -and not allowing her to touch the teapots that came hot -and hot from the kitchen, lest she should burn her fingers; -he pouring out the tea himself, and rather clumsily too. -And if their ideal of sweet and gracious womanhood -(supposing it to be forming in their heads) was of but a -prospective advantage, was there not something of a more -immediate value to them in thus being allowed to look on -one who was so far superior to the ordinary human creatures -they saw around them? She formed an easy key to the -few imaginative stories they were familiar with. Cinderella, -for example: when they read how she fascinated the prince -at the ball, and won all hearts and charmed all eyes, they -could think of Miss Douglas, and eagerly understand. The -Queen of Sheba, when she came in all her splendour: how -were these shepherds' and keepers' and crofters' children -to form any notion of her appearance but by regarding -Miss Douglas in this beautiful and graceful attire of hers? -In point of fact, her gown was but of plain black silk; but -there was something about the manner of her wearing it -that had an indefinable charm; and then she had a -singularly neat collar and a pretty ribbon round her neck; and -there were slender silver things gleaming at her wrists from -time to time. Indeed, there was no saying for how many -heroines of history or fiction Miss Meenie Douglas had -unconsciously to herself to do duty—in the solitary -communings of a summer day's herding, or during the dreary -hours in which these hapless little people were shut up in -some small, close, overcrowded parish church, supposing -that they lived anywhere within half a dozen miles of such -a building: now she would be Joan of Arc, or perhaps -Queen Esther that was so surpassing beautiful, or Lord -Ullin's daughter that was drowned within sight of Ulva's -shores. And was it not sufficiently strange that the same -magical creature, who represented to them everything that -was noble and beautiful and refined and queen-like, should -now be moving about amongst them, cutting cake for them, -laughing, joking, patting this one or that on the shoulder, -and apparently quite delighted to wait on them and serve -them?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The introductory singing of the Old Hundredth Psalm -was, it must be confessed, a failure. The large majority of -the children present had never either heard or seen a piano; -and when Meenie went to that strange-looking instrument -(it had been brought over from her mother's cottage with -considerable difficulty), and when she sate down and struck -the first deep resounding chords—and when Ronald, at his -end of the table, led off the singing with his powerful -tenor voice—they were far too much interested and -awestruck to follow. Meenie sang, in her quiet clear way, and -Maggie timidly joined in, but the children were silent. -However, as has already been said, the restraint that was at -first pretty obvious very soon wore off; the tea and cake -were consumed amid much general hilarity and satisfaction; -and when in due course the Chairman rose to deliver his -address, and when Miss Douglas tapped on the table to -secure attention, and also by way of applause, several of -the elder ones had quite enough courage and knowledge of -affairs to follow her example, so that the speaker may be -said to have been received with favour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And if there were any wise ones there, whose experience -had taught them that tea and cake were but a snare to -entrap innocent people into being lectured and sermonised, -they were speedily reassured. The Chairman's address -was mostly about starlings and jays and rabbits and ferrets -and squirrels; and about the various ways of taming these, -and teaching them; and of his own various successes and -failures when he was a boy. He had to apologise at the -outset for not speaking in the Gaelic; for he said that if he -tried they would soon be laughing at him; he would have -to speak in English; but if he mentioned any bird or beast -whose name they did not understand, they were to ask him, -and he would tell them the Gaelic name. And very soon -it was clear enough that this was no lecture on the wanderings -of the children of Israel, nor yet a sermon on justification -by faith; the eager eyes of the boys followed every -detail of the capture of the nest of young ospreys; the girls -were like to cry over the untimely fate of a certain tame -sparrow that had strayed within the reach—or the spring -rather—of an alien cat; and general laughter greeted the -history of the continued and uncalled-for mischiefs and evil -deeds of one Peter, a squirrel but half reclaimed from its -savage ways, that had cost the youthful naturalist much -anxiety and vexation, and also not a little blood. There -was, moreover, a dark and wild story of revenge—on an -ill-conditioned cur that was the terror of the whole village, and -was for ever snapping at girls' ankles and boys' legs—a most -improper and immoral story to be told to young folks, -though the boys seemed to think the ill-tempered beast got -no more than it deserved. That small village, by the way, -down there in the Lothians, seemed to have been a very -remarkable place; the scene of the strangest exploits and -performances on the part of terriers, donkeys, pet kittens, -and tame jackdaws; haunted by curious folk, too, who -knew all about bogles and kelpies and such uncanny -creatures, and had had the most remarkable experiences of them -(though modern science was allowed to come in here for a -little bit, with its cold-blooded explanations of the -supernatural). And when, to finish up this discursive and -apparently aimless address, he remarked that the only thing -lacking in that village where he had been brought up, and -where he had observed all these incidents and wonders, -was the presence of a kind-hearted and generous young -lady, who, on an occasion, would undertake all the trouble -of gathering together the children for miles around, and -would do everything she could to make them perfectly happy, -they knew perfectly well whom he meant; and when he -said, in conclusion, that if they knew of any such an one -about here, in Inver-Mudal, and if they thought that she -had been kind to them, and if they wished to show her that -they were grateful to her for her goodness, they could not -do better than give her three loud cheers, the lecture came -to an end in a perfect storm of applause; and Meenie—blushing -a little, and yet laughing—had to get up and say -that she was responsible for the keeping of order by this -assembly, and would allow no speech-making and no -cheering that was not put down in the programme.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After this there was a service of raisins; and in the -general quiet that followed Mr. Murray came into the room, -just to see how things were going on. Now the innkeeper -considered himself to be a man of a humorous turn; and -when he went up to shake hands with Miss Douglas, and -looked down the long table, and saw Ronald presiding at -the other end, and her presiding at this, and all the children -sitting so sedately there, he remarked to her in his waggish -way—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, now, for a young married couple, you have a -very large family.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Miss Douglas was not a self-conscious young person, -nor easily alarmed, and she merely laughed and said—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am sure they are a very well-behaved family indeed.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Ronald, who had not heard the jocose remark, by -the way, objected to any one coming in to claim Miss -Douglas's attention on so important an occasion; and in -his capacity of Chairman he rose and rapped loudly on the -table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ladies and gentlemen,' he said, 'we're not going to -have any idlers here the night. Any one that bides with -us must do something. I call on Mr. Murray to sing his -well-known song, "Bonnie Peggie, O."'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Indeed no, indeed no,' the innkeeper said, instantly -retreating to the door. 'There iss too many good judges -here the night. I'll leave you to yourselfs; but if there's -anything in the inn you would like sent over, do not be -afraid to ask for it, Ronald. And the rooms for the children -are all ready, and the beds; and we'll make them very -comfortable, Miss Douglas, be sure of that now.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It's ower soon to talk about beds yet,' Ronald said, -when the innkeeper had gone; and he drove home the -wooden bolt of the door, so that no other interloper should -get in. Meenie had said she wanted no outsiders present; -that was enough.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then they set about getting through the programme—the -details of which need not be repeated here. Song -followed song; when there was any pause Meenie played -simple airs on the piano; for 'The Cameraman's Dream,' -when it came to her turn to read them something, she -substituted 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin,' which was listened -to with breathless interest. Even the little Maggie did her -part in the 'Huntingtower' duet very creditably—fortified -by the knowledge that there were no critics present. And -as for the children, they had become quite convinced that -there was to be no sermon; and that they were not to be -catechised about their lessons, nor examined as to the -reasons annexed to the Fourth Commandment; all care -was gone from them; for the moment life was nothing but -shortbread and raisins and singing, with admiration of Miss -Douglas's beautiful hair and beautiful kind eyes and soft -and laughing voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then, as the evening wore on, it became time to -send these young people to the beds that had been prepared -for them at the inn; and of course they could not break -up without singing 'Auld Lang Syne'—Meenie officiating -at the piano, and all the others standing up and joining -hands. And then she had to come back to the table to -propose a vote of thanks to the Chairman. Well, she -was not much abashed. Perhaps there was a little extra -colour in her face at the beginning; and she said she had -never tried to make a speech before; and, indeed, that now -there was no occasion, for that all of them knew Ronald -(so she called him, quite naturally), and knew that he was -always willing to do a kindness when he was asked. And -she said that he had done a great deal more than had been -originally begged of him; and they ought all of them, -including herself, to be very grateful to him; and if they -wished to give him a unanimous vote of thanks, they were -all to hold up their right hand—as she did. So that vote -was carried; and Ronald said a few words in reply—mostly -about Miss Douglas, in truth, and also telling them to whom -they were indebted for the money found in each saucer. -Then came the business of finding wraps for them and -muffling them up ere they went out into the January night -(though many a one there was all unused to such -precautions, and wondered that Miss Douglas should be so -careful of them), while Ronald, up at the head of the room, was -playing them a parting salute on the pipes—</span><em class="italics">Caidil gu lo</em><span> it -was, which means 'Sleep on till day.' Finally, when -Maggie and Meenie were ushering their small charges -through the darkness to the back-door of the inn, he found -himself alone; and, before putting out the candles and fastening -up, he thought he might as well have a smoke—for that -solace had been denied him during the long evening.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, he was staring absently into the mass of smouldering -peats, and thinking mostly of the sound of Meenie's -voice as he had heard it when she sang with the children -'Whither, pilgrims, are you going?' when he heard -footsteps behind him, and turning found that both Meenie -and Maggie had come back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald,' said Meenie, with her pretty eyes smiling at -him, 'do you know that Maggie and I are rather tired——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, I dinna wonder,' said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, and both of us very hungry too. And I am sure -there will be no supper waiting for either Maggie or me -when we go home; and do you think you could get us -some little thing now?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Here?' said he, with his face lighting up with pleasure: -were those three to have supper all by themselves?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh yes,' said she, in her friendly way. 'I am not sure -that my mother would like me to stay at the inn for supper; -but this is our own place; and the table laid; and Maggie -and I would rather be here, I am sure. And you—are -you not hungry too—after so long a time—I am sure you -want something besides raisins and shortbread. But if it -will be any trouble—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Trouble or no trouble,' said he quickly, 'has nothing -to do wi't. Here, Maggie, lass, clear the end of the table; -and we'll soon get some supper for ye.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And away he went to the inn, summoning the lasses -there, and driving and hurrying them until they had -arranged upon a large tray a very presentable -supper—some cold beef, and ham, and cheese, and bread, and ale; -and when the fair-haired Nelly was ready to start forth with -this burden, he lit a candle and walked before her through -the darkness, lest she should miss her footing. And very -demure was Nelly when she placed this supper on the table; -there was not even a look for the smart young keeper; and -when Meenie said to her—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I hear, Nelly, you had great goings-on on Monday -night'—she only answered—'Oh yes, miss, there was that'—and -could not be drawn into conversation, but left the -moment she had everything arranged.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But curiously enough, when the two girls had taken -their seats at this little cross table, Ronald remained -standing—just behind them, indeed, as if he were a waiter. -And would Miss Douglas have this? and would Miss -Douglas have that? he suggested—mostly to cloak his -shamefacedness; for indeed that first wild assumption that -they were all to have supper together was banished now as -an impertinence. He would wait on them, and gladly; -but—but his own supper would come after.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And what will you have yourself, Ronald?' Meenie asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh,' said he, 'that will do by and by. I am not so -hungry as you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Did you have so much of the shortbread?' said she, -laughing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went and stirred up the peats—and the red glow -sent a genial warmth across towards them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Come, Ronald,' said the little Maggie, 'and have some -supper.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'There is no hurry,' he said evasively. 'I think I will go -outside and have a pipe now; and get something by and by.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am sure,' said Meenie saucily, 'that it is no compliment -to us that you would rather go away and smoke. See, now, -if we cannot tempt you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And therewith, with her own pretty fingers, she made -ready his place at the table; and put the knife and fork -properly beside the plate; and helped him to a slice of beef -and a slice of ham; and poured some ale into his tumbler. -Not only that, but she made a little movement of arranging -her dress which was so obviously an invitation that he -should there and then take a place by her, that it was not -in mortal man to resist; though, indeed, after sitting down, -he seemed to devote all his attention to looking after his -companions. And very soon any small embarrassment was -entirely gone; Meenie was in an unusually gay and merry -mood—for she was pleased that her party had been so -obviously a success, and all her responsibilities over. And -this vivacity gave a new beauty to her face; her eyes seemed -more kind than ever; when she laughed, it was a sweet -low laugh, like the cooing of pigeons on a summer afternoon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And what are you thinking of, Maggie?' she said, -suddenly turning to the little girl, who had grown rather -silent amid this talking and joking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I was wishing this could go on for ever,' was the simple -answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What? A perpetual supper? Oh, you greedy girl! -Why, you must be looking forward to the Scandinavian -heaven——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, it's to be with Ronald and you, Meenie dear—just -like now—for you seem to be able to keep everybody -happy.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Douglas did blush a little at this; but it was an -honest compliment, and it was soon forgotten. And then, -when they had finished supper, she said—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald, do you know that I have never played an -accompaniment to one of your songs? Would you not -like to hear how it sounds?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But—but I'm not used to it—I should be putting you -wrong——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no; I'm sure we will manage. Come along,' she -said briskly. 'There is that one I heard you sing the other -day—I heard you, though you did not see me—"Gae bring -to me a pint o' wine, and fill it in a silver tassie; that I -may drink, before I go, a service to my bonnie lassie"—and -very proud she was, I suppose. Well, now, we will try -that one.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So they went to the other end of the barn, where the -piano was; and there was a good deal of singing there, and -laughing and joking—among this little party of three. -And Meenie sang too—on condition (woman-like) that -Ronald would light his pipe. Little Maggie scarcely knew -which to admire the more—this beautiful and graceful -young lady, who was so complaisant and friendly and kind, -or her own brother, who was so handsome and manly and -modest, and yet could do everything in the world. Nor -could there have been any sinister doubt in that wish of hers -that these three should always be together as they were -then; how was she to know that this was the last evening -on which Meenie Douglas and Ronald were to meet on -these all too friendly terms?</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-revelation"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XI.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A REVELATION.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Early the next morning, when as yet the sunrise was still -widening up and over the loch, and the faint tinge of red -had not quite left the higher slopes of Clebrig, Ronald had -already finished his breakfast, and was in his own small -room, smoking the customary pipe, and idly—and with -some curious kind of whimsical amusement in his brain—turning -over the loose sheets of scribbled verses. And that -was a very ethereal and imaginary Meenie he found there—a -Meenie of lonely hillside wanderings—a Meenie of daydreams -and visions: not the actual, light-hearted, shrewd-headed -Meenie of the evening before, who was so merry -after the children had gone, and so content with the little -supper-party of three, and would have him smoke his pipe -without regard to her pretty silk dress. This Meenie on -paper was rather a wistful, visionary, distant creature; whereas -the Meenie of the previous evening was altogether -good-humoured and laughing, with the quaintest mother-ways in -the management of the children, and always a light of -kindness shining in her clear Highland eyes. He would have -to write something to portray Meenie (to himself) in this -more friendly and actual character. He could do it easily -enough, he knew. There never was any lack of rhymes -when Meenie was the occasion. At other things he had to -labour—frequently, indeed, until, reflecting that this was -not his business, he would fling the scrawl into the fire, and -drive it into the peats with his heel, and go away with much -content. But when Meenie was in his head, everything -came readily enough; all the world around seemed full of -beautiful things to compare with her; the birds were singing -of her; the mountains were there to guard her; the burn, -as it whispered through the rushes, or danced over the open -bed of pebbles, had but the one continual murmur of -Meenie's name. Verses? he could have written them by -the score—and laughed at them, and burned them, too.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly the little Maggie appeared.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald,' she said, 'the Doctor's come home.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What—at this time in the morning?' he said turning -to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, I am sure; for I can see the dog-cart at the door -of the inn.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well now,' said he, hastily snatching up his cap, 'that -is a stroke of luck—if he will come with us. I will go -and meet him.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But he need not have hurried so much; the dog-cart -was still at the door of the inn when he went out; and -indeed remained there as he made his way along the road. -The Doctor, who was a most sociable person, had stopped -for a moment to hear the news; but Mr. Murray happened -to be there, and so the chat was a protracted one. In the -meantime Ronald's long swinging stride soon brought him -into their neighbourhood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good morning, Doctor!' he cried.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good morning, Ronald,' said the other, turning round. -He was a big man, somewhat corpulent, with an honest, -wholesome, ruddy face, soft brown eyes, and an expressive -mouth, that could temper his very apparent good-nature -with a little mild sarcasm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You've come back in the nick of time,' the keeper -said—for well he knew the Doctor's keen love of a gun. -'I'm thinking of driving some of the far tops the day, to -thin down the hares a bit; and I'm sure ye'd be glad to -lend us a hand.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Man, I was going home to my bed, to tell ye the truth,' -said the Doctor; 'it's very little sleep I've had the last ten -days.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What is the use of that?' said Ronald, 'there's aye -plenty o' time for sleep in the winter.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then the heavy-framed occupant of the dog-cart -glanced up at the far-reaching heights of Clebrig, and there -was a grim smile on his mouth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It's all very well,' said he, 'for herring-stomached young -fellows like you to face a hill like that; but I've got weight -to carry, man; and—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Come, come, Doctor; it's not the first time you've been -on Clebrig,' Ronald said—he could see that Meenie's father -wanted to be persuaded. 'Besides, we'll no try the highest -tops up there—there's been too much snow. And I'll tell -ye how we'll make it easy for ye; we'll row ye down the -loch and begin at the other end and work home—there, -it's a fair offer.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was an offer, at all events, that the big doctor could -not withstand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, well,' said he, 'I'll just drive the dog-cart along -and see how they are at home; and then if the wife lets -me out o' her clutches, I'll come down to the loch side as -fast as I can.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ronald turned to one of the stable-lads (all of whom -were transformed into beaters on this occasion).</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Jimmy, just run over to the house and fetch my gun; -and bid Maggie put twenty cartridges—number 4, she -knows where they are—into the bag; and then ye can -take the gun and the cartridge-bag down to the boat—and -be giving her a bale-out till I come along. I'm going to the -farm now, to get two more lads if I can; tell the Doctor -I'll no be long after him, if he gets down to the loch first.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Some quarter of an hour thereafter they set forth; and -a rough pull it was down the loch, for the wind was -blowing hard, and the waves were coming broadside on. Those -who were at the oars had decidedly the best of it, for it -was bitterly cold; but even the others did not seem to -mind much—they were chiefly occupied in scanning the -sky-line of the hills (a habit that one naturally falls into in -a deer country), while Ronald and the Doctor, seated in -the stern, were mostly concerned about keeping their guns -dry. In due course of time they landed, made their way -through a wood of young birch-trees, followed the channel -of a burn for a space, and by and by began to reach the -upper slopes, where the plans for the first drive were -carefully drawn out and explained.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now it is unnecessary to enter into details of the day's -achievements, for they were neither exciting nor difficult -nor daring. It was clearly a case of shooting for the pot; -although Ronald, in his capacity of keeper, was anxious to -have the hares thinned down, knowing well enough that -the over-multiplying of them was as certain to bring in -disease as the overstocking of a mountain farm with sheep. -But it may be said that the sport, such as it was, was done -in a workmanlike manner. In Ronald's case, each cartridge -meant a hare—and no praise to him, for it was his business. -As for the Doctor, he was not only an excellent shot, but -he exercised a wise and humane discretion as well. Nothing -would induce him to fire at long range on the off-chance -of hitting; and this is all the more laudable in the -shooting of mountain hares, for these, when wounded, will -frequently dodge into a hole among the rocks, like a rabbit, -baffling dogs and men, and dying a miserable death. -Moreover, there was no need to take risky shots. The two guns -were posted behind a stone or small hillock—lying at full -length on the ground, only their brown-capped heads and -the long barrels being visible. Then the faint cries in the -distance became somewhat louder—with sticks rattled on -rocks, and stones flung here and there; presently, on the -sky-line of the plateau, a small object appeared, sitting -upright and dark against the sky; then it came shambling -leisurely along—becoming bigger and bigger and whiter -and whiter every moment, until at length it showed itself -almost like a cat, but not running stealthily like a cat, -rather hopping forward on its ungainly high haunches; and -then again it would stop and sit up, its ears thrown back, -its eyes not looking at anything in front of it, its -snow-white body, with here and there a touch of bluish-brown, -offering a tempting target for a pea-rifle. But by this time, -of course, numerous others had come hopping over the -sky-line; and now as the loud yells and shouts and striking of -stones were close at hand, there was more swift running -instead of hobbling and pausing among the white frightened -creatures; and as they cared for nothing in front (in fact -a driven hare cannot see anything that is right ahead of it, -and will run against your boots if you happen to be standing -in the way), but sped noiselessly across the withered -grass and hard clumps of heather—bang! went the first -barrel, and then another and another, as quick as fingers -could unload and reload, until here, there, and everywhere—but -always within a certain radius from the respective -posts—a white object lay on the hard and wintry ground. -The beaters came up to gather them together; the two -guns had risen from their cold quarters; there were found -to be thirteen hares all told—a quite sufficient number for -this part—and not one had crawled or hobbled away -wounded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But we will now descend for a time from these bleak -altitudes and return to the little hamlet—which seemed to -lie there snugly enough and sheltered in the hollow, though -the wind was hard on the dark and driven loch. Some -hour or so after the shooters and beaters had left, Meenie -Douglas came along to Ronald's cottage, and, of course, -found Maggie the sole occupant, as she had expected. -She was very bright and cheerful and friendly, and spoke -warmly of Ronald's kindness in giving her father a day's -shooting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'My mother was a little angry,' she said, laughing, 'that -he should go away just the first thing after coming home; -but you know, Maggie, he is so fond of shooting; and it -is not always he can get a day, especially at this time of -the year: and I am very glad he has gone; for you know -there are very few who have to work so hard.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I wish they may come upon a stag,' said the little -Maggie—with reckless and irresponsible generosity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do you know, Maggie,' said the elder young lady, -with a shrewd smile on her face, 'I am not sure that my -mother likes the people about here to be so kind; she is -always expecting my father to get a better post—but I know -he is not likely to get one that will suit him as well with -the fishing and shooting. There is the Mudal—the gentlemen -at the lodge let him have that all the spring through; -and when the loch is not let, he can always have a day by -writing to Mr. Crawford; and here is Ronald, when the -hinds have to be shot at Christmas, and so on. And if -the American gentleman takes the shooting as well as the -loch, surely he will ask my father to go with him a day or -two on the hill; it is a lonely thing shooting by one's self. -Well now, Maggie, did you put the curtains up again in -Ronald's room?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, I did,' was the answer, 'and he did not tear them -down this time, for I told him you showed me how to hang -them; but he has tied them back so that they might just -as well not be there at all. Come and see, Meenie dear.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She led the way into her brother's room; and there, -sure enough, the window-curtains (which were wholly -unnecessary, by the way, except from the feminine point of -view, for there was certainly not too much light coming -in by the solitary window) had been tightly looped and -tied back, so that the view down the loch should be -unimpeded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No matter,' said Meenie; 'the window is not so bare-looking -as it used to be. And I suppose he will let them -remain up now.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh yes, when he was told that you had something to -do with them,' was the simple answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meenie went to the wooden mantelpiece, and put the -few things there straight, just as she would have done in -her own room, blowing the light white peat-dust off them, -and arranging them in neater order.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I wonder, now,' she said, 'he does not get frames for -these photographs; they will be spoiled by finger marks -and the dust.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Maggie said shyly—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'That was what he said to me the other day—but not -about these—about the one you gave me of yourself. He -asked to see it, and I showed him how careful I was in -wrapping it up; but he said no—the first packman that -came through I was to get a frame if he had one, and -glass too; or else that he would send it in to Inverness to -be framed. But you know, Meenie, it's not near so -nice-looking—or anything, anything like so nice-looking—as -you are.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Nothing could be that, I am sure,' said Meenie lightly; -and she was casting her eyes about the room, to see what -further improvements she could suggest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Maggie had grown suddenly silent, and was standing -at the little writing-table, apparently transfixed with -astonishment. It will be remembered that when Ronald, -in the morning, heard that the Doctor was at the door of -the inn, he had hurriedly hastened away to intercept him; -and that, subsequently, in order to save time, he had sent -back a lad for his gun and cartridges, while he went on to -the farm. Now it was this last arrangement that caused -him to overlook the fact that he had left his writing -materials—the blotting-pad and everything—lying exposed -on the table; a piece of neglect of which he had scarcely -ever before been guilty. And as ill-luck would have it, as -Maggie was idly wandering round the room, waiting for -Meenie to make any further suggestions for the smartening -of it, what must she see lying before her, among these -papers, but a letter, boldly and conspicuously addressed?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well!' she exclaimed, as she took it up. 'Meenie, -here is a letter for you! why didna he send it along to -you?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'A letter for me?' Meenie said, with a little surprise. -'No! why should Ronald write a letter to me?—I see him -about every day.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But look!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meenie took the letter in her hand; and regarded the -address; and laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It is very formal,' said she. 'There is no mistake about -it. "</span><em class="italics">Miss Wilhelmina Stuart Douglas</em><span>"—when was I ever -called that before? And "</span><em class="italics">Inver-Mudal, Sutherlandshire, -N.B.</em><span>" He should have added </span><em class="italics">Europe</em><span>, as if he was sending -it from the moon. Well, it is clearly meant for me, any -way—oh, and open too——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next minute all the careless amusement fled from -her face; her cheeks grew very white, and a frightened, -startled look sprang to her eyes. She but caught the first -few lines—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'O wilt thou be my dear love?</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">(Meenie and Meenie)</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O wilt thou be my ain love?</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">(My sweet Meenie)?</span></div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>and then it was with a kind of shiver that her glance ran -over the rest of it; and her heart was beating so that she -could not speak; and there was a mist before her eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Maggie,' she managed to say at length—and she -hurriedly folded up the paper again and placed it on the -table with the others—'I should not have read it—it was -not meant for me—it was not meant that I should read -it—come away, come away, Maggie.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She took the younger girl out of the room, and herself -shut the door, firmly, although her fingers were all trembling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Maggie,' she said, 'you must promise never to tell any -one that you gave me that letter—that I saw it——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But what is the matter, Meenie?' the smaller girl -said in bewilderment, for she could see by the strange -half-frightened look of Miss Douglas's face that something -serious had happened.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, it is nothing—it is nothing,' she forced herself to -say. 'It will be all right. I shouldn't have read the -letter—it was not meant for me to see—but if you say nothing -about it, no harm will be done. That's all; that's all. -And now I am going to see if the children are ready that -are to go by the mail-car.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But I will go with you, Meenie.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then the girl seemed to recollect herself; and she -glanced round at the interior of the cottage, and at the little -girl, with an unusual kind of look.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no, not this morning, Maggie,' she said. 'You have -plenty to do. Good-bye—good-bye!' and she stooped and -kissed her, and patted her on the shoulder, and left, -seeming anxious to get away and be by herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Maggie remained there in considerable astonishment. -What had happened? Why should she not go to help with -the children? and why good-bye—when Meenie would be -coming along the road in less than an hour, as soon as the -mail-car had left? And all about the reading of something -contained in that folded sheet of paper. However, the -little girl wisely resolved that, whatever was in that letter, -she would not seek to know it, nor would she speak of it -to any one, since Meenie seemed so anxious on that point; -and so she set about her domestic duties again—looking -forward to the end of these and the resumption of her -knitting of her brother's jersey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, the winter's day went by, and they had done good -work on the hill. As the dusk of the afternoon began to -creep over the heavens, they set out for the lower slopes on -their way home; and very heavily weighted the lads were -with the white creatures slung over their backs on sticks. -But the dusk was not the worst part of this descent; the -wind was now driving over heavy clouds from the north; -and again and again they would be completely enveloped, -and unable to see anywhere more than a yard from their -feet. In these circumstances Ronald took the lead; the -Doctor coming next, and following, indeed, more by sound -than by sight; the lads bringing up in the wake in solitary -file, with their heavy loads thumping on their backs. It -was a ghostly kind of procession; though now and again -the close veil around them would be rent in twain, and they -would have a glimpse of something afar off—perhaps a spur -of Ben Loyal, or the dark waters of Loch Meidie studded -with its small islands. Long before they had reached -Inver-Mudal black night had fallen; but now they were on easier -ground; and at last the firm footing of the road echoed to -their measured tramp, as the invisible company marched on -and down to the warmth and welcome lights of the inn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The Doctor, feeling himself something of a truant, -went on direct to his cottage; but the others entered -the inn; and as Ronald forthwith presented Mrs. Murray -with half a dozen of the hares, the landlord was right willing -to call for ale for the beaters, who had had a hard day's -work. Nor was Ronald in a hurry to get home; for he -heard that Maggie was awaiting him in the kitchen; and so -he and Mr. Murray had a pipe and a chat together, as was -their custom. Then he sent for his sister.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, Maggie, lass,' said he, as they set out through -the dark, 'did you see all the bairns safely off this morning?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, Ronald,' she said, 'Meenie did not seem to want -me; so I stayed at home.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And did you find Harry sufficient company for ye? But -I suppose Miss Douglas came and stayed with ye for a while.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, Ronald,' said the little girl, in a tone of some -surprise; 'she has not been near the house the whole day, since -the few minutes in the morning.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh,' said he, lightly, 'she may have been busy, now her -father is come home. And ye maun try and get on wi' your -lessons as well as ye can, lass, without bothering Miss -Douglas too much; she canna always spend so much time with ye.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The little girl was silent. She was thinking of that -strange occurrence in the morning of which she was not to -speak; and in a vague kind of way she could not but -associate that with Meenie's absence all that day, and also -with the unusual tone of her 'good-bye.' But yet, if there -were any trouble, it would speedily pass away. Ronald -would put everything right. Nobody could withstand him—that -was the first and last article of her creed. And so, -when they got home, she proceeded cheerfully enough to -stir up the peats, and to cook their joint supper in a manner -really skilful for one of her years; and she laid the cloth; -and put the candles on the table; and had the tea and -everything ready. Then they sate down; and Ronald was -in very good spirits, and talked to her, and tried to amuse her. -But the little Maggie rather wistfully looked back to the -brilliant evening before, when Meenie was with them; and perhaps -wondered whether there would ever again be a supper-party -as joyful and friendly and happy as they three had been when -they were all by themselves in the big gaily-lit barn.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="when-shadows-fall"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">'WHEN SHADOWS FALL.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The deershed adjoining the kennels was a gloomy place, -with its bare walls, its lack of light, and its ominous-looking -crossbeams, ropes, and pulley for hanging up the slain -deer; and the morning was dark and lowering, with a bitter -wind howling along the glen, and sometimes bringing with -it a sharp smurr of sleet from the northern hills. But these -things did not seem to affect Ronald's spirits much as he -stood there, in his shirt-sleeves, and bare-headed, sorting -out the hares that were lying on the floor, and determining -to whom and to whom such and such a brace or couple of -brace should be sent. Four of the plumpest he had already -selected for Mrs. Douglas (in the vague hope that the useful -present might make her a little more placable), and he was -going on with his choosing and setting aside—sometimes -lighting a pipe—sometimes singing carelessly—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">'O we aft hae met at e'en, bonnie Peggie, O,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">On the banks o' Cart sae green, bonnie Peggie, O,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Where the waters smoothly rin,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Far aneath the roarin' linn,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Far frae busy strife and din, bonnie Peggie, O'—</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>when the little Maggie came stealing in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald,' she said, with an air of reproach, 'why are ye -going about on such a morning without your jacket, and -bare-headed, too?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Toots, toots, lassie, it's a fine morning,' said he -indifferently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It was Meenie said I was not to let you do such foolish -things,' the little lass ventured to say diffidently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course this put a new aspect on the case, but he -would not admit as much directly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, well,' said he, 'if you bring me out my coat and -bonnet I will put them on, for I'm going down to the -Doctor's with two or three of the hares.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then she hesitated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald,' said she, 'I will take them to Mrs. Douglas, if -you like.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You?' said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'For I would give them to her with a nice message from -you; and—and—if you take them, you will say nothing at -all; and where is the compliment?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ye're a wise little lass; but four big hares are heavy -to carry—with the wind against ye; so run away and get -me my coat and my Glengarry; and I will take them along -myself, compliment or no compliment.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, as it turned out, Mrs. Douglas was not the -first of the family he was fated to meet that morning. He -had scarcely left the deershed when he perceived Meenie -coming along the road; and this was an auspicious and -kindly event; for somehow the day seemed to go by more -smoothly and evenly and contentedly when he had chanced -to meet Meenie in the morning, and have a few minutes' -chat with her about affairs in general, and an assurance that -all was going well with her. So he went forward to meet -her with a light heart; and he thought she would be pleased -that he was taking the hares to her mother; and perhaps, -too, he considered that they might be a little more frank -in their friendship after the exceeding good fellowship of -the night of the children's party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went forward unsuspectingly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good morning, Miss Douglas!' said he, slackening in -his pace, for naturally they always stopped for a few seconds -or minutes when they met thus.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But to his astonishment Miss Douglas did not seem -inclined to stay. Her eyes were bent on the ground as -she came along; she but timidly half lifted them as she -reached him; and 'Good morning, Ronald!' she said, -and would have passed on. And then it seemed as if, in -her great embarrassment, she did not know what to do. -She stopped; her face was suffused with red; and she said -hurriedly—and yet with an effort to appear unconcerned—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I suppose Maggie is at home?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh yes,' said he, and her manner was so changed that -he also scarce knew what to say or to think.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And again she was going on, and again she lingered—with -a sudden fear that she might be thought ungracious -or unkind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'The children all got away safely yesterday morning,' -said she—but her eyes never met his; and there was still -tell-tale colour in her cheeks.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'So I heard,' he answered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am sure they must have enjoyed the evening,' she -said, as if forcing herself to speak.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then it suddenly occurred to him—for this encounter -had been all too brief and bewildering for any proper -understanding of it—that perhaps her mother had been reproving -her for being too friendly with the people about the inn -and with himself, and that he was only causing her -embarrassment by detaining her, and so he said—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh yes, I'm sure o' that. Well, good morning, Miss -Douglas; I'm going along to give your mother these two -or three hares.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Good morning,' said she—still without looking at -him—and then she went.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And he, too, went on his way; but only for a brief -space; presently he sate down on the low stone dyke by -the roadside, and dropped the hares on the ground at his -feet. What could it all mean? She seemed anxious to -limit their acquaintanceship to the merest formalities; and -yet to be in a manner sorry for having to do so. Had he -unwittingly given her some cause of offence? He began -to recall the minutest occurrences of the night of the -children's party—wondering if something had then happened -to account for so marked a change? But he could think -of nothing. The supper-party of three was of her own -suggestion; she could not be angry on that account. -Perhaps he ought to have asked this person or that person -over from the inn to join them, for the sake of propriety? -Well, he did not know much about such matters; it seemed -to him that they were very happy as they were; and that -it was nobody else's business. But would she quarrel with -him on that account? Or on account of his smoking in -her presence? Again and again he wished that his pipe -had been buried at the bottom of the loch; and indeed -his smoking of it that evening had given him no enjoyment -whatever, except in so far as it seemed to please her; but -surely, in any case, that was a trifle? Meenie would not -suddenly become cold and distant (in however reluctant a -way) for a small matter like that? Nor could she be angry -with him for taking her father away for a day on the hill; -she was always glad when the Doctor got a day's shooting -from anybody. No; the only possible conclusion he could -come to was that Mrs. Douglas had more strongly than -ever disapproved of Meenie's forming friendships among -people not of her own station in life; and that some -definite instructions had been given, which the girl was -anxious to obey. And if that were so, ought he to make -it any the more difficult for her? He would be as reserved -and distant as she pleased. He knew that she was a very -kindly and sensitive creature; and might dread giving pain; -and herself suffer a good deal more than those from whom -she was in a measure called upon to separate herself. That -was a reason why it should be made easy for her; and he -would ask Maggie to get on with her lessons by herself, as -much as she could; and when he met Miss Douglas on the -road, his greeting of her would be of the briefest—and yet -with as much kindness as she chose to accept in a word or -a look. And if he might not present her with the polecat's -skin that was now just about dressed?—well, perhaps the -American gentleman's daughter would take it, and have it -made into something, when she came up in March.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The pretty, little, doll-like woman, with the cold eyes -and the haughty stare, was at the front-door of the cottage, -scattering food to the fowls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I have brought ye two or three hares, Mrs. Douglas, if -they're of any use to ye,' Ronald said modestly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Thank you,' said she, with lofty courtesy, 'thank you; -I am much obliged. Will you step in and sit down for a -few minutes?—I am sure a little spirits will do you no -harm on such a cold morning.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In ordinary circumstances he would have declined that -invitation; for he had no great love of this domineering -little woman, and much preferred the society of her big, -good-natured husband; but he was curious about Meenie, -and even inclined to be resentful, if it appeared that she -had been dealt with too harshly. So he followed -Mrs. Douglas into the dignified little parlour—which was more -like a museum of cheap curiosities than a room meant for -actual human use; and forthwith she set on the crimson-dyed -table-cover a glass, a tumbler, a jug of water, and a -violet-coloured bulbous glass bottle with an electro-plated -stopper. Ronald was bidden to help himself; and also, out -of her munificence, she put before him a little basket of -sweet biscuits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I hear the Doctor is away again,' Ronald said—and a -hundred times would he rather not have touched the violet -bottle at all, knowing that her clear, cold, blue eyes were -calmly regarding his every movement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes,' she said, 'to Tongue. There is a consultation -there. I am sure he has had very little peace and quiet -lately.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am glad he had a holiday yesterday,' Ronald said, -with an endeavour to be agreeable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But she answered severely—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It might have been better if he had spent the first day -of his getting back with his own family. But that has -always been his way; everything sacrificed to the whim of -the moment—to his own likings and dislikings.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He enjoys a day's sport as much as any man I ever -saw,' said he—not knowing very well what to talk about.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, I daresay,' she answered shortly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then she pushed the biscuits nearer him; and returned -to her attitude of observation, with her small, neat, white -hands crossed on her lap, the rings on the fingers being -perhaps just a little displayed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Miss Douglas is looking very well at present.' he said, -at a venture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Williamina is well enough—she generally is,' she said -coldly. 'There is never much the matter with her health. -She might attend to her studies a little more and do -herself no harm. But she takes after her father.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a little sigh of resignation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Some of us,' said he good-naturedly, 'were expecting -her to come over on Monday night to see the dancing.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But here he had struck solid rock. In a second—from -her attitude and demeanour—he had guessed why it was -that Meenie had not come over to the landlord's party: a -matter about which he had not found courage to question -Meenie herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Williamina,' observed the little dame, with a magnificent -dignity, 'has other things to think of—or ought to have, at -her time of life, and in her position. I have had occasion -frequently of late to remind her of what is demanded of -her; she must conduct herself not as if she were for ever -to be hidden away in a Highland village. It will be necessary -for her to take her proper place in society, that she is -entitled to from her birth and her relatives; and of course -she must be prepared—of course she must be prepared. -There are plenty who will be willing to receive her; it will -be her own fault if she disappoints them—and us, too, her -own parents. Williamina will never have to lead the life -that I have had to lead, I hope; she belongs by birth to -another sphere; and I hope she will make the most of her -chances.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Miss Douglas would be made welcome anywhere, I am -sure,' he ventured to say; but she regarded him with a -superior look—as if it were not for him to pronounce an -opinion on such a point.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Soon,' she continued—and she was evidently bent on -impressing him, 'she will be going to Glasgow to finish in -music and German, and to get on with her Italian: you -will see she has no time to lose in idle amusement. We -would send her to Edinburgh or to London, but her sister -being in Glasgow is a great inducement; and she will be -well looked after. But, indeed, Williamina is not the kind -of girl to go and marry a penniless student; she has too -much common sense; and, besides, she has seen how it -turns out. Once in a family is enough. No; we count -on her making a good marriage, as the first step towards -her taking the position to which she is entitled; and I am -sure that Lady Stuart will take her in hand, and give her -every chance. As for their taking her abroad with them—and -Sir Alexander almost promised as much—what better -could there be than that?—she would be able to show off -her acquirements and accomplishments; she would be -introduced to the distinguished people at the ministerial -receptions and balls; she would have her chance, as I say. And -with such a chance before her, surely it would be nothing -less than wicked of her to fling away her time in idle follies. -I want her to remember what lies before her; a cottage -like this is all very well for-me—I have made my bed and -must lie on it; but for her—who may even be adopted -by Lady Stuart—who knows? for stranger things have -happened—it would be downright madness to sink into -content with her present way of life.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And when do you think that M— that Miss Douglas -will be going away to Glasgow?' he asked—but absently, -as it were, for he was thinking of Inver-Mudal, and Clebrig, -and Loch Loyal, and Strath-Terry, and of Meenie being -away from them all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'That depends entirely on herself,' was the reply. 'As -soon as she is sufficiently forward all round for the finishing -lessons, her sister is ready to receive her.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It will be lonely for you with your daughter away,' -said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Parents have to make sacrifices,' she said. 'Yes, and -children too. And better they should make them while -they are young than all through the years after. I hope -Williamina's will be no wasted life.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He did not know what further to say; he was dismayed, -perplexed, downhearted, or something: if this was a lesson -she had meant to read him, it had struck home. So he -rose and took his leave; and she thanked him again for -the hares; and he went out, and found Harry awaiting him -on the doorstep. Moreover, as he went down to the little -gate, he perceived that Meenie was coming back—she had -been but to the inn with a message; and, obeying some -curious kind of instinct, he turned to the left—pretending -not to have seen her coming; and soon he was over the -bridge, and wandering away up the lonely glen whose -silence is broken only by the whispering rush of Mudal -Water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He wandered on and on through the desolate moorland, -on this wild and blustering day, paying but little heed to -the piercing wind or the driven sleet that smote his eyelids. -And he was not so very sorrowful; his common sense had -told him all this before; Rose Meenie, Love Meenie, was -very well in secret fancies and rhymes and verses; but -beyond that she was nothing to him. And what would -Clebrig do, and Mudal Water, and all the wide, bleak -country that had been brought up in the love of her, and -was saturated with the charm of her presence, and seemed -for ever listening in deathlike silence for the light music of -her voice? There were plenty of verses running through -his head on this wild day too; the hills and the clouds and -the January sky were full of speech; and they were all of -them to be bereft of her as well as he:—</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Mudal, that comes from the lonely loch,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Down through the moorland russet and brown,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Know you the news that we have for you?—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Meenie's away to Glasgow town.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">See Ben Clebrig, his giant front</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Hidden and dark with a sudden frown;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">What is the light of the valley to him,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Since Meenie's away to Glasgow town?</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Empty the valley, empty the world,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The sun may arise and the sun go down;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">But what to do with the lonely hours,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Since Meenie's away to Glasgow town?</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Call her back, Clebrig! Mudal, call.</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Ere all of the young spring time be flown;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Birds, trees, and blossoms—you that she loved—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O summon her back from Glasgow town!</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>'</span><em class="italics">Call her back, Clebrig! Mudal, call!</em><span>' he repeated to -himself as he marched along the moorland road; for -what would they do without some one to guard, and some -one to watch for, and some one to listen for, in the first -awakening of the dawn? Glasgow—the great and grimy -city—that would be a strange sort of guardian, in the -young Spring days that were coming, for this fair Sutherland -flower. And yet might not some appeal be made -even there—some summons of attention, as it were?</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O Glasgow town, how little you know</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">That Meenie has wandered in</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">To the very heart of your darkened streets,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Through all the bustle and din.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">A Sutherland blossom shining fair</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Amid all your dismal haze,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Forfeiting the breath of the summer hills,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the blue of the northern days.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">From Dixon's fire-wreaths to Rollox stalk,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Blow, south wind, and clear the sky,</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Till she think of Ben Clebrig's sunny slopes,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Where the basking red-deer lie.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Blow, south wind, and show her a glimpse of blue</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Through the pall of dusky brown;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And see that you guard her and tend her well,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">You, fortunate Glasgow town!</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>But then—but then—that strange, impossible time—during -which there would be no Meenie visible anywhere -along the mountain roads; and Mudal Water would go by -unheeded; and there would be no careless, clear-singing -girl's voice along Loch Naver's shores—that strange time -would surely come to an end, and he could look forward -and see how the ending of it would be:</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The clouds lay heavy on Clebrig's crest,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">For days and weeks together;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The shepherds along Strath-Terry's side</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Cursed at the rainy weather;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">They scarce could get a favouring day</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">For the burning of the heather.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">When sudden the clouds were rent in twain</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the hill laughed out to the sun;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the hinds stole up, with wondering eyes,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">To the far slopes yellow and dun;</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And the birds were singing in every bush</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">As at spring anew begun,</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O Clebrig, what is it that makes you glad,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And whither is gone your frown?</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Are you looking afar into the south,</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The long, wide strath adown?</span></div> -</div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">And see you that Meenie is coming back—</span></div> -<div class="inner line-block"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Love Meenie, from Glasgow town!</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -</div> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>He laughed. Not yet was Love Meenie taken away -from them all. And if in the unknown future the Stuarts -of Glengask and Orosay were to carry her off and make a -great lady of her, and take her to see strange places, and -perhaps marry her to some noble person, at least in the -meantime Ben Clebrig and Ben Loyal and the wide straths -between knew that they still held in the mighty hollow of -their hand this sweet flower of Sutherlandshire, and that -the world and the skies and the woods and lakes seemed -fairer because of her presence. And as regarded himself, -and his relations with her? Well, what must be must. -Only he hoped—and there was surely no great vanity nor -self-love nor jealousy in so modest a hope—that the change -of her manner towards him was due to the counsels of her -mother rather than to anything he had unwittingly said or -done. Rose Meenie—Love Meenie—he had called her in -verses; but always he had been most respectful to herself; -and he could not believe that she thought him capable of -doing anything to offend her.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="a-new-arrival"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIII.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">A NEW ARRIVAL.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Very early one Sunday morning, while as yet all the world -seemed asleep, a young lady stole out from the little hotel -at Lairg, and wandered down by herself to the silent and -beautiful shores of Loch Shin. The middle of March it -was now, and yet the scene around her was quite summer-like; -and she was a stranger from very far climes indeed, -who had ventured into the Highlands at this ordinarily -untoward time of the year; so that there was wonder as -well as joy in her heart as she regarded the fairyland -before her, for it was certainly not what she had been -taught to expect. There was not a ripple on the glassy -surface of the lake; every feature of the sleeping and -faintly sunlit world was reflected accurately on the perfect -mirror: the browns and yellows of the lower moorland; -the faint purple of the birch-woods; the aerial blues of the -distant hills, with here and there a patch of snow; and the -fleecy white masses of the motionless clouds. It was a -kind of dream-world—soft-toned and placid and still, the -only sharp bit of colour being the scarlet-painted lines of a -boat that floated double on that sea of glass. There was -not a sound anywhere but the twittering of small birds; -nor any movement but the slow rising into the air of a tiny -column of blue smoke from a distant cottage; summer -seemed to be here already, as the first light airs of the -morning—fresh and clear and sweet—came stealing along -the silver surface of the water, and only troubling the -magic picture here and there in long trembling swathes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The young lady was of middle height, but looked taller -than that by reason of her slight and graceful form; she -was pale, almost sallow, of face, with fine features and a -pretty smile; her hair was of a lustrous black; and so, -too, were her eyes—which were large and soft and -attractive. Very foreign she looked as she stood by the -shores of this Highland loch; her figure and complexion -and beautiful opaque soft dark eyes perhaps suggesting -more than anything else the Spanish type of the Southern -American woman; but there was nothing foreign about her -attire; she had taken care about that; and if her jet-black -hair and pale cheek had prompted her to choose unusual -tones of colour, at all events the articles of her costume -were all correct—the warm and serviceable ulster of some -roughish yellow and gray material, the buff-coloured, -gauntleted gloves, and the orange-hued Tam o' Shanter -which she wore quite as one to the manner born. For the -rest, one could easily see that she was of a cheerful -temperament; pleased with herself; not over shy, perhaps; -and very straightforward in her look.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, the best description of this young lady was -the invention of an ingenious youth dwelling on the -southern shores of Lake Michigan.—'Carry Hodson,' he -observed on one occasion, 'is just a real good fellow, that's -what she is.' It was a happy phrase, and it soon became -popular among the young gentlemen who wore English -hats and vied with each other in driving phantom vehicles -behind long-stepping horses. 'Carry Hodson?—she's just -the best fellow going,' they would assure you. And how -better can one describe her? There was a kind of frank -</span><em class="italics">camaraderie</em><span> about her; and she liked amusement, and was -easily amused; and she laboured under no desire at all of -showing herself 'bright'—which chiefly reveals itself in -impertinence; but, above all, there was in her composition -not a trace of alarm over her relations, however frank and -friendly, with the other sex; she could talk to any man—old -or young, married or single—positively without wondering -when he was about to begin to make love to her. For -one thing, she was quite capable of looking after herself; -for another, the very charm of her manner—the delightful -openness and straightforwardness of it—seemed to drive -flirtation and sham sentiment forthwith out of court. And -if, when those young gentlemen in Chicago called Miss -Carry Hodson 'a real good fellow,' they could not help -remembering at the same time that she was an exceedingly -pretty girl, perhaps they appreciated so highly the privilege of -being on good-comrade terms with her that they were -content to remain there rather than risk everything by seeking -for more. However, that need not be discussed further -here. People did say, indeed, that Mr. John C. Huysen, -the editor of the </span><em class="italics">Chicago Citizen</em><span>, was more than likely to -carry off the pretty heiress; if there was any truth in the -rumour, at all events Miss Carry Hodson remained just -as frank and free and agreeable with everybody—especially -with young men who could propose expeditions and amusements.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now there was only one subject capable of entirely -upsetting this young lady's equanimity; and it is almost a -pity to have to introduce it here; for the confession must -be made that, on this one subject, she was in the habit of -using very reprehensible language. Where, indeed, she -had picked up so much steamboat and backwoods slang—unless -through the reading of </span><em class="italics">Texas Siftings</em><span>—it is impossible -to say; but her father, who was about the sole -recipient of these outbursts, could object with but little -show of authority, for he was himself exceedingly fond, not -exactly of slang, but of those odd phrases, sometimes -half-humorous, that the Americans invent from day to day -to vary the monotony of ordinary speech. These phrases -are like getting off the car and running alongside a little -bit; you reach your journey's end—the meaning of the -sentence—all the same. However, the chief bugbear and -grievance of Miss Carry Hodson's life was the Boston girl -as displayed to us in fiction; and so violent became her -detestation of that remarkable young person that it was -very nearly interfering with her coming to Europe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But, pappa, dear,' she would say, regarding the book -before her with some amazement, 'will the people in -Europe think I am like </span><em class="italics">that</em><span>?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'They won't think anything about you,' he would say -roughly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What a shame—what a shame—to say American girls -are like </span><em class="italics">that</em><span>!' she would continue vehemently. 'The -self-conscious little beasts—with their chatter about tone, -and touch, and culture! And the men—my gracious, -pappa, do the people in England think that our young -fellows talk like </span><em class="italics">that</em><span>? "Analyse me; formulate me!" he -cries to the girl; "can't you imagine my environment by the -aid of your own intuitions?"—I'd analyse him if he came -to me; I'd analyse him fast enough: Nine different sorts -of a born fool; and the rest imitation English prig. I'd -formulate him if he came to me with his pretentious idiotcy; -I'd show him the kind of chipmunk I am.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You are improving, Miss Carry,' her father would say -resignedly. 'You are certainly acquiring force in your -language; and sooner or later you will be coming out with -some of it when you least expect it; and then whether it's -you or the other people that will get fits I don't know. -You'll make them jump.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no, pappa, dear,' she would answer good-naturedly; -for her vehemence was never of long duration. 'I have my -company manners when it is necessary. Don't I know -what I am? Oh yes, I do. I'm a real high-toned North -Side society lady; and can behave as sich—when there's -anybody present. But when it's only you and me, pappa, -I like to wave the banner a little—that's all.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This phrase of hers, about waving the banner, had come -to mean so many different things that her father could not -follow half of them, and so it was handy in winding up a -discussion; and he could only remark, with regard to her -going to Europe, and her dread lest she should be suspected -of resembling one of the imaginary beings for whom she -had conceived so strong a detestation, that really people in -Europe were as busy as people elsewhere, and might not -show too absorbing an interest in declaring what she was -like; that perhaps their knowledge of the Boston young -lady of fiction was limited, and the matter not one of -deep concern; and that the best thing she could do was -to remember that she was an American girl, and that she -had as good a right to dress in her own way and speak in -her own way and conduct herself in her own way as any -French, or German, or English, or Italian person she might -meet. All of which Miss Carry received with much -submission—except about dress: she hoped to be able to study -that subject, with a little attention, in Paris.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, she was standing there looking abroad on the -fairy-like picture of lake and wood and mountain—and -rather annoyed, too, that, now she was actually in the midst of -scenes that she had prepared herself for by reading, she could -recollect none of the reading at all, but was wholly and -simply interested in the obvious beauty of the place -itself—when she became conscious of a slow and stealthy footstep -behind her, and, instantly turning, she discovered that a -great dun-coloured dog, no doubt belonging to the hotel, -had come down to make her acquaintance. He said as -much by a brief and heavy gambol, a slow wagging of his -mighty tail, and the upturned glance of his small, flat, -leonine eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well,' she said, 'who are you? Would you like to go -for a walk?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whether he understood her or no he distinctly led the -way—taking the path leading along the shores of the loch -towards Inver-shin; and as there did not seem to be any -sign yet of anybody moving about the hotel, she thought she -might just as well take advantage of this volunteered -escort. Not that the mastiff was over communicative in -his friendliness; he would occasionally turn round to see -if she was following; and if she called to him and spoke to -him, he would merely make another heavy effort at a -gambol and go on again with his slow-moving pace. Now -and again a shepherd's collie would come charging down on -him from the hillside, or two or three small terriers, keeping -sentry at the door of a cottage, would suddenly break the -stillness of the Sunday morning by the most ferocious barking -at his approach; but he took no heed of one or the other.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do you know that you are an amiable dog—but not -amusing?' she said to him, when he had to wait for her to -let him get through a swinging stile. 'I've got a dog at -home not a quarter as big as you, and he can talk twice as -much. I suppose your thoughts are important, though. -What do they call you? Dr. Johnson?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He looked at her with the clear, lionlike eyes, but only for -a second; seemed to think it futile trying to understand her; -and then went on again with his heavy, shambling waddle. -And she liked the freshness of the morning, and the novelty -of being all alone by herself in the Scottish Highlands, and -of going forward as a kind of pioneer and discoverer; and -so she walked on in much delight, listening to the birds, -looking at the sheep, and thinking nothing at all of breakfast, -and the long day's drive before her father and herself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then a sudden conviction was flashed on her mind -that something was wrong. There was a man coming rushing -along the road after her—with neither coat nor cap -on—and as he drew near she could hear him say—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ah, you rascal! you rascal! Bolted again?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He seemed to pay no attention to her; he ran past her -and made straight for the mastiff; and in a couple of -minutes had a muzzle securely fastened on the beast, and -was leading him back with an iron chain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Surely that is not a ferocious dog?' said she, as they -came up—and perhaps she was curious to know whether -she had run any chance of being eaten.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'The master had to pay five pounds last year for his -worrying sheep—the rascal,' said the man; and the great -dog wagged his tail as if in approval.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, he seems a most gentle creature,' she said, -walking on with the man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ay, and so he is, miss—most times. But he's barely -three years old, and already he's killed two collies and a -terrier, and worried three sheep.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Killed other dogs? Oh, Dr. Johnson!' she exclaimed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He's sweirt[#] to begin, miss; but when he does begin -he </span><em class="italics">maun</em><span> kill—there's no stopping him. The rascal! he -likes fine to get slippin' away wi' one of the gentlefolks, if -he's let off the chain for a few minutes—it's a God's mercy -he has done no harm this morning—it was the ostler let -him off the chain—and he'd have lost his place if there -had been ony mair worrying.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>[#] </span><em class="italics">Sweirt</em><span>, reluctant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no, no, he would not,' she said confidently. 'I -took the dog away. If any mischief had been done, I -would have paid—why, of course.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'</span><em class="italics">Why, of cois</em><span>' was what she really said; but all the -man knew was that this American young lady spoke with a -very pleasant voice; and seemed good-natured; and was -well-meaning, too, for she would not have had the ostler -suffer. Anyway, the mastiff, with as much dignity as was -compatible with a muzzle and an iron chain, was conducted -back to his kennel; and Miss Hodson went into the hotel, -and expressed her profound sorrow that she had kept -breakfast waiting; but explained to her father that it was -not every morning she had the chance of exploring the -Highlands all by herself—or rather accompanied by a huge -creature apparently of amiable nature, but with really dark -possibilities attached.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In due course of time the waggonette and horses were -brought round to the door of the little hotel; their baggage -was put in; and presently they had set forth on their drive -through the still, sunlit, solitary country. But this was a -far more pleasant journey than his first venturing into these -wilds. He had been warning his daughter of the bleak -and savage solitude she would have to encounter; but now -it appeared quite cheerful—in a subdued kind of way, as if -a sort of Sunday silence hung over the landscape. The -pale blue waters of Loch Shin, the beech-woods, the russet -slopes of heather, the snow-touched azure hills along the -horizon—all these looked pretty and were peacefully -shining on this fair morning; and even after they had got -away from the last trace of human habitation, and were -monotonously driving through mile after mile of the wide, -boggy, hopeless peatland, the winter colours were really -brighter than those of summer, and the desolation far from -overpowering. If they met with no human beings, there -were other living objects to attract the eye. A golden -plover—standing on a hillock not half a dozen yards off, -would be calling to his mate; a wild duck would go -whirring by; a red-plumed grouse-cock would cease dusting -himself in the road, and would be off into the heather as -they came along, standing and looking at them as they -passed. And so on and on they went, mile after mile, -along the fair shining Strath-Terry; the morning air blowing -freshly about them; the sunlight lying placidly on those -wide stretches of russet and golden bogland; and now and -again a flash of dark blue showing where some mountain-tarn -lay silent amid the moors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And you thought I should be disappointed, pappa -dear?' said Miss Carry, 'or frightened by the loneliness? -Why, it's just too beautiful for anything! And so this is -where the Clan Mackay lived in former days?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Is it?' said her father. 'I wonder what they lived on. -I don't think we'd give much for that land in Illinois. -Give for it? You couldn't get a white man to trade for -that sort of land; we'd have to ask Wisconsin to take it -and hide it away somewhere.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What are those things for?' she asked, indicating -certain tall poles that stood at intervals along the roadside.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, don't you know? These are poles to tell them -where the road is in snow time.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Then it is not always May in these happy latitudes?' -she observed shrewdly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He laughed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I heard some dreadful stories when I was here in -January—but I don't believe much in weather stories. -Anyhow, we've got to take what comes now; and so far -there is not much to howl about.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And at last they came in sight of the ruffled blue waters -of Loch Naver; and the long yellow promontories running -out into the lake; and the scant birch-woods fringing here -and there the rocky shore; with the little hamlet of -Inver-Mudal nestling down there in the hollow; and far away in -the north the mountain-masses of Ben Hope and Ben Loyal -struck white with snow. And she was very curious to see -the kind of people who lived in these remote solitudes; and -the pretty sloe-black eyes were all alert as the waggonette -rattled along towards the two or three scattered houses; -and perhaps, as they drove up to the inn, she was -wondering whether Ronald the gamekeeper, of whom she had -heard so much, would be anywhere visible. But there was -scarcely any one there. The Sabbath quiet lay over the -little hamlet. Mr. Murray appeared, however,—in his -Sunday costume, of course,—and an ostler; and presently -Miss Carry and her father were in the sitting-room that -had been prepared for them—a great mass of peats cheerfully -blazing in the capacious fireplace, and the white-covered -table furnished with a substantial luncheon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And what do you think of your future maid?' her -father asked, when the pretty Nelly had left the room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, I think she has the softest voice I ever heard a -woman speak with,' was the immediate answer. 'And -such a pretty way of talking—and looking at you—very -gentle and friendly. But she won't do for my maid, -pappa; she's too tall; I should want to put a string round -her neck and lead her about like a giraffe.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, she was pleased with the appearance and -manner of the girl, and that was something; for, oddly -enough, Mr. Hodson seemed to imagine that he had -discovered this remote hamlet, and was responsible for it, -and anxious that his daughter should think well of it, and -of the people she might meet in it. He called her attention -to the scent of the peat; to the neatness with which -the joints on the table had been decorated with little paper -frills; to the snugness and quiet of the sitting-room; to -the spacious character of the views from the windows—one -taking in Clebrig and the loch, the other reaching away up -to Ben Loyal. All these things he had provided for her, -as it were; and it must be said that she was a most -excellent travelling-companion, always content, easily -interested, never out of humour. So, when he proposed, after -luncheon, that they should go along and call on Ronald -Strang, she readily consented; no doubt a keeper's dwelling -in these wilds would be something curious—perhaps -of a wigwam character, and of course filled with all kinds -of trophies of his hunting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, they went along to the cottage, and Mr. Hodson -knocked lightly on the door. There was no answer. He -rapped a little more loudly; then they heard some one -within; and presently the door was thrown open, and -Ronald stood before them—a book in one hand, a pipe in -the other, no jacket covering his shirt-sleeves, and the -absence of any necktie showing a little more than was -necessary of the firm set of his sun-tanned throat. He had -been caught unawares—as his startled eyes proclaimed; in -fact, he had been reading </span><em class="italics">Paradise Regained</em><span>, and manfully -resisting the temptation to slip on to the gracious melody -of </span><em class="italics">L'Allegro</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">Il Penseroso</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">Lycidas</em><span>; and when he -heard the tapping he fancied it was merely one of the lads -come for a chat or the last newspaper, and had made no -preparations for the reception of visitors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'How are you, Ronald?' said Mr. Hodson. 'I have -brought my daughter to see you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Will ye step in, sir?' said Ronald hastily, and with a -terrible consciousness of his untidy appearance. 'Ay, in -there—will ye sit down for a few minutes—and will ye -excuse me—I thought you werena coming till to-morrow——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, I thought they might object to driving me on a -Sunday. I can't make it out. Perhaps what I have read -about Scotland is not true. Or perhaps they have altered -of late years. Anyhow they made no objection, and here -I am.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the midst of these brief sentences—each pronounced -with a little rising inflexion at the end—Ronald managed -to slip away and get himself made a little more presentable. -When he returned the apparent excuse for his absence -was that he brought in some glasses and water and a bottle -of whisky; and then he went to a little mahogany sideboard -and brought out a tin case of biscuits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You need not trouble about these things for us; we -have just had lunch,' Mr. Hodson said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Perhaps the young lady——?' said Ronald timidly, -and even nervously, for there was no plate handy, and he -did not know how to offer her the biscuits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no, I thank you,' she said, with a pretty and -gracious smile; and he happened to meet her eyes just at -that time; and instantly became aware that they were -curiously scrutinising and observant, despite their apparent -softness and lustrous blackness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now Miss Carry Hodson had an abundance of shrewd -feminine perception, and it was easy for her to see that -this handsome and stalwart young fellow had been grievously -disturbed, and was even now unnerved, through his -having been caught in disarray on the occasion of a young -lady visiting him; and accordingly, to allow him to recover, -she deliberately effaced herself; saying not a word, nor even -listening, while her father and he proceeded to talk about -the salmon-fishing, and about the distressingly fine weather -that threatened to interfere with that pursuit. She sate -silent, allowing those observant eyes of hers to roam freely -round the room, and indeed wondering how a man of his -occupations could so have contrived to rob his home of all -distinctive character and to render it so clearly -common-place. There was nothing wild or savage about it; not -the skin of any beast, nor the plumage of any bird; -everything was of a bourgeois neatness and respectability—the -ornaments on the mantel-shelf conspicuously so; and what -was strangest of all—though this will scarcely be -believed—the two roebucks' heads that adorned the wall, in a -country where roe abound, were earthenware casts, and -very bad casts too, obviously hailing from Germany. She -observed, however, that there were a good many books -about—some of them even piled in obscure corners; and -to judge by the sober character of their cloth binding she -guessed them to be of a rather superior class. The pictures -on the walls were some cheap reprints of Landseer; a -portrait of the Duke of Sutherland, in Highland garb; a -view of Dunrobin Castle; and a photograph of Mr. Millais' -'Order of Release.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After a while she began to know (without looking) that -the young man had assumed sufficient courage to glance at -her from time to time; and she allowed him to do that; -for she considered that the people in Regent Street had -fitted her out in Highland fashion in a sufficiently accurate -way. But it soon appeared that he was talking about her; -and what was this wild proposal?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It seems a pity,' he was saying, 'if the fish are taking, -not to have two boats at the work. And there's that big -rod o' yours, sir—you could use that for the trolling; and -let the young lady have one o' your grilse rods. Then -there's mine—she can have that and welcome——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, but the gillies——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, I'll take a turn myself; I'm no so busy the now. -And I can get one o' the lads to lend a hand.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do you hear this, Carry?' her father said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What, pappa?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald wants you to start off salmon-fishing to-morrow, -in a boat all to yourself—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Alone?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, no! He says he will go with you, and one of -the lads; and you will have all the best advice and -experience—I don't think it's fair, myself—but it's very -good-natured anyhow——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And do you think there's a chance of my catching a -salmon?' she said eagerly, and she turned her eloquent -black eyes, all lit up with pleasure, full upon him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh yes, indeed,' said he, looking down, 'and many -and many a one, I am sure, if we could only get a little -wet weather.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'My!' she exclaimed. 'If I caught a salmon, I'd have -it stuffed right away——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'With sage and onions, I suppose,' her father said -severely.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And we begin to-morrow? Why, it's just too delightful—I -was looking forward to days and days indoors, with nothing -but books. And I shall really have a chance?——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I think you might as well thank Ronald for his offer,' -her father said. 'I should never have thought of it.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, she hesitated; for it is a difficult thing to make -a formal little speech when it is asked for by a third -person; but the young keeper quickly laughed away her -embarrassment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no, sir; we'll wait for that till we see how our -luck turns out. And we'll have the Duke's boat, mind, that -Duncan says is the lucky one; you'll have to look sharp, -sir, or we'll have the biggest show on the grass at the end -of the day.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hodson now rose to take his leave, for he wanted -his daughter to walk down to the shores of the loch where -they were next day to begin their labours. And thus it -was that Miss Carry—who had looked forward at the most -to sitting in the boat with her father and looking -on—found herself pledged to a course of salmon-fishing, under -the immediate guidance and instruction of the young keeper; -and she had noticed that he had already talked of the -occupants of the Duke's boat as 'we'—assuming that he -and she were in a sort of partnership, and pitted against -the others. Well, it would be amusing, she thought. She -also considered that he was very good-looking; and that it -would be pleasanter to have a companion of that kind than -a surly old boatman. She imagined they might easily -become excellent friends—at least, she was willing enough; -and he seemed civil and good-humoured and modest; -and altogether the arrangement promised to work very well.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="about-illinois"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIV.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">'ABOUT ILLINOIS.'</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There was a good deal of bustle in the inn next morning; -Ronald busy with the fishing-tackle for the second boat; -luncheon being got ready for six; and the gillies fighting -as to which party should have the landing-net and which -the clip. In the midst of all this Miss Carry—looking -very smart in her Highland costume, Tam o' Shanter and -all—came placidly in to breakfast, and as she sate down -she said—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Pappa dear, I met such a pretty girl.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Have you been out?' he asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Only as far as the bridge. I met her as I was coming -back. And she looked so pretty and shy that I spoke to -her; I think she was a little frightened at first; but anyway -I got to know who she is—the Doctor's daughter. Oh, you -should hear her speak—the accent is so pretty and gentle. -Well, it's all settled, pappa; I'm just in love with the -Highland people, from this out.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'There's safety in numbers,' observed her father grimly; -and then he proceeded to explore the contents of the -covers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When they were ready to go down to the loch they -found that the men had already set out—all but Ronald, -who had remained behind to see if there was nothing further -he could carry for the young lady. So these three started -together; and of course all the talk was about the far too -fine weather, and the chances of getting a fish or two in -spite of it, and the betting on the rival boats. Miss Carry -listened in silence; so far she had heard or seen nothing -very remarkable about the handsome young keeper who -had so impressed her father. He spoke frankly and freely -enough, it is true (when he was not speaking to her), and -he was recounting with some quiet sarcasm certain -superstitious beliefs and practices of the people about there; -but, apart from the keen look of his eyes, and the manly -ring of his voice, and the easy swing of the well-built figure, -there was nothing, as she considered, very noticeable about -him. She thought his keeper's costume rather picturesque, -and weather-worn into harmonious colour; and wondered -how men in towns had come to wear the unsightly garments -of these present days. And so at last they arrived at the -loch; and found that the gillies had got the rods fixed and -everything ready; and presently the black boat, with -Mr. Hodson and his two gillies, was shoved off, and Ronald, -before asking the young lady to step into the green boat—the -Duke's boat—was showing her what she should do if -a salmon should attach itself to either of the lines.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I don't feel like catching a salmon somehow,' she -remarked. 'I don't think it can be true. Anyway you'll -see I shan't scream.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She stepped into the boat and took her seat; the rods -were placed for her; the coble was shoved farther into the -water, and then Ronald and the young lad got in and took -to the oars. Miss Carry was bidden to pay out one of the -lines slowly as they moved away from the bank; and in -due course she had both lines out and the two rods fixed -at the proper angle, and the reels free. She obeyed all -his instructions without haste or confusion. She was a -promising pupil. And he wondered what nerve she would -show when the crisis came.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now it may be explained for the benefit of those -inexperienced in such things that these fishing cobles have a -cross bench placed about midway between the stern and -the thwart occupied by the stroke oar; and the usual -custom is for the fisherman to sit on this bench facing the -stern, so that he can see both rods and be ready for the -first shaking of the top. But Miss Carry did not understand -this at all. In entering the coble she naturally took -her place right astern, facing the rowers. It never entered -her head to be guilty of the discourtesy of turning her back -on them; besides, Ronald was directing her with his eyes -as much as with his speech, and she must be able to see -him; moreover he did not tell her she was sitting the -wrong way; and then again was not the first signal to be -the shrieking of the reel?—and both reels were now under -her observation, so that she could snatch at either rod in -a second. The consequence of all this was that she and -Ronald sate face to face—not more than a yard and a half -between them—their eyes exactly on a level—and when -they spoke to each other, it was very distinctly </span><em class="italics">unter vier -Augen</em><span>, for the boy at the bow was mostly hidden.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Pappa dear,' she said to her father that evening, 'he -is a very nervous man.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Who?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Nonsense. He is hard as nails. He don't know what -nerves mean.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He is a very nervous man,' she insisted (and had she -not been studying him for a whole day?). 'His eyes throb -when you meet them suddenly. Or rather he seems to -know they are very powerful and penetrating—and he does -not like to stare at you—so you can see there is a tremor -of the lid sometimes as he looks up—as if he would partly -veil his eyes. It's very curious. He's shy—like a wild -animal almost. And that pretty girl I met this morning -has something of that look too.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Perhaps they're not used to having the cold gaze of -science turned on them,' her father remarked drily.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Is that me?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You may take it that way.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Then you're quite wrong. It isn't science at all. It -is an active and benevolent sympathy; I am going to make -friends with every one of them. Ronald says her name is -Miss Douglas—and I mean to call.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well, then,' said her father, who left this young -lady pretty much the mistress of her own actions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, to return to the fishing: the morning did not -promise well, the weather being too bright and clear, though -there was a very fair breeze—of a curious sultry character -for the middle of March—blowing up from the south and -making a good ripple on the loch. Again and again the -two boats crossed each other; and the invariable cry was—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Nothing yet?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the answer—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Not a touch.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By this time Miss Carry had got to know a good deal -about the young keeper whose eyes were so directly on a -level with hers. He had been to Aberdeen, and to Glasgow, -and to Edinburgh; but never out of Scotland?—no. Had -he no wish to see London and Paris? Had he no wish to -see America?—why, if he came over, her father would -arrange to have him put in the way of seeing everything. -And perhaps he might be tempted to stay?—there were -such opportunities for young men, especially in the west. -As for her, she was most communicative about herself; and -apparently she had been everywhere and seen everything—except -Stratford-on-Avon: that was to be the climax; that -was to be the last thing they should visit in Europe—and -then on to Liverpool and home. She had been a great -deal longer in Europe than her father, she said. Her -mother was an invalid and could not travel; her brother -George (Joidge, she called him) was at school; so she and -a schoolfellow of hers had set out for Europe, accompanied -by a maid and a courier, and had 'seen most everything' -from St. Petersburg to Wady Halfa. And all this and more -she told him with the black soft eyes regarding him openly; -and the pale, foreign, tea-rose tinted face full of a friendly -interest; and the pretty, white, delicate small fingers idly -intertwisting the buff-coloured gloves that she had taken off -at his request. Inver-Mudal, Clebrig, Ben Loyal, the straths -and woods around looked to him small and confined on -this quiet morning. She seemed to have brought with her -a wider atmosphere, a larger air. And for a young girl like -this to know so much—to have seen so much—and to talk -so simply and naturally of going here, there, or anywhere, -as if distance were nothing, and time nothing, and money -nothing; all this puzzled him not a little. She must have -courage, then, and daring, and endurance, despite the pale -face and the slender figure, and the small, white, -blue-veined hands? Why, she spoke of running over to Paris, -in about a fortnight's time, to be present at the wedding of -a friend, just as any one about here would speak of driving -on to Tongue and returning by the mail-cart next day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Suddenly there was a quick, half-suppressed exclamation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'There he is!—there he is!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And all in a second, as it seemed, Ronald had flung his -oar back to the lad behind, seized one of the rods and -raised it and put it in her hands, and himself got hold of -the other, and was rapidly reeling in the line. What was -happening she could hardly tell—she was so bewildered. -The rod that she painfully held upright was being violently -shaken—now and again there was a loud, long whirr of the -reel—and Ronald was by her shoulder, she knew, but not -speaking a word—and she was wildly endeavouring to -recall all that he had told her. Then there was a sudden -slackening of the line—what was this?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'All right,' said he, very quietly. 'Reel in now—as -quick as ye can, please.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, she was reeling in as hard as her small and -delicate wrist was able to do—and in truth she was too -bewildered to feel excited; and above all other earthly -things was she anxious that she shouldn't show herself a -fool, or scream, or let the thing go—when all at once the -handle of the reel seemed to be whipped from her grasp; -there was a long whirring shriek of the line; she could -hear somewhere a mighty splash (though she dared not look -at anything but what was in her hands), and at the same -moment she fancied Ronald said, with a quiet laugh—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We've beat them this time—a clean fish!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do you think we'll get him?' she said breathlessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We'll hold on to him as long as he holds on to us,' -Ronald said; and she heard him add to himself, 'I would -rather than five shillings we got the first fish!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But this thing is so heavy!' she pleaded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Never mind—that's right—that's right—keep a good -strain on him—we'll soon bring him to his senses.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again there was a sudden slackening of the line; and -this time she actually saw the animal as it sprang into the -air—a white gleaming curved thing—but instantly her -attention was on the reel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'That's it—you're doing fine,' he said, with an -intentional quietude of tone, so that she might not get -over-nervous and make a mistake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then he made her stand up, and fortunately the coble -was rocking but little; and he moved her left hand a little -higher up the rod, so that she should have better leverage; -and she did all that she was bid mutely and meekly, though -her arm was already beginning to feel the heavy strain. -She vowed to herself that so long as she could draw a -breath she would not give in.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The other boat was passing—but of course at a respectful -distance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Hold on to him, Carry!' her father called.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She paid no heed. She dared not even look in his -direction. The fish seemed to be following up the coble -now, and it was all that the slender wrist could do to get -in the line so as to keep the prescribed curve on the rod. -And then she had to give way again; for the salmon went -steadily and slowly down—boring and sulking—and they -pulled the boat away a bit, lest he should suddenly come -to the surface and be after some dangerous cantrip. She -took advantage of this period of quiet to pass the rod from -her left hand to her right; and that relieved her arm a -little; and she even ventured to say—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'How long is he going on like this?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We'll give him his own time, Miss,' Ronald said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Don't call me Miss,' she said, with a little vexation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I—I beg your pardon—what then?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, anything you like. Mind you catch me if I fall -into the water.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The truth was she was a little bit excited, and desperately -anxious that her strength should hold out; and even -permitting herself an occasional gleam of hope and joy and -triumph. Her first salmon? Here would be tidings for -the girls at home! If only the beast would do something—or -show signs of yielding—anything rather than she should -have to give in, and weakly resign the rod to Ronald! As -for him, he stood almost touching her shoulder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no,' said he, 'there's no fear o' your falling into -the water. We've got to get this gentleman out first.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then her feeble efforts at talking (meant to show -that she was not excited, but having exactly the contrary -effect) all went by the board. Something was happening—she -knew not what—something wild, terrifying, violent, -desperate—and apparently quite near—and all the line was -slack now—and the handle of the reel stuck in her frantic -efforts to turn it with an impossible quickness—and her -heart was choking with fright. For why would this beast -spring, and splash, and churn the water, while the line -seemed to go all wrong and everything become mixed? -But her trembling fingers got the reel to work at last; and -she wound as quickly as she could; and by this time the -salmon had disappeared again, and was bearing an even, -dead strain on the rod, but not so heavily as before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'My gracious!' she said—she was quite breathless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It's all right,' he said quietly; but he had been pretty -breathless too, and for several seconds in blank despair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fish began to show signs of yielding—that last fierce -thrashing of the water had weakened him. She got in -more and more line—Ronald's instructions being of the -briefest and quietest—and presently they could see a faint -gleam in the water as the big fish sailed this way or that. -But still, she knew not what he might not do. That terrible -time had been altogether unexpected. And yet she knew—and -her left arm was gratefully conscious—that the strain -was not so heavy now; the line was quite short; and she -became aware that she was exercising more and more power -over her captive and could force him to stop his brief and -ineffectual rushes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Once or twice he had come quite near the boat—sailing -in on his side, as it were—and then sheering off again -at the sight of them; but these efforts to get away were -growing more and more feeble; and at last Ronald called—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We'll try him this time—give him the butt well—that's -right—lift his head—now——' and then there was a -quick stroke of the clip, and the great monster was in the -boat, and she sank down on to the bench, her arms limp -and trembling, but her hand still grasping the rod. And -she felt a little inclined to laugh and to cry; and she -wondered where her father was; and she looked on in a -dazed way as they killed the fish, and got the phantom-minnow -out of its mouth, and proceeded to the weighing -of the prize.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Eleven pounds and a half—well done the Duke's -boat!' Ronald cried. 'Is it your first salmon, Miss Hodson?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, certainly.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You'll have to drink its health, or there'll be no more -luck for you this season,' said he, and he reached back -for a pocket-flask.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But where is my father?' she said—she was anxious -he should hear the news.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh,' said he coolly, 'they've been into a fish for the -last ten minutes; I wouldna tell ye, in case it might -distract ye.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Have they got one?' she cried.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'They've got something—and I dinna think it's a kelt -from the way they're working.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She clapped her hands in delight. Yes, and that -involuntary little action revealed to her what she had not -known before—that one of her fingers was pretty badly cut, -and bleeding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What's this?' she said, but she did not heed much—now -that the great beautiful gleaming fish lay in the bottom -of the boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ronald cared a great deal more. He threw aside the -flask. A cut?—it was his own stupidity was the cause of -it; he ought to have known that her delicate fingers could -not withstand the whirring out of the line; he should have -allowed her to keep on her gloves. And nothing would -do but that she must carefully bathe the wound in the fresh -water of the loch; and he produced a piece of plaster; and -then he cut a strip off her handkerchief, and bound up the -finger so.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What do I care?' she said—pointing to the salmon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then he begged her to drink a little whisky and -water—for luck's sake—though he had been rather scornful -about these customs in the morning; and she complied—smiling -towards him as the Netherby bride may have looked -at Young Lochinvar; but yet he would not drink in her -presence; he put the flask aside; and presently they were -at their work again, both lines out, and the southerly breeze -still keeping up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They passed the other boat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What weight?' was the cry.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Eleven and a half. Have you got one?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'How much?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Just over seven.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Duncan will be a savage man,' said Ronald, with a -laugh. 'It's all the bad luck of his boat, he'll be saying; -though it's good enough luck for the two first fish to be clean -fish and no kelt.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>However, the Duke's boat fell away from its auspicious -beginning that morning. When lunch time arrived, and -both cobles landed at a part of the shore agreed upon, -where there was a large rock for shelter, and a good ledge -for a seat, Miss Carry had but the one fish to be taken out -and placed on the grass, while her father had two—respectively -seven and thirteen pounds. And very picturesque, -indeed, it was to see those white gleaming creatures lying -there; and the two boats drawn up on the shore, with the -long rods out at the stern; and the gillies forming a group at -some distance off under the shelter of the stone dyke; and -the wide waters of the lake all a breezy blue in the cup of the -encircling sunlit hills. Ronald got out the luncheon, for he -had seen to the packing of it—and he knew more about -table-napkins and things of that sort than those men; and then, -when he had made everything right, and brought ashore a -cushion for Miss Carry to sit upon, and so forth, he went away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald,' Mr. Hodson called to him, 'ain't you going -to have some lunch?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, sir.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Come along, then; there's plenty of room right here.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Thank ye, sir; I know where they've put my little -parcel,' said he—and he went and sate down with the -gillies; and soon there was enough talking and laughing -amongst them—faintly heard across the wind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well?' said her father, when they were left alone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, it's just too delightful for anything.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was her summing up of the whole situation. And -then she added—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Pappa, may I send my salmon to Lily Selden?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I wouldn't call it kindness,' said he. 'Looks more -like boasting. And what's the good, since she is staying at -a hotel?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, she will be as glad as I am even to see it. But -can't they cook it at a hotel anyway? I want to be even with -Lily about that balloon. I don't see much myself in going -up in a balloon. I would just like to have Lily here -now—think she wouldn't fall down and worship those beautiful -creatures?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, you may send her yours, if you like,' her father -said. 'But you needn't dawdle so over your luncheon. -These days are short; and I want to see what we can do -on our first trial.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'm ready now, if it comes to that,' said she placidly; -and she put a couple of sweet biscuits in her pocket, to -guard against emergency.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And soon they were afloat again. But what was this -that was coming over the brief winter afternoon? The -sultry south wind did not die away, nor yet did any -manifest clouds appear in the heavens, but a strange gloom -began to fill the skies, obscuring the sun, and gradually -becoming darker and darker. It was very strange; for, -while the skies overhead were thus unnaturally black, and -the lapping water around the boats similarly livid, the -low-lying hills at the horizon were singularly keen and intense in -colour. The air was hot and close, though the breeze still -came blowing up Strath-Terry. There was a feeling as if -thunder were imminent, though there were no clouds -anywhere gathering along the purple mountain-tops.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This unusual darkness seemed to affect the fishing. -Round after round they made—touching nothing but one -or two kelts; and this Ronald declared to be a bad sign, -for that when the kelts began to take, there was small chance -of a clean fish. However, Miss Carry did not care. She -had caught her first salmon—that was enough. Nay, it -was sufficient to make her very cheerful and communicative; -and she told him a good deal about her various friends in -the Garden City—but more especially, as it seemed to the -respectful listener, of the young men who, from a humble -beginning, had been largely successful in business; and she -asked him many questions about himself, and was curious -about his relations with Lord Ailine. Of course, she went -on the assumption that the future of the world lay in -America, and that the future of America lay in the bountiful -lap of Chicago: and she half intimated that she could not -understand how any one could waste his time anywhere -else. Her father had been born in a log-cabin; but if -he—that is, Ronald—could see the immense blocks devoted -to 'Hodson's reaper' 'on Clinton and Canal Streets' he -would understand what individual enterprise could achieve -out west. The 'manifest destiny' of Chicago loomed large -in this young lady's mind; the eastern cities were 'not in -it,' so to speak; and Ronald heard with reverence of the -trade with Montana, and Idaho, and Wyoming, and -Colorado, and Utah, and Nevada. It is true that she was -recalled from this imparting of information by a twenty-five -minutes' deadly struggle with a creature that turned out -after all to be a veritable clean salmon: and with this -triumph ended the day's sport; for the afternoon was -rapidly wearing to dusk. The gloom of the evening, by -the way, was not decreased by a vast mass of smoke that -came slowly rolling along between the black sky and the -black lake; though this portentous thing—that looked as if -the whole world were on fire—meant nothing further than -the burning of the heather down Strath-Terry way. When -both cobles were drawn up on the beach, it was found that -Mr. Hodson had also added one clean salmon to his score; -so that the five fish, put in a row on the grass, made a very -goodly display, and were a sufficiently auspicious beginning.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Carry,' said her father, as they walked home together -in the gathering darkness, 'do you know what you are -expected to do? You have caught your first salmon: that -means a sovereign to the men in the boat.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I will give a sovereign to the young fellow,' said she, -'and willingly; but I can't offer money to Ronald.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why not? it is the custom here.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, I declare I couldn't do it. My gracious, no! I -would sooner—I would sooner—no, no, pappa dear, I -could not offer him money.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, we must do something. You see, we are taking -up all his time. I suppose we'll have to send for another -gillie—if you care to go on with that boat——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I should think I did!' she said. 'But why should -you send for another gillie so long as Ronald says he is not -busy? I dare say he can tell us when he is; I don't -believe he's half so shy as he looks. And he's much better -fun than one of these Highlanders; he wants his own way; -and, with all his shyness, he has a pretty good notion of -himself and his own opinions. He don't say you are a fool -if you differ from him; but he makes you feel like it. And -then, besides,' she added lightly, 'we can make it up to -him some way or other. Why, I have been giving him a -great deal of good advice this afternoon.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You? About what?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'About Illinois,' she said.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="wild-times"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XV.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">WILD TIMES.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>What that mysterious gloom had meant on the previous -evening was revealed to them the next morning by a roaring -wind that came swooping down from the Clebrig slopes, -shaking the house, and howling through the bent and -leafless trees. The blue surface of the lake was driven white -with curling tips of foam; great bursts of sunlight sped -across the plains and suddenly lit up the northern hills; -now and again Ben Hope or Ben Hee or Ben Loyal would -disappear altogether behind a vague mass of gray, and then as -quickly break forth again into view, the peaks and shoulders -all aglow and the snow-patches glittering clear and sharp. -The gillies hung about the inn door, disconsolate. Nelly -made no speed with the luncheon-baskets. And probably -Mr. Hodson and his daughter would have relapsed into -letter-writing, reading, and other feeble methods of passing a -rough day in the Highlands, had not Ronald come along and -changed the whole aspect of affairs. For if the wind was -too strong, he pointed out, to admit of their working the -phantom-minnow properly, they might at least try the fly. -There were occasional lulls in the gale. It was something -to do. Would Miss Hodson venture? Miss Hodson replied -by swinging her waterproof on her arm; and they all set out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, it was a wild experiment. At first, indeed, when -they got down to the shores of the loch, the case was quite -hopeless; no boat—much less a shallow flat-bottomed -coble—could have lived in such a sea; and they merely -loitered about, holding themselves firm against the force of -the wind, and regarding as best they might the savage -beauty of the scene around them—the whirling blue and -white of the loch, the disappearing and reappearing hills, -the long promontories suddenly become of a vivid and -startling yellow, and then as suddenly again steeped in -gloom. But Miss Carry was anxious to be aboard.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We should only be driven across to the shore yonder,' -Ronald said; 'or maybe capsized.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, but that would be delightful,' she remarked -instantly. 'I never had my life saved. It would read very -well in the papers.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, but it might end the other way,' her father -interposed. 'And then I don't see where the fun would come -in—though you would get your newspaper paragraph all -the same.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ronald had been watching the clouds and the direction -of the squalls on the loch; there was some appearance of -a lull.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We'll chance it now,' he said to the lad; and forthwith -they shoved the boat into the water, and arranged the -various things.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Carry was laughing. She knew it was an -adventure. Her father remonstrated; but she would not be -hindered. She took her seat in the coble, and got hold of -the rod; then they shoved off and jumped in; and -presently she was paying out the line, to which was attached -a 'silver doctor' about as long as her forefinger. Casting, -of course, was beyond her skill, even had the wind been -less violent; there was nothing for it but to trail the fly -through these rushing and tumbling and hissing waves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And at first everything seemed to go well enough—except -that the coble rolled in the trough of the waves so -that every minute she expected to be pitched overboard. -They were drifting down the wind; with the two oars held -hard in the water to retard the pace; and the dancing -movement of the coble was rather enjoyable; and there -was a kind of fierceness of sunlight and wind and hurrying -water that fired her brain. These poor people lingering on -the shore—what were they afraid of? Why, was there ever -anything so delightful as this—the cry of the wind and the -rush of the water; and everything around in glancing lights -and vivid colours; for the lake was not all of that intense -and driven blue, it became a beautiful roseate purple -where the sunlight struck through the shallows on the long -banks of ruddy sand. She would have waved her cap to -those poor forlorn ones left behind, but that she felt both -hands must be left free in case of emergency.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But alas! that temporary lull in which they had started -was soon over. A sharper squall than any before came -darkening and tearing across the loch; then another and -another; until a downright gale was blowing, and apparently -increasing every moment in violence. Whither were they -drifting? They dared not run the coble ashore; all along -those rocks a heavy sea was breaking white; they would -have been upset and the boat stove in in a couple of -minutes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'This'll never do, Johnnie, lad,' she heard Ronald call -out. 'We'll have to fight her back, and get ashore at the top.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well; we can try.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then the next moment all the situation of affairs -seemed changed. There was no longer that too easy and -rapid surging along of the coble, but apparently an effort -to drive her through an impassable wall of water; while -smash after smash on the bows came the successive waves, -springing into the air, and coming down on the backs of -the men with a rattling volley of spray. Nay, Miss Carry, -too, got her Highland baptism—for all her crouching and -shrinking and ducking; and her laughing face was running -wet; and her eyes—which she would not shut, for they -were fascinated with the miniature rainbows that appeared -from time to time in the whirling spray—were half-blinded. -But she did not seem to care. There was a fierce excitement -and enjoyment in the struggle—for she could see how -hard the men were pulling. And which was getting the -better of the fight—this firm and patient endeavour, or the -fell power of wind and hurrying seas?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then something happened that made her heart -stand still: there was a shriek heard above all the noise -of the waves—and instinctively she caught up the rod and -found the line whirling out underneath her closed fingers. -What was it Ronald had exclaimed? 'Oh, thunder!' or -some such thing; but the next moment he had called to -her in a warning voice—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Sit still—sit still—don't move—never mind the fish—let -him go—he'll break away with the fly and welcome.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it seemed to him cowardly advice too; and she one -behind her father in the score. He sent a glance forward -in a kind of desperation: no, there was no sign of the -squall moderating, and they were a long way from the head -of the loch. Moreover, the salmon, that was either a strong -beast or particularly lively, had already taken out a large -length of line, in the opposite direction.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do you think,' said he hurriedly, 'you could jump -ashore and take the rod with you, if I put you in at the -point down there?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, yes!' she said, eagerly enough.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You will get wet.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I don't care a cent about that—I will do whatever -you say——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He spoke a few words to the lad at the bow; and suddenly -shifted his oar thither.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'As hard as ye can, my lad.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then he seized the rod from her, and began reeling -in the line with an extraordinary rapidity, for now they were -drifting down the loch again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Do ye see the point down there, this side the bay?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'There may be a little shelter there; and we're going -to try to put ye ashore. Hold on to the rod, whatever ye -do; and get a footing as fast as ye can.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And then?' she said. 'What then? What am I to do?'—for -she was rather bewildered—the water still blinding -her eyes, the wind choking her breath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Hold on to the rod—and get in what line ye can.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All this wild, rapid, breathless thing seemed to take -place at once. He gave her the rod; seized hold of his -oar again, and shifted it; then they seemed to be turning the -bow of the boat towards a certain small promontory where -some birch trees and scattered stones faced the rushing -water. What was happening—or going to happen—she -knew not; only that she was to hold on to the rod; and -then there was a sudden grating of the bow on stones—a -smash of spray over the stern—the coble wheeled round—Ronald -had leapt into the water—and, before she knew -where she was, he had seized her by the waist and swung -her ashore—and though she fell, or rather slipped and quietly -sat down on some rocks, she still clung to the rod, and -she hardly had had her feet wet! This was what she knew -of her own position; as for Ronald and the lad, they paid -no further heed to her, for they were seeking to get the -coble safe from the heavy surge; and then again she had -her own affairs to attend to; for the salmon, though it was -blissfully sulking after the first long rushes, might suddenly -make up its mind for cantrips.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then Ronald was by her side again—rather breathless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You've still got hold of him?—that's right—but give -him his own time—let him alone—I don't want him in -here among the stones in rough water like this.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then he said, rather shamefacedly—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I beg your pardon for gripping ye as I had to do—I—I -thought we should have been over—and you would -have got sorely wet.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, that's all right,' she said—seeking in vain amid the -whirling waste of waters for any sign or glimpse of the -salmon. 'But you—you must be very wet—why did you -jump into the water?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, that's nothing—there, let him go!—give him his -own way!—now, reel in a bit—quicker—quicker—that'll -do, now.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As soon as she had got the proper strain on the fish -again, she held out her right hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Pull off my glove, please,' she said—but still with her -eyes intent on the whirling waves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, he unbuttoned the long gauntlet—though the -leather was all saturated with water; but when he tried the -fingers, he could not get them to yield at all; so he had -to pull down the gauntlet over the hand, and haul off the -glove by main force—then he put it in his pocket, for there -was no time to waste on ceremony.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a sudden steady pull on the rod; and away -went the reel.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Let him go—let him go—ah, a good fish, and a clean -fish too! I hope he'll tire himself out there, before we -bring him in among the stones.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Moreover, the gale was abating somewhat, though the -big waves still kept chasing each other in and springing -high on the rocks. She became more eager about getting -the fish. Hitherto, she had been rather excited and -bewildered, and intent only on doing what she was bid; now -the prospect of really landing the salmon had become -joyful.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But how shall we ever get him to come in here?' she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He's bound to come, if the tackle holds; and I'm -thinking he's well hooked, or he'd been off ere now, with -all this scurrying water.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She shifted the rod to her right hand; her left arm was -beginning to feel the continued strain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Has the other boat been out?' she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no,' said he, and then he laughed. 'It would be -a fine thing if we could take back a good fish. I know -well what they were thinking when we let the boat drift -down the second time—they were thinking we had got the -line aground, and were in trouble. And now they canna -see us—it's little they're thinking that we're playing a -fish.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We' and 'us' he said quite naturally; and she, also, -had got into the way of calling him Ronald—as every -one did.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, that was a long and a stiff fight with the salmon; -for whenever it found that it was being towed into the -shallows, away it went again, with rush on rush, so that -Miss Carry had her work cut out for her, and had every -muscle of her arms and back aching.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Twenty pounds, you'll see,' she heard the lad Johnnie -say to his companion; and Ronald answered him—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I would rather than ten shillings it was.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Twenty pounds! She knew that this was rather a rarity -on this loch—ten or eleven pounds being about the average; -and if only she could capture this animal—in the teeth of -a gale too—and go back to the others in triumph, and -also with another tale to tell to Lily Selden! She put more -and more strain on; she had both hands firm on the butt; -her teeth were set hard. Twenty pounds! Or if the hook -should give way? Or the line be cut on a stone? Or the -fish break it with a spring and lash of its tail? Fortunately -she knew but little of the many and heart-rending -accidents that happen in salmon-fishing, so that her fears -were fewer than her hopes; and at last her heart beat -quickly when she saw Ronald take the clip in his hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But he was very cautious; and bade her take time; and -spoke in an equable voice—just as if she were not growing -desperate, and wondering how long her arms would hold -out! Again and again, by dint of tight reeling up and -putting on a deadly strain, she caught a glimpse of the -salmon; and each of these times she thought she could -guide it sailingly towards the spot where Ronald was -crouching down by the rocks; and then again it would turn and -head away and disappear—taking the line very slowly now, -but still taking it. She took advantage of one of these -pauses in the fight to step farther back some two or three -yards; this was at Ronald's direction; and she obeyed -without understanding. But soon she knew the reason; -for at last the salmon seemed to come floating in without -even an effort at refusal; and as she was called on to give -him the butt firmly, she found she could almost drag him -right up and under Ronald's arm. And then there was a -loud 'hurrah!' from the lad John as the big silver fish -gleamed in the air; and the next second it was lying there -on the withered grass and bracken. Miss Carry, indeed, -was so excited that she came near to breaking the top of -the rod; she forgot that the struggle was over; and still -held on tightly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Lower the top, Miss,' the lad John said, 'or ye can -put the rod down altogether.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Indeed he took it from her to lay it down safely, and -right glad was she; for she was pretty well exhausted by -this time, and fain to take a seat on one of the rocks -while they proceeded to weigh the salmon with a pocket-scale.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Seventeen pounds—and a beauty: as pretty a fish as -ever I saw come out of the loch.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, we've managed it, Ronald,' said she, laughing, -'but I don't know how. There he is—sure; but how we -got him out of that hurricane I can't tell.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'There was twice I thought ye had lost him,' said he -gravely. 'The line got desperately slack after ye jumped -ashore——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Jumped ashore?' she said. 'Seems to me I was flung -ashore, like a sack of old clothes.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But ye were not hurt?' said he, glancing quickly at her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no; not a bit—nor even wet; and if I had been, -</span><em class="italics">that</em><span> is enough for anything.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Johnnie, lad, get some rushes, and put the fish in the -box. We'll have a surprise for them when we get back, -I'm thinking.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And can we get back?' she said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We'll try, anyway—oh yes—it's no so bad now.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But still it was a stiff pull; and they did not think it -worth while to put out the line again. Miss Carry devoted -her whole attention to sheltering herself from the spray; -and was fairly successful. When, at length, they reached -the top of the loch and landed, they were treated to a little -mild sarcasm from those who had prudently remained on -shore; but they said nothing; the time was not yet come.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then came the question as to whether all of them could -pull down the opposite side of the loch to the big rock; for -there they would have shelter for lunch; while here in the -open every gust that swooped down from the Clebrig slopes -caught them in mid career. Nay, just then the wind seemed -to moderate; so they made all haste into the cobles; and -in due time the whole party were landed at the rock, which, -with its broad ledges for seats, and its overhanging ferns, -formed a very agreeable and sheltered resort. Of course, -there was but the one thing wanting. A fishing party at -lunch on the shores of a Highland loch is a very picturesque -thing; but it is incomplete without some beautiful -silver-gleaming object in the foreground. There always is a bit -of grass looking as if it were just meant for that display; -and when the little plateau is empty, the picture lacks its -chief point of interest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, you caught something if it wasn't a salmon,' her -father said, glancing at her dripping hat and hair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes, we did,' she answered innocently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You must be wet through in spite of your waterproof. -Sometimes I could not see the boat at all for the showers -of spray. Did you get much shelter where you stopped?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Not much—a little.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'It was a pretty mad trick, your going out at all. -Of course Ronald only went to please you; he must have -known you hadn't a ghost of a chance in a gale like that.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Pappa dear,' said she, 'there's nothing mean about me. -There's many a girl I know would play it on her pa; but -I'm not one of that kind. When I have three kings and a -pair—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Stop it, Carry,' said he angrily, 'I'm tired of your Texas -talk. What do you mean?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I only want to show my hand,' she said sweetly; and -she called aloud—'Johnnie!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The young lad jumped up from the group that were -cowering under the shelter of the stone dyke.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Bring the fish out of the boat, please.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He went down to the coble, and got the salmon out of -the well; and then, before bringing it and placing it on the -grass before the young lady, he held it up in triumph for -the gillies to see: the sarcasm was all the other way now.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You see, pappa dear, you would have bet your boots -against it, wouldn't you?' she remarked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But where did you get it?' he said, in amazement. 'I -was watching your boat all the time. I did not see you -playing a fish.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Because we got ashore as fast as we could, and had -the fight out there. But please, pappa, don't ask me -anything more than that. I don't know what happened. The -wind was choking me, and I was half-blind, and the stones -were slippery and moving, and—and everything was in a -kind of uproar. Perhaps you don't think I did catch the -salmon. If my arms could speak, they could tell you a -different tale just at this minute; and I shall have a back -to-morrow morning, I know that. Seventeen pounds, -Ronald says; and as prettily shaped a fish as he has ever -seen taken out of the lake.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'He is a handsome fish,' her father admitted; and then -he looked up impatiently at the wind-driven sky. 'There -is no doubt there are plenty of fish in the lake, if the weather -would only give us a chance. But it's either a dead calm -or else a raging gale. Why, just look at that!'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For at this moment a heavier gust than ever struck -down on the water—and widened rapidly out—and tore -the tops of the waves into spray—until a whirling gray -cloud seemed to be flying over to the other shores. The -noise and tumult of the squall were indescribable; and -then, in five or six minutes or so, the loch began to reappear -again, black and sullen, from under that mist of foam; and -the wind subsided—only to keep moaning and howling as -if meditating further springs. There was not much use -in hurrying lunch. The gillies had comfortably lit their -pipes. Two of the younger lads were trying their strength -and skill at 'putting the stone;' the others merely lay and -looked on; an occasional glance at the loch told them they -need not stir.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was not jealousy of his daughter having caught a fish -that made Mr. Hodson impatient; it was the waste of time. -He could not find refuge in correspondence; he had no -book with him; while gazing at scenery is a feeble substitute -for salmon-fishing, if the latter be your aim. And then -again the loch was very tantalising—awaking delusive hopes -every few minutes. Sometimes it would become almost -quiet—save for certain little black puffs of wind that fell -vertically and widened and widened out; and they would -be on the point of summoning the men to the cobles when, -with a low growl and then a louder roar, the gale would be -rushing down again, and the storm witches' white hair -streaming across the suddenly darkened waters.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'"Ben Clebrig—the Hill of the Playing Trout,"' said -he peevishly. 'I don't believe a word of it. Why, the -Celtic races were famous for giving characteristic names to -places—describing the things accurately. "The Hill of -the Playing Trout!" Now, if they had called it "The Hill -of the Infernal Whirlwinds," or "The Hill of Blasts and -Hurricanes," or something of that kind, it would have been -nearer the mark. And this very day last year, according -to the list that Ronald has, they got nine salmon.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Perhaps we may get the other eight yet, pappa,' said -she lightly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And indeed, shortly after this, the day seemed to be -getting a little quieter; and her father decided upon a start. -The men came along to the coble. Ronald said to her—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'We will let them get well ahead of us; it's their turn -now.' And so he and she and the lad John remained on -the shore, looking after the departing boat, and in all sincerity -wishing them good luck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Presently she said, 'What's that?'—for something had -struck her sharply on the cheek. It was a heavy drop of -rain, that a swirl of wind had sent round the side of the -rock; and now she became aware that everywhere beyond -their shelter there was a loud pattering, becoming every -moment heavier and heavier, while the wind rose and rose -into an ominous high screeching. And then all round -there was a hissing and a roar and from under the rock -she looked forth on the most extraordinary phantasmagoria—for -now the sheets of rain as they fell and broke on the -water were caught by the angry mountain blasts and torn -into spindrift, so that the whole lake seemed to be a mass -of white smoke. And her father?—well, she could see -something like the ghost of a boat and two or three -phantom figures; but whether they were trying to fight their -way, or letting everything go before the tempest, or what, -she could not make out—for the whirling white rain-smoke -made a mere spectral vision of them. Ronald came to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'That's bad luck,' said he composedly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What?' she asked, quickly. 'They are not in danger?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no,' said he. 'But they've got both minnows -aground, as far as I can make out.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But what about that? why don't they throw the rods -and everything overboard, and get into safety?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, they'll try to save the minnows, I'm thinking.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And they did succeed in doing so—after a long and -strenuous struggle; and then Mr. Hodson was glad to have -them row him back to the shelter of the rock. Apparently -his success with regard to the minnows had put him into -quite a good humour.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Carry,' said he, 'I'm not an obstinate man—I know -when I've got enough. I will allow that this battle is too -much for me. I'm going home. I'm going to walk.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Then I will go with you, pappa,' she said promptly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You may stay if you choose,' said he. 'You may stay -and take my share as well as your own. But I'm going to -see what newspapers the mail brought this morning; and -there may be letters.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And I have plenty to do also,' said she. 'I mean to -call on that pretty Miss Douglas I told you of—the Doctor's -daughter. And do you think she would come along and -dine with us?—or must I ask her mother as well?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I don't know what the society rules are here,' he -answered. 'I suspect you will have to find out.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And Ronald—do you think he would come in and -spend the evening with us? I can't find out anything -about him—it's all phantom-minnows and things when he -is in the boat.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, I should like that too,' said he: for he could -not forsake the theories which he had so frequently -propounded to her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And so they set forth for the inn, leaving the men to -get the boats back when they could; and after a long and -brave battling with rain and wind they achieved shelter at -last. And then Miss Carry had to decide what costume -would be most appropriate for an afternoon call in the -Highlands—on a day filled with pulsating hurricanes. -Her bodice of blue with its regimental gold braid she -might fairly adopt—for it could be covered over and -protected; but her James I. hat with its gray and saffron -plumes she had to discard—she had no wish to see it -suddenly whirling away in the direction of Ben Loyal.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="dreams-and-visions"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVI.</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold medium">DREAMS AND VISIONS.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Miss Hodson was in no kind of anxiety or embarrassment -about this visit; she had quite sufficient reliance on her -own tact; and when, going along to the Doctor's cottage, -she found Meenie alone in that little room of hers, she -explained the whole situation very prettily and simply and -naturally. Two girls thrown together in this remote and -solitary place, with scarcely any one else to talk with; why -should they not know each other? That was the sum and -substance of her appeal; with a little touch here and there -about her being a stranger, and not sure of the ways and -customs of this country that she found herself in. And -then Meenie, who was perhaps a trifle overawed at first by -this resplendent visitor, was almost inclined to smile at the -notion that any apology was necessary, and said in her -gentle and quiet way—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh, but it is very kind of you. And if you had lived -in one or two Scotch parishes, you would know that the -minister's family and the doctor's family are supposed to -know every one.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She did not add 'and be at every one's disposal'—for -that might have seemed a little rude. However, the -introduction was over and done with; and Miss Carry set -herself to work to make herself agreeable—which she could -do very easily when she liked. As yet she kept the -invitation to dinner in the background; talked of all kinds -of things—the salmon-fishing, the children's soirée she had -heard of; Ronald; Ronald's brother the minister; and her -wonder that Ronald should be content with his present -position; and always those bright dark eyes seemed to be -scanning everything in the room with a pleased curiosity, -and then again and again returning to Meenie's face, and -her dress, and her way of wearing her hair, with a frank -scrutiny which made the country mouse not a little shy in -the presence of this ornate town mouse. For Miss Carry, -with her upper wrappings discarded, was not only very -prettily attired, but also she had about her all kinds of -nick-nacks and bits of finery that seemed to have come -from many lands, and to add to her foreign look. Of -course, a woman's glance—even the glance of a shy -Highland girl—takes note of these things; and they seemed -but part of the unusual character and appearance of this -stranger, who seemed so delicate and fragile, and yet was -full of an eager vivacity and talkativeness, and whose soft, -large, black eyes, if they seemed to wander quickly and -restlessly from one object to another, were clearly so full of -kindness and a wish to make friends. And very friendly -indeed she was; and she had nothing but praise for the -Highlands, and Highland scenery, and Highland manners, -and even the Highland accent.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I suppose I have an accent myself; but of course -I don't know it,' she rattled on. 'Even at home they -say our western accent is pretty bad. Well, I suppose I -have got it; but anyway I am not ashamed of it, and I -am not in a hurry to change it. I have heard of American -girls in Europe who were most afraid to speak lest they -should be found out—-found out! Why, I don't see that -English girls try to hide their accent, or want to copy any -one else; and I don't see why American girls should be -ashamed of having an American accent. Your accent, -now; I have been trying to make out what it is, but I -can't. It is very pretty; and not the least like the -English way of talking; but I can't just make out where the -difference is.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For this young lady had a desperately direct way of -addressing any one. She seemed to perceive no -atmosphere of conventionality between person and person; it -was brain to brain, direct; and no pausing to judge of the -effect of sentences.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I know my mother says that I speak in the Highland -way,' Meenie said, with a smile.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'There now, I declare,' said Miss Hodson, 'that did not -sound like an English person speaking, and yet I could not -tell you where the difference was. I really think it is more -manner than accent. The boatmen and the girls at the -inn—they all speak as if they were anxious to please you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Then it cannot be a very disagreeable accent,' said -Meenie, laughing in her quiet way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'No, no; I like it. I like it very much. Ronald now, -has nothing of that; he is positive and dogmatic—I would -say gruff in his way of talking, if he was not so obliging. -But he is very obliging and good-natured; there is just -nothing he won't do for us—and we are perfect strangers -to him.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And so she prattled on, apparently quite satisfied that -now they were good friends; while Meenie had almost -forgotten her shyness in the interest with which she -listened to this remarkable young lady who had been all over -the world and yet took her travelling so much as a matter -of course. Then Miss Hodson said—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'You know my father and I soon exhaust our remarks -on the events of the day when we sit down to dinner; -and we were wondering whether you would take pity on -our solitude and come along and dine with us this evening. -Will you? I wish you would—it would be just too kind -of you.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meenie hesitated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I would like very well,' said she, 'but—but my mother -and the lad have driven away to Tongue to fetch my -father home—and it may be late before they are back——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'The greater reason why you should come—why, to -think of your sitting here alone! I will come along for -you myself. And if you are afraid of having too much of -the star-spangled banner, we'll get somebody else in who -is not an American; I mean to ask Ronald if he will come -in and spend the evening with us—or come in to dinner -as well, if he has time——'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Now the moment she uttered these words she perceived -the mistake she had made. Meenie all at once looked -troubled, conscious, apprehensive—there was a touch of -extra colour in her face: perhaps she was annoyed that -she was betraying this embarrassment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I think some other night, if you please,' the girl said, -in a low voice, and with her eyes cast down, 'some other -night, when mamma is at home—I would like to ask her -first.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Class distinctions,' said Miss Carry to herself, as she -regarded this embarrassment with her observant eyes. -'Fancy class distinctions in a little community like this—in -mid-winter too! Of course the Doctor's daughter must -not sit down to dinner with Lord Ailine's head keeper.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But she could not offer to leave Ronald out—that -would but have added to the girl's confusion, whatever was -the cause of it. She merely said lightly—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Very well, then, some other evening you will take -pity on us—and I hope before I go to Paris. And then -I want you to let me come in now and again and have a -cup of tea with you; and I get all the illustrated periodicals -sent me from home—with the fashion-plates, you know.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She rose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What a nice room—it is all your own, I suppose?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh yes; that is why it is so untidy.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But I like to see a room look as if it was being used. -Well, now, what are these?' she said, going to the -mantel-shelf, where a row of bottles stood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'These are medicines.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Why, you don't look sick,' the other said, turning -suddenly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh no. These are a few simple things that my father -leaves with me when he goes from home—they are for -children mostly—and the people have as much faith in me -as in anybody,' Meenie said, with a shy laugh. 'Papa -says I can't do any harm with them, in any case; and the -people are pleased.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Hush, hush, dear, you must not tell me any secrets of -that kind,' said Miss Carry gravely; and then she -proceeded to get on her winter wraps.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meenie went downstairs with her, and at the door -would see that she was all properly protected and buttoned -up about the throat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'For it is very brave of you to come into -Sutherlandshire in the winter,' said she; 'we hardly expect to see -any one until the summer is near at hand.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Then you will let me come and have some tea with -you at times, will you not?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Oh yes—if you will be so kind.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They said good-bye and shook hands; and then Miss -Carry thought that Meenie looked so pretty and so shy, -and had so much appealing gentleness and friendliness in -the clear, transparent, timid blue-gray eyes, that she kissed -her, and said 'Good-bye, dear,' again, and went out into -the dusk and driving wind of the afternoon, entirely well -pleased with her visit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it seemed as though she were about to be disappointed -in both directions; for when she called in at -Ronald's cottage he was not there; and when she returned -to the inn, he was not to be found, nor could any one say -whither he had gone. She and her father dined by -themselves. She did not say why Meenie had declined to come -along and join them; but she had formed her own opinion -on that point; and the more she thought of it, the more -absurd it seemed to her that this small handful of people -living all by themselves in the solitude of the mountains -should think it necessary to observe social distinctions. -Was not Ronald, she asked herself, fit to associate with -any one? But then she remembered that the Highlanders -were said to be very proud of their descent; and -she had heard something about Glengask and Orosay; and -she resolved that in the future she would be more -circumspect in the matter of invitations.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>About half-past eight or so the pretty Nelly appeared -with the message that Ronald was in the inn, and had -heard that he was being asked for.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'What will I tell him ye want, sir?' she said, naturally -assuming that Ronald was to be ordered to do something.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Give him my compliments,' said Mr. Hodson, 'and say -we should be obliged if he would come in and smoke a pipe -and have a chat with us, if he has nothing better to do.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Nelly either thought this was too much politeness -to be thrown away on the handsome keeper, or else she -had some small private quarrel with him; for all she said -to him, and that brusquely, was—</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald, you're wanted in the parlour.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Accordingly, when he came along the passage, and -tapped at the door and opened it, he stood there uncertain, -cap in hand. And Mr. Hodson had to repeat the -invitation—explaining that they had wanted him to have some -dinner with them, but that he could not be found; and -then Ronald, with less of embarrassment than might have -been expected—for he knew these two people better -now—shut the door, and laid down his cap, and modestly -advanced to the chair that Mr. Hodson had drawn in -towards one side of the big fireplace. Miss Carry was -seated apart on a sofa, apparently engaged in some sort of -knitting work; but her big black eyes could easily be -raised when there was need, and she could join in the -conversation when she chose.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At first that was mostly about the adjacent shooting, -which Mr. Hodson thought of taking for a season merely -by way of experiment; and the question was how long he -would in that case have to be away from his native country. -This naturally took them to America, and eventually and -alas! to politics—which to Miss Carry was but as the -eating of chopped straw. However, Mr. Hodson (if you -could keep the existence of lords out of his reach) was no -very violent polemic; and moreover, whenever the Bird of -Freedom began to clap its wings too loudly, was there not -on the sofa there a not inattentive young lady to interfere -with a little gentle sarcasm? Sometimes, indeed, her -interpositions were both uncalled for and unfair; and -sometimes they were not quite clearly intelligible. When, -for example, they were talking of the colossal statue of -Liberty enlightening the World which the French Republic -proposed to present to the American Republic to be set -up in New York Bay, she pretended not to know in which -direction—east or west—the giant figure was to extend -her light and liberty-giving arm; and her objection to her -father's definition of the caucus system as a despotism -tempered by bolting, was a still darker saying of which -Ronald could make nothing whatever. But what of that? -Whatever else was veiled to him, this was clear—that her -interference was on his behalf, so that he should not be -overpressed in argument or handicapped for lack of -information; and he was very grateful to her, naturally; and -far from anxious to say anything against a country that -had sent him so fair and so generous an ally.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But, after all, was not this laudation of the institutions -of the United States meant only as a kindness—as an -inducement to him to go thither, and better his position? -There was the field where the race was to the swiftest, -where the best man got to the front, and took the prize -which he had fairly won. There no accident of birth, no -traditional usage, was a hindrance. The very largeness of -the area gave to the individual largeness of view.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Yes,' said Miss Carry (but they took no heed of her -impertinence) 'in our country a bar-tender mixes drinks -with his mind fixed on Niagara.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nay, the very effort to arouse dissatisfaction in the -bosom of this man who seemed all too well contented with -his circumstances was in itself meant as a kindness. Why -should he be content? Why should he not get on? It -was all very well to have health and strength and high -spirits, and to sing tenor songs, and be a favourite with the -farm-lasses; but that could not last for ever. He was -throwing away his life. His chances were going by him. -Why, at his age, what had so-and-so done, and what had -so-and-so not done? And how had they started? What -did they owe to fortune—what, rather, to their own -resolution and brain?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Ronald, my good fellow,' said his Mentor, in the most -kindly way, 'if I could only get you to breathe the -atmosphere of Chicago for a fortnight, I am pretty sure you -wouldn't come back to stalk deer and train dogs for Lord -Ailine or any other lordship.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Miss Carry said nothing; but she pictured to herself -Ronald passing down Madison Street—no longer, of course, -in his weather-tanned stalking costume, but attired as the -other young gentlemen to be found there; and going into -Burke's Hotel for an oyster luncheon; and coming out -again chewing a toothpick; and strolling on to the Grand -Pacific to look at the latest telegrams. And she smiled -(though, indeed, she herself had not been behindhand in -urging him to get out of his present estate and better his -fortunes), for there was something curiously incongruous in -that picture; and she was quite convinced that in Wabash -Avenue he would not look nearly as handsome nor so much -at his ease as now he did.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I am afraid,' said he, with a laugh, 'if ye put me down -in a place like that, I should be sorely at a loss to tell what -to turn my hand to. It's rather late in the day for me to -begin and learn a new trade.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Nonsense, man,' the other said. 'You have the knowledge -already, if you only knew how to apply it.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'The knowledge?' Ronald repeated, with some surprise. -Most of his book-reading had been in the field of -English poetry; and he did not see how he could carry -that to market.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Hodson took out his note-book; and began to -look over the leaves.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And you don't need to go as far as Chicago, if you -would rather not,' said he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'If you do,' said Miss Carry flippantly, 'mind you don't -eat any of our pork. Pappa dear, do you know why a -wise man doesn't eat pork in Illinois? Don't you know? -It is because there is a trichinosis worth two of that.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Ronald laughed; but her father was too busy to attend -to such idiotcy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Even if you would rather remain in the old country,' -he continued, 'and enjoy an out-of-door life, why should -you not make use of what you already know? I have -heard you talk about the draining of soil, and planting of -trees, and so on: well, look here now. I have been -inquiring into that matter; and I find that the Highland -and Agricultural Society of Scotland grants certificates for -proficiency in the theory and practice of forestry. Why -shouldn't you try to gain one of those certificates; and -then apply for the post of land-steward? I'll bet you -could manage an estate as well as most of them who are at -it—especially one of those Highland sporting estates. -And then you would become a person of importance; and -not be at any lordship's beck and call; you would have an -opportunity of beginning to make a fortune, if not of making -one at once; and if you wanted to marry, there would be -a substantial future for you to look to.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'And then you would come over and see us at Chicago,' -said Miss Carry. 'We live on North Park Avenue; and -you would not feel lonely for want of a lake to look -at—we've a pretty big one there.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'But the first step—about the certificate?' said Ronald -doubtfully—though, indeed, the interest that these two kindly -people showed in him was very delightful, and he was -abundantly grateful, and perhaps also a trifle bewildered -by these ambitious and seductive dreams.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'Well, I should judge that would be easy enough,' -continued Mr. Hodson, again referring to his note-book in -that methodical, slow-mannered way of his. 'You would -have to go to Edinburgh or Glasgow, and attend some -classes, I should imagine, for they want you to know -something of surveying and geology and chemistry and botany. -Some of these you could read up here—for you have plenty -of leisure, and the subjects are just at your hand. I don't -see any difficulty about that. I suppose you have saved -something now, that you could maintain yourself when you -were at the classes?'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I could manage for a while,' was the modest answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I have myself several times thought of buying an estate -in the Highlands,' Mr. Hodson continued, 'if I found that -I have not forgotten altogether how to handle a gun; and -if I did so, I would give you the management right off. But -it would not do for you to risk such a chance; what you -want is to qualify yourself, so that you can take your stand -on your own capacity, and demand the market value for it.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, it was a flattering proposal; and this calm, -shrewd-headed man seemed to consider it easily practicable—and -as the kind of thing that a young man in his country would -naturally make for and achieve; while the young lady on -the sofa had now thrown aside the pretence of knitting, -and was regarding him with eloquent eyes, and talking as -if it were all settled and attained, and Ronald already -become an enterprising and prosperous manager, whom -they should come to see when they visited Scotland, and -who was certainly to be their guest when he crossed the -Atlantic. No wonder his head was turned. Everything -seemed so easy—why, both she and her father appeared to -be surrounded, when at home, with men who had begun -with nothing and made fortunes. And then he would not -be torn away altogether from the hills. He might still have -a glimpse of the dun deer from time to time; there would -still be the dewy mornings by lake and strath and mountain-tarn, -with the stumbling on a bit of white heather, and the -picking it and wearing it for luck. And if he had to bid -farewell to Clebrig and Ben Loyal and Ben Hope and -Bonnie Strath-Naver—well, there were other districts far -more beautiful than that, as well he knew, where he would -still hear the curlew whistle, and the grouse-cock crow in -the evening, and the great stags bellow their challenge -through the mists of the dawn. And as for a visit to -Chicago?—and a view of great cities, and harbours, and -the wide activities of the world?—surely all that was a -wonderful dream, if only it might come true!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>'I'm sure I beg your pardon,' said he, rising, 'for letting -ye talk all this time about my small affairs. I think you'll -have a quieter day to-morrow; the wind has backed to the -east; and that is a very good wind for this loch. And I've -brought the minnows that I took to mend; the kelts are -awful beasts for destroying the minnows.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He put the metal box on the mantelpiece. They would -have had him stay longer—and Miss Carry, indeed, called -reproaches down on her head that she had not asked him -to smoke nor offered him any kind of hospitality—but he -begged to be excused. And so he went out and got home -through the cold dark night—to his snug little room and -the peat-fire, and his pipe and papers and meditations.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A wonderful dream, truly—and all to be achieved by -the reading up of a few subjects of some of which he -already knew more than a smattering. And why should -he not try? It seemed the way of the world—at least, of -the world of which he had been learning so much from -these strangers—to strive and push forward and secure, if -possible, means and independence. Why should he remain -at Inver-Mudal? The old careless happiness had fled from -it. Meenie had passed him twice now—each time merely -giving him a formal greeting, and yet, somehow, as he -imagined, with a timid trouble in her eyes, as if she was -sorry to do that. Her superintendence of Maggie's lessons -was more restricted now; and never by any chance did she -come near the cottage when he was within or about. The -old friendliness was gone; the old happy companionship—however -restricted and respectful on his side; the old, -frank appeal for his aid and counsel when any of her own -small schemes had to be undertaken. And was she in -trouble on his account?—and had the majesty of Glengask -and Orosay been invoked? Well, that possibility need -harrow no human soul. If his acquaintanceship—or -companionship, in a measure—with Meenie was considered -undesirable, there was an easy way out of the difficulty. -Acquaintanceship or companionship, whichever it might be, -it would end—it had ended.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And then again, he said to himself, as he sate at the -little table and turned over those leaves that contained -many a gay morning song and many a midnight musing—but -all about Meenie, and the birds and flowers and hills -and streams that knew her—soon she would be away from -Inver-Mudal, and what would the place be like then? -Perhaps when the young corn was springing she would take -her departure; and what would the world be like when she -had left? He could see her seated in the little carriage; -her face not quite so bright and cheerful as usually it was; -her eyes—that were sometimes as blue as a speedwell in -June, and sometimes gray like the luminous clear gray of -the morning sky—perhaps clouded a little; and the -sensitive lips trembling? The children would be there, to -bid her good-bye. And then away through the lonely glens -she would go, by hill and river and wood, till they came in -sight of the western ocean, and Loch Inver, and the great -steamer to carry her to the south. Meenie would be -away—and Inver-Mudal, </span><em class="italics">then</em><span>?</span></p> -<div class="line-block outermost"> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Small birds in the corn</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Are cowering and quailing:</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O my lost love,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Whence are you sailing?</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Fierce the gale blows</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Adown the bleak river;</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The valley is empty</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">For ever and ever.</span></div> -<div class="line"> </div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Out on the seas,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">The night-winds are wailing:</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">O my lost love,</span></div> -<div class="line"><span class="italics">Whence are you sailing?</span></div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>END OF VOL. I.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>WHITE HEATHER (VOLUME I OF 3)</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We will update this book if we find any errors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book can be found under: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43444"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43444</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one -owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and -you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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