'■^^
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UWVERSITY Of CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE 
 
 '^^■)^ 
 
 Ex Libris 
 ISAAC FOOT
 
 ^ M.B., Ch. ^ 
 
 %
 
 V
 
 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRa.
 
 DONALD KOSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM BLACK 
 
 NEW AND REVISED EDITION 
 
 LONDON 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY 
 
 LIMITED 
 
 1894 
 
 [All rights reserved.]
 
 ?K4 1 Z^ 
 
 LONDUA ; 
 
 PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SOiVS, LIMITKL., 
 OTAMFOSD STREET AND CHAiliNli OKOSjS.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 I. 
 
 GODIVA 
 
 II. 
 
 Young Donald 
 
 III. 
 
 The Cave of The Crowing Cock 
 
 IV. 
 
 The Baintighearna 
 
 V. 
 
 The Meall-na-Fearn Bog 
 
 VI. 
 
 GiLLEASBUIG MOR . 
 
 VII. 
 
 The Pirate's Laik . 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Face to Face. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The Battle of Ru-Minard . 
 
 X. 
 
 A Visitor .... 
 
 XL 
 
 A Deforcement 
 
 XII. 
 
 A Crofters' Commission 
 
 XIII. 
 
 Her Gcest .... 
 
 XIV. 
 
 On Garra's Banks . 
 
 XV. 
 
 A Threatened Invasion. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 " Kain to the King the Morn ! ' 
 
 XVII. 
 
 A Revolution that Failed . 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Smoke and Flame . 
 
 XIX. 
 
 A Summons .... 
 
 XX. 
 
 A Forecast .... 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Slow but Sure 
 
 XXII. 
 
 A Pious Pilgrimage 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 HabetI .... 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 " 'Twas when the Seas were Roj 
 
 XXV. 
 
 A Mission • . . . 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 The Banabhard , 
 
 PAGE 
 1 
 
 14 
 
 28 
 44 
 59 
 76 
 91 
 106 
 120 
 135 
 149 
 16.3 
 175 
 189 
 203 
 217 
 231 
 245 
 259 
 274 
 289 
 305 
 319 
 332 
 345 
 358
 
 DONALD BOSS OF HEIMKA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GODIVA. 
 
 " Well, Mary, it is a pretty play thing to have given you — • 
 a Highland Estate ! — and no doubt all your fine schemes 
 will come right. But you will have to change three things 
 first." 
 
 " Yes ? " 
 
 " And these are human nature and the soil and climate 
 of Scotland." 
 
 " Avaunt, Mephistopheles ! — and go and give that porter 
 a shilling." 
 
 The two speakers were on the platform of Invershin 
 station, on the Highland line of railway. One of them 
 was a tall young woman of distinguished presence and 
 somewhat impei-ious carriage, as you could gather at a first 
 glance ; but the next second, if she happened to turn her 
 face towards you, you would have perceived that her ex- 
 pression meant nothing but a bland gentleness and a pre- 
 vailing and excellent good-humour. Perhaps it was the 
 dimple in her cheek that did it — a dimple that came there 
 readily whenever she regarded any one, and that seemed 
 to say she was very willing to be pleased and to please : 
 at all events, she found it easy, or had hitherto found it 
 easy, to make friends. For the rest, she was of an erect 
 and elegant figure ; her complexion fair ; her eyes grey- 
 green, and full of light ; her abundant hair of a sunny 
 brown ; her features regular enough and fine enough for 
 all practical purposes. It was of this young woman that 
 
 B 
 
 »
 
 2 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 her friend and now her travelling companion, Kate Glen- 
 dinning, was in the habit of saying — 
 
 " There's one thing I will confess about Mary Stanley : 
 she's not quite honest. She is too happy. She is so happy 
 in herself that she wants every one she meets to share in 
 her content ; and she is apt to say clever and flattering 
 little things that are not quite true. It is for no selfish 
 purpose ; quite the reverse : still — you mustn't believe all 
 that Mary says to you." 
 
 Thus Kate Glendinning of her dearest friend ; but if any 
 one else had ventured to say similar things in her pre- 
 sence — then, and right swiftly, there would have been 
 pretty tempests and flashes of eye-lighting. 
 
 And now there came up to Miss Stanley a short, stumpy, 
 red-haired and red-ljearded man of extraordinary breadth 
 of shoulder and bulk of frame. He had a massive head 
 despite his diminutive height ; his mouth, drawn heavily 
 down at each end, betokened a determined will, not to say 
 a dogged obstinacy ; and his small, clear, blue eyes, besides 
 being sharp and intelligent, had a curious kind of cold 
 aggressiveness in them — that is to say, when he was not 
 talking to one whom it was his interest to propitiate, for 
 then he could assume a sort of clumsy humility, both in 
 manner and speech. This was Mr. David Purdie, solicitor, 
 of Inverness. An Troich Bheag Dhearg — that is to say, 
 the Little Red Dwarf — the people out at Lochgarra called 
 him ; but Mr. Purdie did not know that. 
 
 " The carriage is quite ready, Miss Stanley," said he, in 
 his slow deliberate, south-country accent ; and therewithal 
 the three of them passed round to the back of the station 
 and entered the waggonette, Mr. Purdie modestly taking 
 a seat by the driver. The two you.ng ladies were well 
 wrapped up, for it was in the beginning of April, and they 
 had fifty miles before them, out to the Atlantic coast. Kate 
 Glendinning, in looking after her companion's abundant 
 furs and rugs, rather affected to play the part of maid ; 
 for this shrewd and sensible lass, who was in rather poor 
 circumstances, had consented to accept a salary from her 
 fi-iend who was so much better off"; and she performed 
 her various self-imposed duties with a tact and discretion 
 beyond all praise.
 
 GODIVA 3 
 
 And as they drove away on this clear-shining afternoon, 
 Mary Stanley's face was something to study. She was 
 all eagerness and impatience; the colour mantled in her 
 cheeks ; her brain was so busy that she had scarcely a 
 word for her neighbour. For she had heard a good deal 
 and read much more, in Parliamentary debates and else- 
 where, of the sufferings of the crofters, of the iniquities 
 that had been practised on them by tyrannical landlords 
 and factors, of the lamentations of the poor homeless ones 
 thrust forth from their native shores ; and now, in this 
 little bit of the world that had so unexpectedly become 
 hers, and in as far as she was able, wrong was to be put 
 right, amends were to be made, and peace and amity, and 
 comfort and prosperity were to be established for ever and 
 ever. Perhaps the transcendental vision of the prophet 
 Isaiah was haunting her : " The wilderness and the solitary 
 place shall be glad . . . and the desert shall rejoice, and 
 blossom as the rose." And if she were to summon back 
 the poor exiles who had been banished — banished to the 
 slums of Glasgow, perchance, or to the far plains of Mani- 
 toba ? . . " And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, 
 and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon 
 their heads ; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and 
 sorrow and sighing shall flee away." To be sure, as they 
 now drove along the wide and fertile valley that is pene- 
 trated by the Kyle of Sutherland, she did not meet with 
 much evidence of the destitution she had been led to 
 expect. She had heard of bleak wastes and sterile alti- 
 tudes, of ruined huts and dismantled steadings \ but here, 
 under the softly-wooded hills, were long and level stretches 
 of arable land, the ploughmen busy at their work ; the 
 occasional crofts were very far indeed from being hovels ; 
 and the people whom they saw, in the bits of gardens, or 
 tending the cattle, looked well-clothed and well-fed. She 
 ventured to hint something of this to her companion ; and 
 Kate, glancing at her, began to giggle. 
 
 " I really believe you are disappointed, Mary ! Is there 
 not enough misery for you ? But never fear. If it's misery 
 you're in search of, you have seldom far to go for it, in 
 this world. Only I must tell you this — if you're so eager 
 to relieve distress — that there is more of wretchedness, and 
 
 B 2
 
 4 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 crime, and squalor, and piteous human suffering in a single 
 square mile of the slums of London or New York than 
 you'll find in the whole of the Highlands of Scotland." 
 
 "That may be," said Miss Stanley, in her calm and 
 equable fashion. " But you see, Kathchen, I have no call 
 that way, I do not feel a direct responsibility, as I do in 
 this case — " 
 
 " It is a responsibility you are making for yourself," her 
 friend said. "You know very well it was not for that 
 your uncle left you the property. It was merely to spite 
 your father and your brothers." 
 
 "There was a little moi'e," was the good-natured reply 
 (for she did not seem to resent this reference to her 
 amiable relative). "I thinli it was to spite the people out 
 there as well. My uncle and they never could get on ; 
 and he was not a man who liked to be thwarted. And of 
 course he imagined that I, being a woman, would not 
 interfere ; that I would leave the estate to be managed by 
 Mr. Purdie, and simply receive the rents. Well," she 
 continued, and here she lowered her voice somewhat, and 
 there was a touch of colour in her face that was perhaps 
 the expression of some definite resolve, " I may allow Mr. 
 Purdie to manage the estate, or I may not. But if he 
 does continue to manage the estate, it will be under my 
 direction." 
 
 Kathchen looked at her, and laughed a little. 
 
 " I don't think Mr. Purdie knows whom he has got to 
 deal with," said she, under her breath. 
 
 They stopped that night at Oykel Bridge. Miss Stanley 
 invited Mr. Purdie to dine with them ; but he declined on 
 the ground that he had business in the neighbourhood — an 
 odd excuse, for the inn and its dependencies constitute the 
 remote little hamlet. The two young women passed the 
 evening by themselves, and talked : the one with generous 
 ardour entering into all her wonderful schemes, the other 
 (who knew the country, and the people) interposing now 
 and again with a little modifying information. But really 
 Kathchen was not unsympathic. Her eyes, which were 
 the attractive feature of her face, sometimes expressed a 
 trifle of demure amusement ; but she was not a quarrel- 
 some or argumentative creature ; and besides there is
 
 GODIVA 5 
 
 something about all fine humanitarian projects that one 
 would rather believe in and welcome. 
 
 Next morning they resumed their drive, and very soon 
 entered a much wilder country than that of the jjreceding 
 day. Wilder but nevertheless beautiful — with its range 
 upon range of russet hills, wine-stained here and there 
 with shadow ; its woods of leafless birch of a soft dark 
 rose-lilac ; its long undulations of waste moorland, yellow 
 and brown ; with now and again the sudden blue scythe- 
 sweep of the river. For now they were traversing the 
 lonely district of upper Strath-Oykel. Far ahead of them 
 rose the giant bulk of Ben More, Assynt its higher shoulders 
 a solid mass of white. The sunlight around them was 
 cheerful no doubt ; and yet there was a strange sense of 
 solitariness, of voicelessness ; and Mary, who was less con- 
 cerned about the beauty of the landscape than about certain 
 problems haunting her mind, called out to Mr. Purdie, who 
 Avas again up beside the driver — 
 
 "Mr. Purdie, why are there no people living in this 
 country 1 " 
 
 " Because there's nothing for them to live on," was the 
 laconic answer. " It's fit for nothing but grazing sheep — 
 and for grouse." 
 
 << 
 
 'Yes — the hills, perhaps," said she. "But look along 
 the valley — by the side of the river." 
 
 "Ay, it's fine land, that," said he, grimly,— "for a 
 wheen pesewepes ! " And indeed the plovers were the 
 only visible living things, jerking about in the air, dipping 
 suddenly to the ground and swiftly rising again, with 
 their curious squeaking call, and the soft velvet flufiing of 
 their wings. 
 
 However, all that was nothing. By and by they had 
 left the Oykel strath, and had entered upon a far higher 
 and bleaker region, the desolation of which appalled her. 
 There was not even the solitary shepherd's cottage they 
 had seen down in the other valley ; here was nothing but 
 a wildei'ness of brown and ragged moorland, with deep 
 black clefts of peat, and an occasional small tarn, without a 
 bush along its shores, its waters driven a deep blue by 
 the wind. Away in the west they could make out the 
 spectral shapes of the Assynt mountains— Coul Beg, Coul
 
 6 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 More, and Suilven — remote and visionary through the uni- 
 versal haze of the heather-burning; but here, all around 
 them, were these endless and featureless and melancholy 
 undulations ; and the silence was now unbroken even by 
 the curious bleating of the plovers : once, and once only, 
 they heard the hoarse and distant croak of a raven. 
 
 "Kathchen," said Mary, in a sort of piteous dismay, 
 as she looked abroad over those sombre solitudes, "you 
 have been all along the Ross and Cromarty coast ; is it 
 like that ? " 
 
 " Plenty of it worse," was the reply. 
 
 "And — and — my place : is it like that V 
 
 " I have never been into Lochgarra." 
 
 " But — but if it is like that — what am I to do for my 
 people % " 
 
 " The best you can," said Kathchen, cheerfully. 
 
 It seemed an interminable drive. And then, in the 
 afternoon, a premature darkness came slowly over; the 
 mountains in the north gradually receded out of sight ; 
 and heavy, steady rain began to fall. The two girls sat 
 huddled underneath one umbrella, listening to the pattering 
 footfalls of the horses and the grinding of the wheels on 
 the road ; and when they ventured to peep forth from their 
 shelter they beheld but the same monotonous features in 
 the landscape : masses of wet rock and dark russet heather, 
 black swamps, low and bare hills, and now and again the 
 grey glimmer of a stream or tarn. It was a cheerless out- 
 look ; continually changing, and yet ever the same ; and 
 hour after hour the rain came down wearily. There was 
 hardly a word said between those two : whither had fled 
 Mary Stanley's dream of a shining blue sea, a sunny coast- 
 line, and a happy peasantry busy in their fields and gardens, 
 their white cottages radiant in the morning light ? Kath- 
 chen, on the other hand, was inclined to laugh ruefully. 
 
 " Isn't it a good thing, Mary, that duty brought us 
 here ? If it had been pleasure, we should be calling our- 
 selves awful fools." 
 
 But quite of a sudden this hopeless resignation vanished, 
 and a wild excitement took its place. 
 
 " Miss Stanley," Mr. Purdie called to her, " we've come 
 to the march."
 
 GODIVA 7 
 
 « The what 1 " 
 
 " The march — the boundary of your estate ? " 
 
 Instantly she had the carriage stopped, and nothing 
 would do but that she must get out and set foot on her 
 own land ; moreover, when Kiithchen took down the 
 umbrella, they found that the rain had ceased, and that 
 the western skies were lightening somewhat. 
 
 " That is the march," said Mr. Purdie, pointing to a 
 low, irregular, moss-grown wall — obviously a very ancient 
 landmai'k ; " and it goes right over the hill and down 
 again to the Garra." 
 
 Leaving the highway, she stepped across the ditch, and 
 stood on the moist, soft peat land. 
 
 " And this is mine ! " she said to Kathchen, with an 
 odd expression of face. " This is absolutely mine. Nobody 
 can dispute my possession of it. This piece of the solid 
 world actually belongs to me." 
 
 " And I suppose your rights extend as deep as ever you 
 like," said Kathchen. " You might go all the way through, 
 and have a walk in the streets of Melbourne, and get dry, 
 and come back." 
 
 But Mary's quick eye had caught sight of what was 
 to her the most important feature of the surrounding 
 landscape. It was a cottage perched on a knoll above a 
 burn — or, rather, it was the ruins of a cottage, the gables 
 standing roofless, the thatch long ago blown away by the 
 winds, the beams and fallen stones lying among the 
 withered nettles, altogether a melancholy sight. 
 
 '' Now, isn't it shameful ! " she exclaimed, in hot indigna- 
 tion. " Look at that ! The very first thing I meet with ! 
 Do you wonder that people should talk about the Highland 
 landlords? Some poor wretch has been driven away — 
 perhaps at this very moment in Canada or in Australia, 
 he is thinking of the old home, and forgetting all the 
 rain and discomfoi't there used to be, Mr. Purdie ! " 
 
 "Yes, ma'am?" said he, coming a bit nearer; and 
 Kathchen looked on, wondering if his doom was about to 
 be pronounced. 
 
 " Who lived in that house ? " Miss Stanley demanded. 
 
 " The schoolmaster," was the reply. 
 
 " The schoolmaster ? And where is he now ? "
 
 8 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "He's iu his own house," the factor said. "We built 
 him a new one and a better one, to be nearer the school 
 and the village ; and when he moved it was hardly worth 
 while keeping the old one in repair." 
 
 "Oh," said she, a little disconcerted. "Oh, really. Then 
 no one was sent away — from that cottage ? " 
 
 " No, no — not at all — not at all," said he ; and he followed 
 her to the waggonette and politely shut the door after her — 
 while Kathchen's face maintained an admirable gravity. 
 
 As they drove on again, the afternoon seemed inclined 
 to clear ; the skies were banking up ; and there were faint 
 sti'eaks of lemon-yellow among the heavy purple clouds in 
 the west. And very soon the road made a sweep to the 
 left, bringing them in sight of the Connan, a small but 
 turbulent tributary of the Garra. Here, also, they en- 
 countered the first signs of the habitations of men — little 
 clumps of buildings clustered together just over a stretch 
 of flat land that had clearly been recovered from the river- 
 bed. Crofts, no doubt : each slated cottage surrounded by 
 its huddled dependency of thatched barns and byres. 
 
 As the waggonette drew near to the first of these rude 
 little settlements, the women disappeared into the out- 
 houses, and the children hid behind the peat-stack ; but 
 there remained standing at the door of the cottage an 
 elderly man, who regarded the strangers with a grave and 
 perhaps rather sullen curiosity. 
 
 " Mr. Purdie," said Mary, in an undertone, "is that one 
 of my tenants ? " 
 
 " Yes, certainly — that is James Macdonald." 
 
 " I wish to make his acquaintance," said she ; and she 
 stopped the carriage, and got out. 
 
 There was no sort of fear, or unnecessary bashfulness, 
 about this young woman. She walked right up the bank 
 to the door of the cottage. The short thick-set man stand- 
 ing there had something of a Russian cast of countenance, 
 with a heavy grey beard, shaggy eyebrows, and small, 
 suspicious eyes. His clothes were weather-worn as to 
 colour and much mended ; but they were not in the least 
 squalid ; and he had a I'ed woollen comfoi'ter round his 
 neck. 
 
 " Good evening ! " said she, with a most winning smile.
 
 GODIVA 9 
 
 But the propitiating dimple, that had hitherto been 
 all-conquering, was of no avail here. He looked at her. 
 He did not raise his cap. 
 
 " Cha 'n 'eil beurla agam," said he, with a sort of 
 afiected indifference. 
 
 She was taken aback only for a moment. 
 
 " What does he say ? " she asked of Mr. Purdie, who 
 had followed her. 
 
 " He says he has no English," the factor answered ', and 
 then he added, vindictively : " But he would have plenty 
 of English if he wanted to tell you of his grievances — oh, 
 ay, plenty ! Start him on that, and he'll find plenty of 
 English ! He's one of the most ill-condeetioned men in 
 the whole place — and I suppose he has enough English to 
 understand that ! " 
 
 " Tell him who I am," said she, rather disappointedly ; 
 for she had set out with the determination to get to know 
 all the circumstances and wants and wishes of her tenants, 
 especially of the poorer ones, without the intervention of 
 any factor. 
 
 Hereupon Mr. Purdie, in unnecessarily severe tones, as 
 it seemed to her, addressed a few sentences in Gaelic to 
 the stubborn-looking old man, who, in turn — and with no 
 abatement of his hostile attitude — replied in the same 
 tongue. But to Mary's surprise, he suddenly added — ■ 
 fixing morose eyes upon her — 
 
 " She — no my laird ! Ross of Heimra — my laird. 
 Young Donald — he my laird. She no my laird at ahl 1 " 
 
 " Oh, but that is absurd, you know," Mary said, eagerly, 
 and with a quick delight that she could enter into direct 
 communication with him. " You forget — you are mistaken 
 — my uncle bought the estate from the late Mr. Ross of 
 Heimra. Surely you understand that 1 Surely you know 
 that ? The whole place was bought in open market. Mr. 
 Ross sold the land, and all the rights belonging to it — 
 yes, and the obligations, too; and my uncle bought it. 
 Don't you understand ! " 
 
 The man turned away his eyes, and sulkily muttered 
 something in Gaelic. 
 
 '' What is it 1 " asked Mary, compelled to appeal once 
 more to the factor.
 
 lo DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Like the scoundrel's impertinence ! " said the Little 
 Red Dwarf, darting an angry look at the crofter. " He 
 says the Englishman — that is your uncle, Miss Stanley — 
 the Englishman bought the land but not the hearts of the 
 people." 
 
 "And that is quite right !" Mary exclaimed. "That is 
 quite right and true. Tell him I quite agree with him. 
 But tell him this — tell him that if my uncle did not buy 
 the heai'ts of the people, I mean to win them " 
 
 " Oh, Mary," Kiithchen struck in, rather shamefacedly, 
 " don't talk like that ! They won't understand you. Be 
 practical. Ask him what complaint he has to make about 
 his farm — ask him what he wants " 
 
 " I can tell ye that beforehand ! " said Mr. Purdie in 
 his irascible scorn. " He wants more arable land, and 
 he wants more pasture ; and both for nothing. And no 
 doubt he would like a steam plough thrown in, and maybe 
 a score or two o' black-faced wethers " 
 
 But Mary interrupted. She had formed for herself some 
 idea, before she came to this country as to how she meant 
 to proceed. 
 
 "Mr. Purdie," said she, in her clear, firm way, "I wish 
 you to ask this man if he has anything to complain of ; and 
 I wish you to tell me precisely what he says." 
 
 The Ti'oich Bheag Dhearg, being thus ordered, obeyed ; 
 but he scowled upon the stubborn crofter — and it was 
 apparent there was no love lost on the other side either. 
 At the end of their brief, and unwilling conversation, the 
 factor made his report. 
 
 " "Well, there are many things he would like — who could 
 doubt that % — but in especial he wants the pasture of Meall- 
 na-Cruagan divided amongst the crofters of this district, 
 and the tax for the dyke taken off the I'ent. But Meall- 
 na-Cruagan never did belong to the crofters at any time ; 
 and it is part of Mr. Watson's sheep-farm — he has it under 
 lease." 
 
 " I will look into that afterwards," said she. " What 
 is the tax you mentioned % " 
 
 " Well, when the dyke along there — the embankment," 
 said the factor, " was built to keep the river from flooding 
 the land, the interest of the money expended was added on
 
 GODIVA 1 1 
 
 to the rents of the crofts, as was natural — and that's what 
 they call a tax ! " 
 
 " How long have they been paying that tax ? " she 
 asked. 
 
 "It is about thirty years siace the dyke was built." 
 
 " Thirty years ! " she said. " Thirty years ! These 
 poor people have been paying a tax all this time for an 
 embankment built to improve the property ? Really, Mr. 
 Purdie ! " 
 
 " They get the value of it 1 " he said, as testily as he 
 dared. " The land is no longer flooded " 
 
 " Tell this man," said she, with some colour mounting 
 to her face, "that the tax for the dyke is abolished — 
 here and now ! " 
 
 " Godiva ! " said Kathchen, in an undertone, with a bit 
 of a titter. 
 
 And the factor w-ould have protested from his own point 
 of view. But this young woman's heart was all aflame. 
 She cared nothing for ridicule, nor for any sort of more 
 pi-actical opposition. Here was some definite wrong that 
 she could put right. She did not want to hear from Mr. 
 Purdie, or from anybody else, what neighbouring land- 
 lords might think, or what encouragement it might give 
 the crofters to make other and more impossible demands. 
 
 " I don't care what other landlords may say ! " said she 
 with firm lips : "You tell me that I improve my property 
 —and then charge these poor people with the cost ! And for 
 thirty years they have been paying 1 Well, I wish you to 
 say to this man that the tax no longer exists — from this 
 moment it no longer exists — it is not to be heard of 
 
 "^O^ 
 
 again 
 
 The factor made a brief communication : the taciturn 
 crofter answered not a word — not a word of recognition, 
 much less of thanks. But Mary Stanley was not to be 
 daunted by this incivility : as she descended to the wag- 
 gonette, her face wore a proud look— right and justice 
 should be done, as far as she was able, in this her small 
 sphere : the rest was with the gods. 
 
 And again they drove on ; but now was there not some 
 subtle softening of the air, some moist odour as of the sea, 
 some indication of the neighbourhood of the Atlantic shores 1
 
 12 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Clearly they were getting down to the coast. And un- 
 happily, as they went on, the land around them seemed to 
 be getting worse and worse — if there could be a worse. 
 A wilderness of crags and knolls — of Ilebridean gneiss 
 mostly ; patches of swamp, with black gullies of peat ; 
 sterile hills that would have threatened a hoodie crow with 
 starvation : such appeared to be Miss Stanley's newly found 
 property. But a very curious incident now occurred to 
 withdraw her attention from these immediate surroundings 
 — an incident the meaning of which she was to learn 
 subsequently. They had come in sight of a level space 
 that had evidently at one time been a lake, but was now 
 a waste of stones, with a touch of green slime and a few 
 withered rushes here and there ; and in the middle of this 
 space, on a mound that had apparently been connected 
 with the mainland, was a heap of scattered blocks that 
 looked like the tumbled-down ruins of some ancient fort. 
 
 "What is that, Mr. Purdie?" she called out, still 
 anxious for all possible information. 
 
 A malignant grin came over the face of the Little 
 Red Dwarf. 
 
 " That," said he, " was once Castle Heimra ; and then 
 it was Castle Stanley ; and now it is nothing ! " 
 
 He had scarcely uttered the words when the driver 
 slashed at the neck of one of the horses ; and both animals 
 sprung forward with a jerk — a jerk so sudden and violent 
 that Mr. Purdie was nearly pitched headlong from his seat. 
 He threw a savage glance at the driver ; but he dared 
 not say anything — the two ladies were within hearing. 
 Later on that evening Mary recalled this little incident — 
 and seemed to understand. 
 
 Behold, at last, the sea ! — a semi-circular bay sheltered 
 by long black headlands ; beyond that the wide grey plain, 
 white-tipped with flashing and hurrying waves ; and out 
 towards the horizon a small but precipitous island, a heavy 
 surge springing high along its southern crags. But she 
 had time only for the briefest glance, for here was the 
 village — her own village ! — with its smithy, its schoolroom, 
 its inn, its grocery store that was also a post-office, and 
 thereafter a number of not very picturesque cottages 
 scattered about amid bits of poor garden, just above the
 
 GO DIVA 13 
 
 shore. Nay, at the same moment she caught sight of 
 Lochgarra House — her home that was to be : an odd-looking 
 building that seemed half a jail and half a baronial castle, 
 but was prettily situated among some larch-woods on a 
 promontory on the other side of the bay. Of course they 
 had driven through the little township almost directly ; 
 and now she could turn to the sea again — that looked 
 strangely mournful and distant in the wan twilight. 
 
 " But Where's the yacht 1 " she exclaimed. 
 
 "What yacht?" her companion asked, with some sur- 
 pi'ise. 
 
 "Why, the yacht I saw a minute ago — just before we 
 came to the village : it was out yonder — close to the 
 island " 
 
 "Oh, nonsense, Mary ! " said Kate Glendinning. "You 
 may have seen a fishing-smack, or a lobster-boat — but a 
 yacht at this time of the year ! " 
 
 "I declare to you I saw a yacht — for I noticed how 
 white the sails were, even in the twilight," Mary insisted; 
 and then she appealed to the factor : " Mr. Purdie, didn't 
 you see a yacht out there a minute or two ago 1 " 
 
 " No, I did not," he made answer ; and then he in his 
 turn addressed the driver : " Did you, John ? " 
 
 " No," said the driver, looking straight ahead of him, and 
 with a curiously impassive expression of face — an expres- 
 sion of face that convinced Mr. Purdie, who was prone to 
 suspicion, that the man had lied. 
 
 It was a kind of bewilderment to her, this taking pos- 
 session : the going up the wide stone steps, the gazing 
 round the lofty oak hall, the finding herself waited upon 
 by those shy-eyed soft-spoken Highland maids. But when 
 she was in the retirement of her own room, whither she had 
 been accompanied by the faithful Kate, one thing stood out 
 clear to her mind from amid all the long day's doings. 
 
 " Kathchen," said she — and she was pacing up and down 
 the room — or going from window to window without look- 
 ing out — as was sometimes her habit when she was excited 
 — " I mean to have my own way in this. It is not enough 
 that the tax should be abolished — it is not enough. No 
 doubt those poor people were saved from the risk of floods ; 
 but on the other hand the property was permanently
 
 14 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 improved ; and it is monstrous that they should be expected 
 to go on paying for ever. I tell you they have paid too 
 much already ; and I mean to see things made right. 
 What do I care for Mr. Purdie, or the neighbouring land- 
 lords ? If Mr. Purdie has any business to talk of when 
 he comes along this evening — well, my little piece of 
 business must take precedence. I am going to give Mr. 
 Purdie the first of his instructions." She paused for a 
 second — and then she spoke with rather a proud and 
 determined air : " Fifteen years of that tax to be remitted 
 and returned ! " 
 
 " Godiva ! " said Kiithchen, again ; but there was not 
 much sarcasm in her smiling eyes. 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 YOUNG DONALD. 
 
 " And if I am not the laird,'' said Miss Stanley, as the 
 three of them took their places at table — for Mr. Purdie 
 had accepted an invitation, and had come along from the 
 inn to dine with the two young ladies — " if I am not the 
 laird, I want to know who is the laird : I mean, I want 
 to know all about my rival. What was it the stubborn 
 old crofter called him % Young Donald — Youno: Ross of 
 Heimra — well, tell me all about him, Mr. Purdie ! " 
 
 But to Mary's surprise, the Little Red Dwarf remained 
 sternly mute. Yet there was no one in the room besides 
 themselves except the maid who was waiting at table — 
 a tall and good-looking Highland lass, whose pretty way 
 of speech, and gentle manner, and shy eyes had already 
 made a pleasant impression on her young mistress. All 
 the same, the factor remained silent until the girl had 
 gone. 
 
 "I would just advise ye. Miss Stanley," said he, rather 
 moderating his voice, which ordinarily was inclined to be 
 aggressive and raucous, "I would just advise ye to have 
 a care what ye say before these people. They're all in a 
 pact; and they're sly and cunning just Ijeyond belief; 
 ay, and ready to do ye a mischief, the thrawn ill-willed 
 creatures ! "
 
 YOUNG DONALD 15 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Purdie ! " Mary protested, in her good- 
 humoured way, "you mustn't try to prejudice me like 
 that ! I have ah-eady had a Httle talk witli Barbara ; 
 and I could not but think of what Dr. Johnson said — 
 that every Highland girl is a gentlewoman." 
 
 " And not a word they utter is to be believed — no, not 
 with a Bible in their hands," the factor went on, in spite 
 of her remonstrance. " JMiss Stanley, did ye hear me ask 
 the driver as we came through the village if he had seen 
 the yacht out by Heimra island — the yacht that ye saw 
 with your own eyes ? He said no — he had not seen it — 
 and I knew by his face he was lying to me." 
 
 "But, Mr. Purdie," said Mary, again, "you did not see 
 the yacht either. And I may have been mistaken." 
 
 "Ye were not mistaken," said the factor, with vicious 
 emphasis. " For well I know what that was. That was 
 nothing else than young Ross coming back from one 
 of his smuggling expedeetions — the thieving, poaching 
 scoundrel ! — and little thinking that I would be coming 
 out to Lochgarra this very afternoon. But I'll be even 
 with my gentleman yet ! — for it's all done to thwart me — 
 it's all done to thwart me " 
 
 The factor's small clear eyes sparkled with malice; but- 
 he had perforce to cease speaking, for at this moment 
 Barbara came into the room. When she had gone again, 
 he resumed : 
 
 "I will just tell ye how I came to get on his track," 
 Mr. Purdie said, with something of a triumphant air. 
 " And first of all ye must understand. Miss Stanley, I take 
 some little credit to myself for having routed out the illicit 
 stills in this country-side ; ay, I'm thinking they're pretty 
 well cleared out now ; indeed I'll undertake to say there's 
 not a hidden worm-tub or a mash tun within twenty miles 
 around. There was some trouble ; oh, yes ; for they're 
 cunning creatures ; and they stand by one another in lying 
 and concealment ; but I managed to get some information 
 for the Preventive Staff all the same — from time to time, 
 that was — and then I had a good knowledge o' the place — 
 ye see. Miss Stanley, I was factor at Lochgarra before 
 your uncle gave me back my post again; and so, with 
 keeping the gaugers busy, we got at one after another of
 
 i6 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 the black bothies, as they call them, until I doubt whether 
 there's a hothan duhh between here and Strathcarron. 
 Yes, I may admit I take some credit for that. I've heard 
 folk maintain that speerits are a necessary of life in a bad 
 climate like this ; but what I say is, let people pay their 
 rent before comforting themselves wi' drams. My business 
 is with the rent. I'm not a doctor. Temperance, ay, and 
 even total abstinence, is a fine thing for everybody." 
 
 " Won't you help yourself, Mr. Purdie ? " said Kate 
 Glendinning, with grave eyes, and she pushed the sherry 
 decanter towards him. Mr. Purdie filled his glass — for 
 the fifth time — and drained it off. Then he pi'oceeded. 
 
 "However, this is my story. One day I had finished 
 wi' my business here, and had set out to ride over to 
 Ledmore, when the toothache came into my head just 
 terrible, and I was like to be driven mad. I was passing 
 Cruagan at the time — where ye spoke to James Macdonald, 
 Miss Stanley — indeed, it was at James's house I stopped, 
 and tied up the beast, and went in to see if I could get 
 a drop of whiskey to put in the side of my cheek, for the 
 pain was just fearful. Well, there was nobody in but 
 James's old mother — an old, old woman — she could hardly 
 move away from the fire — and says I, ' For God's sake, 
 woman, give me some whiskey to drive away this pain.' 
 Of course she declared and better declared there was none 
 in the house ; but at last, seeing I was near out o' my 
 senses, she hobbled away and brought me — what do ye 
 think ? — a glass of brandy — and fine brandy, too. ' Hallo ! ' 
 says I to the old caiUeach, when the brandy had burned in 
 my mouth for a while, and the pain was not so bad, 
 ' where did ye get this fine stuff 1 ' Would ye believe it, 
 she declared and better declared that she found it ! ' Find 
 it, woman ! Where did ye find it 1 ' But no ; that was 
 all ; she had found it. And then I began to think. Where 
 was an old woman like that to get brandy ? So says I 
 all of a sudden, 'This is smuggled stuff. Ye need not 
 deny it ; and unless ye tell me instantly where ye got it, 
 and how ye got it, the Supervisor will be here to-morrow 
 morning, and in twenty- four hours ye'll be in Dingwall 
 Jail! '" 
 
 "Mr. Purdie," said Kathchen, interrupting — and with
 
 YOUNG DONALD 17 
 
 rathei" a cold manner — " was that your return for the old 
 woman's kindness to you in your trouble ? " 
 
 But he did not heed the taunt. He was exulting in his 
 having trapped his enemy. 
 
 " She was frightened out of her wits, the wretched old 
 creature. ' Donuil Og,' she says— Young Donald — it was 
 from young Ross that she had got it. And now the case 
 was clear enough ! I had been suspecting something of the 
 kind. And here was a fine come-down for the Rosses of 
 Heimra ; — the Rosses of Heimra, that in former days made 
 such a flourish at the English court — dancing at Almacks, 
 and skelping about wi' the Prince Regent ; and now the 
 last of the family come down to selling smuggled brandy 
 to old women and a parcel of crofters and cottars ! A fine 
 way of earning a living ! But it's all he's fit for — an idle 
 ne'er-do-weel 1, that never did a turn of work in his life 
 beyond poaching and thieving and stirring up ill-will 
 behind one's back. But I'll be even with my gentleman ! 
 I'll have the Supervisor of Excise on to him ; his fine little 
 trips to the Channel Islands — I suppose it's the Channel 
 Islands, where you get brandy for next to nothing — we'll 
 soon put a stop to them ; and when he finds himself before 
 the Sheriff at Dingwall, he'll be singing another tune ! " 
 
 A tap at the door — then Barbara entered ; and the 
 factor looked up quickly and suspiciously. But if the tall 
 Highland lass had been listening her face said nothing. 
 
 "And the young man you speak of," Mary asked, "does 
 he live all by himself — out on that island % " 
 
 "It's fit that he should live by himself," said Mr. Purdie, 
 with his eyes beginning to twinkle fiercely again : for any 
 reference to this young man seemed to completely turn his 
 head. "He's nothing but a savage — brought up as a 
 savage — amongst the rocks and crags — like a wild-goat 
 from his earliest years. What else could ye expect ? 
 There was his mother — a proud woman — proud and vin- 
 dictive as ever was born — and she hears how her husband 
 is gallivanting from this capital to that — throwing away 
 his money on Italian countesses and riff-raff — indeed there 
 was the one public scandal, but I cannot give ye particulars. 
 Miss Stanley, the story is not for a young lady's ears at 
 all : but the mother, she determines to go away and live 
 
 c
 
 l8 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 in that island, and bring up her only child there ; and 
 there the two o' them live, like two savages, the laddie 
 growing up as a wild goat would, clambering about the 
 rocks and the shore and the hills. What could ye expect 
 but that he should turn out a poaching, thieving, smuggling 
 rascal, especially with every man, woman, and child in the 
 place — on the mainland here, I mean — ready to serve him 
 and screen him ? Truly it is a debasing thing to think 
 of — such supersteetion ; but these poor ignorant creatures 
 — a name's enough for them — any Ross of Heimra, because 
 he's a Ross of Heimra, is a little God Almighty to them ; 
 I think they would perjure their immortal souls for that 
 impudent and brazen-faced young scoundi'el out there. 
 Brandy ! Oh, ay, brandy ! And I dare say he gets them 
 tobacco, too ; and makes a good profit on't ; for what else 
 can he live on? Heimra island is the last of all their 
 possessions ; if you go scattering your money among Italian 
 countesses, you've got to cut up the estate, and fling it 
 into the market, bit by bit, until you come to the final 
 solid lump of it — which your uncle bought, Miss Stanley ; 
 and then the deserted wife, left to herself on that island 
 out there, can live on whelks and mussels if she likes ! 
 Well, a tine lonely place to nurse pride ! Plenty of time 
 to think ! The great estate gone — her husband at length 
 dead and buried without ever having come near her — and 
 this young whelp to look after— a wild goat among the 
 rocks ! No more grandeur now — though at times Lord 
 This or Lord That, or even a Duke or Duchess, would 
 come in their steam-yacht, or send her presents of game 
 in the autumn — " 
 
 " Poor woman ! " said Mary. " Is she out there still ? " 
 " No, no — her troubles are over," said the factor, with 
 some expression of relief. " There's one the less for these 
 ignorant, supersteetious creatures hereabouts to fall down 
 and worship, as if they were golden images. She died near 
 a year ago ; and would ye believe it, this son o' hers, 
 instead of having her put into a Christian graveyard, had 
 her buried on the western coast of the island, up on the 
 top of the clifi", and there's a great white marble slab there, 
 that ye might see for miles oflf. A nice kind of thing, 
 that ! Refusing Christian burial for his own mother !
 
 YOUNG DONALD 19 
 
 He's just a Pagan, neither more nor less — a wild savage — 
 fearing neither God nor man — getting drunk every night, 
 I'll be bound, on that smuggled brandy ; and I'm no sure 
 he would scruple to take your life if he found ye in a 
 convenient place. It's a terrible thing to think of, a 
 human being brought up like that, in a country of law 
 and order and releegion. But I've no pity for him, not 
 one jot ! He and his have done me sufficient harm ; but 
 I'll be even with him yet — the cheat-the-gallows ! " 
 
 Mary Stanley, though not much of a coward, seemed to 
 shrink back a little in unconscious dismay. She had never 
 seen such venomous rage working in any human creature's 
 face ; and it was rather an appalling kind of thing. But 
 presently Mr. Purdie seemed to recollect himself; this 
 exhibition of over-mastering hate was not the best means 
 of propitiating his new mistress ; and so, making a deter- 
 mined effort to control himself (and helping himself to 
 another glass of sherry at the same time) he proceeded to 
 talk of business, with a certain constrained, matter-of- 
 fact air. 
 
 " You said before we came in to dinner, Miss Stanley," 
 he began, in his slow and deliberate way, " that you wished 
 fifteen years of the dyke tax to be remitted and returned 
 to the Cruagan crofters. Yery well. Y^iatever is your 
 pleasure. But have you considered what the result will be?" 
 
 "ISTo," said Mary, "I do not wish to consider. I wish 
 to have the thing done, because I think it is right." 
 
 "For one matter," said he, "they will take it and not 
 thank you." 
 
 " I do not care about that," she made answer. " We 
 will see about the thanks, or no thanks, later on." 
 
 " But there's more," said the factor, rousing himself from 
 his forced restraint of manner. "They'll just begin to 
 think that the time for the universal getting of everything 
 for nothing has come at last ; and where will there be an 
 end to their outrageous demands ? The ignorant creatures ! 
 — they do not know what they want — they're like children 
 crying for the moon ; and they're encouraged by a set of 
 agitators more ignorant than themselves — people in Parlia- 
 ment, and out of it, that never saw a peat-moss, and don't 
 
 know the diiference between a hog and a stirk " 
 
 c 2
 
 20 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "But wait a moment, Mr. Purdie," said she, with some 
 touch of calm authority. " I can hardly tell you yet what 
 I intend to do ; I have all kinds of enquiries to make. 
 But every one is well enough aware that, whatever the 
 cause or causes may be, there is great distress among the 
 ci'ofters — great poverty — and, naturally, discontent ; and 
 when I hear of them almost starving for want of land — 
 and such immense tracts given over to deer — I know that 
 a great wrong is being done. And that is not going to 
 exist wherever I have a word to say." 
 
 " It cannot exist on this estate. Miss Stanley," the factor 
 said, with confidence. " For we have not a single acre 
 of forested land." 
 
 "What did I hear my bi'other say, then, about eleven 
 stags in one season?" she demanded. "Why, he asked 
 me to ask him up here this next autumn for the very 
 purpose of going stalking ! " 
 
 "Yes, yes, very likely," said the Little Red Dwarf, 
 with the magnanimity born of superior knowledge. " The 
 fact is that when the deer begin to get restless about the 
 end of September and the beginning of October, a few 
 stags and hinds come wandering on to our ground, between 
 the Meall-na-Fearn and the Corrie-Bhreag mostly. But 
 that is not forest ; that is all under sheep ; that belongs 
 to Mr. Watson's sheep-farm : the stags the gentlemen get 
 in the autumn are mere chance shots ; we have not a bit 
 of forested land. Indeed, Miss Stanley, ye'll rarely hear 
 the crofters, in any part of the country, clamouring to 
 have a deer forest split up amongst them ; they know 
 well enough what wretched and hopeless kind of stuff it 
 is ; they're wisar than the havering folk in Parliament. 
 No, no ; it's slices off the big arable and pasture farms 
 they want. And I can tell ye this," he went on, in quite 
 a reasonable way (for young Ross of Heimra was off his 
 mind now), " there's many a proprietor in the Highlands 
 would be willing and even glad to break up his big sheep- 
 farms into small holdings ; but where is either landlord 
 or tenant to find the money to pay for the housing, and 
 steading, and fencing; and where is the new tenant to 
 find stock % To change the crofters into small farmers 
 would be a fine thing, no doubt — an excellent thing, a
 
 YOUNG DONALD 21 
 
 great reform ; and it would pay the landlords well if it 
 were practicable. But how is it practicable % Before the 
 scheme would work, the crofter would have to be given 
 land worth at least £20 a year ; and where is the capital 
 to come from for stock and steading ? " 
 
 Mary listened, a little uneasily, but not much daunted ; 
 for this was merely the professional view ; this was an 
 advocacy of the existing state of things ; and it was the 
 existing state of things, in this small possession of hers, 
 that she hoped to amend, if it was within her power. Nor 
 could she argue with him, seeing she had no facts at her 
 fingers' ends as yet, or, at least, none that she could rely 
 on ; for it was personal inquiry and observation that this 
 young woman meant to trust. 
 
 " If they can make the small crofts pay " said she 
 
 vaguely. 
 
 " But they cannot," said he, with south country blunt- 
 ness. "The land is too poor; and there are too many of 
 them wanting to live on it. Over there at Cruagan the 
 crofters manage to earn a little money by serving as 
 gillies in the autumn, and hiring their ponies to the 
 sportsmen ; and along the coast here they eke out a living 
 with the fishing; but they would fairly starve on the 
 crofts, if that was all. And then, besides the poor soil, I 
 do believe they're the idlest and laziest creatures on God's 
 earth ! I'll undertake to say there has not been a boat 
 put off from shore this last week past, though there must 
 be plenty of stenlock in the bay " 
 
 But here Kiithchen struck in, a little indignantly. She 
 had Highland blood in her veins ; and she did not like 
 to hear her countrymen and countrywomen traduced by an 
 Alhannach. 
 
 "Stenlock? You mean big lythe?" said she. "But 
 you know very well, Mr. Purdie, there is no market for 
 lythe. They're no use to send away. And even if they 
 were — even if there were a market for them — how could 
 the people get them sent? How often does the steamer 
 call in here ? " 
 
 " Oh, well, not very often at this time of the year," he 
 said. 
 
 '* But how often ? " she persisted
 
 22 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Once in three weeks," said the factor. 
 
 And now it was Mary's turn to interpose, which she 
 did eagerly and gladly, for she was ever on the alert for 
 some actual and definite thing to tackle. 
 
 " Oh, really, Mr. Purdie, that is too bad ! How can 
 you expect them to be diligent with the fishing, if the 
 steamer only calls in once in three weeks 1 That must be 
 put right, and at once ? " said she, in her generous ardour. 
 " I will appeal to the Government. I will appeal to the 
 Treasury." 
 
 " You'd better appeal to Mr. MacBrayne," said Kathchen, 
 drily ; and therewithal that subject was laid aside for 
 the moment. 
 
 Unfortunately this reasonable mood on the part of the 
 Little Red Dwarf — if he could properly be called little 
 whose great breadth of frame caused him to look like a 
 compressed giant — did not last very long. His half- 
 smothered hatred of the house of Heimra broke into flame 
 again ; and it is possible that a glass of whisky which he 
 took at the end of dinner, combined with the previous 
 sherry, may have added fuel to the fire. 
 
 " I've warned ye. Miss Stanley, not to say a word about 
 the Ross family, or what I've told ye, or about any of 
 your plans, before that lass Barbara." 
 
 " Why all this mystery and suspicion ! " said Mary, with 
 a touch of impatience. " The girl seems a very obliging 
 and good-natured girl indeed." 
 
 "She's a sister o' the head keeper," said the factor, with 
 a watchful glance towards the door ; " and that scoundrel 
 of a young Ross is just hand-in-glove with every man-jack 
 o' them. Do ye think they've got any eyes in their head 
 if my young gentleman is after a salmon on the Garra, or 
 lying in wait for a stag in the Corrie Bhreag ? They would 
 swear themselves black in the face that they did not see 
 him if he was standing staring at them within twenty 
 yards ! " 
 
 " Very well, then ; if you cannot trust the keepers, why 
 not get others in their place?" she said, promptly. "Not 
 that I care much about the game. I propose to give 
 the crofters, big and little, free right to trap, or snare, 
 or shoot all the hares and rabbits they can get hold of ;
 
 YOUNG DONALD 23 
 
 I do not wish their little bits of holdings to be plundered 
 by useless beasts. But grouse do no harm ; and whether 
 my own people come here next autumn, or whether I let 
 the shooting, all the same there will be the employment 
 of gillies' labour, and the hiring of the ponies." 
 
 "Yes," said the factor. "The only money that ever 
 finds its way into their pocket; and yet you'll find the 
 idjuts declaring amongst themselves that not a single 
 stranger should be allowed to come into the country ! " 
 
 " That is foolishness," said Mary, calmly. " That is the 
 idle talk of people who are poor and sufiering, and do not 
 know why they are poor and sufiering. And I, for one, 
 mean to take no heed of it ; though, to be sure, it would be 
 pleasanter to think I was a little more welcome. However, 
 about those keepers : if they do not attend to their duty, 
 if they allow poaching, why not get others in their place % " 
 " That would be worse," said Mr. Purdie, emphatically. 
 " The strange keepers would be helpless ; they would be 
 outwitted at every turn. If ye knew the folk about here 
 
 better, their clannishness, their cunning " 
 
 " But are you sure this poaching goes on, Mr. Purdie," 
 she interposed, " or it is only guesswork on your part 1 I 
 presume Mr. Ross calls himself a gentleman." 
 
 " A gentleman ! " said the factor, with that malevolent 
 look coming into his eyes again. " A gentleman that 
 earns his living by selling smuggled brandy to a wheen 
 crofters ! A fine gentleman, that ! I suppose when the 
 Duke's yacht sails into the bay out there, my gentleman 
 makes haste to hide away the bottles, and takes care to 
 say nothing about the five shillings a gallon profit ! Ay, 
 ay, a remarkable change for the great family ! — no play- 
 actoring about with the Prince Regent now, but selling 
 contraband speerits to a lot of old women ! And snult' 
 maybe 1 And tobacco 1 Penny packets ! A noble trade ! " 
 He laughed aloud, to conceal the vehemence of his hatred. 
 " A fine come down for high birth and ancient gentility — ■ 
 Ijuried alive in an island, not daring to show his head even 
 in Edinburgh, let alone in London, his only companions a 
 wheen thieving gillies and scringe-net fishermen ! But 
 plenty of pride all the same. Oh, yes ; pride and conceal- 
 ment, they go together in the Highland character : would
 
 24 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 ye believe it, when he denied his mother Christian burial, 
 and made the grave up there on the hill, would he put up a 
 respectable monument in the ordinary way, so that people 
 could see it ? No, no ; it's on the sea-ward side of the 
 island. Pride again, ye observe ; a scorn of the common 
 people ; pride and concealment together." 
 
 " I should think it was a great deal more likely," 
 said Kiithchen, with some touch of anger, " that the mother 
 chose where her own grave was to be." But Mary, with 
 thoughtful eyes, only said : " Poor woman ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay, pride enough," continued Mr. Purdie, in a 
 more triumphant sti*ain. " But their pride had a famous fall 
 before your uncle and myself were done with them " 
 
 At this Mary started somewhat. 
 
 " My uncle % " said she. " Why, what cause of offence 
 could there have been between him and them ? What 
 injury could they possibly have done him % " 
 
 " Injury ? Plenty of injury : in stirring up ill-will 
 and rebellion among the tenants. It's yourself. Miss Stan- 
 ley, will find that out ere long ; oh, yes, wait till ye come 
 to have dealings vith these people, ye'll find out what 
 they are, I'm thinking ! A stubborn and stiff-necked race ; 
 and cunning as the very mischief ; and revengeful and 
 dark. But we broke their obstinacy that time ! " He 
 laughed again : a malignant laugh. 
 
 " I saw ye noticed it, Miss Stanley, as we came along 
 this afternoon — the dried- up place that was once a loch, 
 and the pile of stones " 
 
 She remembered well enough ; and also she recollected 
 the vicious slash the driver had made at his horses when 
 the factor Vv^as grinningly answering her question. 
 
 " Yes but I did not quite understand what it meant," said 
 she. 
 
 " I'll just tell ye." 
 
 Mr. Purdie poured himself out a little drop of whiskey — ■ 
 a very little drop— in an inadvertent way. There was quite 
 a happy look on his face when he began his tale. 
 
 " Ay ; it's a fine story when people of obstinate nature 
 meet their match ; and your uncle, Miss Stanley, could 
 hold his own — when there was proper counsel behind his 
 back, if I may say so. And what had Mrs. Ross and
 
 YOUNG DONALD 25 
 
 her son to do with anything on the land % Heimra island 
 out there had been reserved for them all the way through, 
 as the estate was going bit by bit ; and when Lochgarra 
 went as well, there was still the island to preserve the name 
 of the family, as it were. And was not that enough ? 
 What did they want — what could any one want — with Loch 
 Heimra and Castle Heimra, when they had been sold into 
 other hands ? If they wanted the name kept in perpetuity, 
 there was the island — which undoubtedly belonged to the 
 Rosses ; but the loch and the castle on the mainland, they 
 were gone ; they had been sold, given up, cut adrift. And 
 so, says your uncle, ' we'll cut adrift the name too. They 
 have their Heimra Island ; that is sufficient : the loch and 
 the castle ai-e mine, and that must be understood by all and 
 sundry.' Natural, quite natural. "Would ye have people 
 giving themselves a title from things not belonging to them 
 at all, but to you ? And what was the castle but a heap of 
 old stones, with about six or seven hundred years of 
 infamy, and bloodshed, and cruelty attached to it ? Ay ; 
 they could show ye a red patch on the earthen floor of the 
 dungeon that was never dry summer or winter. Many's 
 the queer thing took place in that stronghold in the old days. 
 'Well, well,' says your uncle, 'if they will call themselves 
 " of Heimra," let it be of Heimra Island. The loch and the 
 castle are not theirs, but mine ; and being mine, I am 
 going to give my own name to them. Loch Stanley — 
 Castle Stanley — that's what they are to be. I'm not going 
 to have strangers calling themselves after my property. 
 Let them keep the island if they like ' " 
 
 "Why, what did it matter?" said Mary. "They did 
 not claim either the castle or the loch. It was merely 
 the old association — the historical association ; and what 
 harm did that do to any one ? And an interesting place 
 like that, that has been in possession of the same family 
 for centuries " 
 
 "But, surely, a man has the right to do what he likes 
 with his own?" said the Troich Bheag Dhearg, with the 
 corners of his mouth drawn down, and his small e} es look- 
 ing forth a challenge. " I can tell ye. Miss Stanley, your 
 uncle was a man not to be thwarted " 
 
 " I dare say ! " said Mary, coldly.
 
 26 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Castle Stanley — Loch Stanley — that was now estab- 
 lished : let them take their title from what belonged to 
 them, which was the island. Ay ; but do ye think the 
 people about here would follow the change ? " Mr. Purdie 
 went on, with something more of vindictiveness coming 
 into his tone. " Would they ? Not one o' them, the 
 stubborn deevils ! There was not an old bedridden woman, 
 there was not a laddie on his way to school, ye could get 
 to say ' Castle Stanley ' or ' Loch Stanley ' ; it was Loch 
 Heimra and Castle Heimra from every one ; and they held 
 on to it as if it had been the Westminster Confession of 
 Faith — the dour and bigoted animals they are ! Even 
 the very game-keepers, that ye might think would be 
 afraid o' losing their situation, they were just like the 
 rest, thougl\ they had their plausible and cunning ex- 
 cuses. ' You see, Mr. Stanley,' they would say, ' if 
 we tell the gillies about Castle Stanley they will think 
 it is Lochgarra House we mean ; and if we send them to 
 Loch Stanley, they will be going down to the sea-shore.' 
 But well I know who was at the back of all their stubborn- 
 ness," the factor continued, with a scowling face. "Well 
 I know : it was that idling, mischievous, thrawn-natured, 
 impudent ne'er-do-weel, egging them on, and egging them 
 on, and keeping himself in the background all the time. 
 The dignity of his family ! I suppose that was what he 
 was after— the old castle and the old name ; so that 
 strangers might think that his mother and he had still 
 property on the mainland ? And I warned your uncle 
 aliout it. I warned him. I told him that as long as 
 that graceless scoundrel was in the neighbourhood there 
 would be nothing but spite and opposition on the part of 
 the tenantry. ' Well, then,' said he, ' for spite there will 
 be spite, if it comes to that ! ' Miss Stanley, your uncle was 
 not a man to be defied." 
 
 " I know," said Mary, with downcast face : she foresaw 
 what was coming — and did not at all share in the savage 
 glee the factor was beginning to betray. 
 
 " ' Give them time, Mr. Purdie,' says he. ' If I buy a 
 dog, or a horse, or a house, I can call it by what name I 
 please ; and so I can with a piece of water and an old 
 ruin. But not too much time, Mr. Purdie — not too much
 
 YOUNG DONALD 27 
 
 time. If they have a will of their own, so have I. If 
 there's to be iieither Loch Stanley nor Castle Stanley, I'll 
 make pretty well sure there will be neither Loch Heimra 
 nor Castle Heimra. I'll put an end to those Rosses calling 
 themself after any part of my property. I'll soon wipe 
 out the last trace of them from the mainland, anyway ; and 
 they're welcome to the island out there, for anything I 
 mind. The seven centuries of history can follow them 
 across the water : I've no room for such things on my 
 estate.' And that's just how it came about. Miss Stanley. 
 Not one creature in the whole of the district but would 
 stick to the old name ; crofter, cottar, shepherd, fisher- 
 laddie, they were all alike. There was no help for it. 
 Your uncle was a determined man. Any one that con- 
 tended with him was bound to get the worst of it ; and 
 here he was dealing with his own. ' Very well,' said he, 
 'if there's to be no Castle Stanley, I'll take care there 
 shall be no Castle Heimra. Mr. Purdie, get the loch 
 drained of its last drop of water, and have every stone of 
 the useless old ruin hauled to the ground.' And that's 
 precisely what ye saw this afternoon. Miss Stanley ! " 
 
 Her reply somewhat astonished the vain-glorious factor, 
 who had perhaps been expecting approval. 
 
 "It was shamelessly done ! " said she— but as if she were 
 not addressing him at all. 
 
 And then she rose, and Kate Glendinning rose also ; 
 so that Mr. Purdie practically found himself dismissed — 
 or rather he dismissed himself, pleading that it was late. 
 He made some appointment for the next morning, and 
 presently left : no doubt glad enough to get a chance of 
 lighting his pipe and having a comfortable smoke on his 
 way home to the inn. 
 
 When the two girls went into the drawing room — which 
 was a large hexagonal room in the tower, with windows 
 looking north, west, and south^they found that the lamps 
 had not yet been brought in, and also perceived, to their 
 surprise, that the night outside had cleared and was now 
 brilliant with its thousands of throbbing stars. They went 
 to one of the windows. The heavily-moaning sea was 
 hardly visible, but the heavens were extraordinarily lustrous; 
 they were even aware of a shimmer of light on the grey
 
 28 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 stone terrace without ; perhaps it was from the gleaming 
 belt of Orion that hung above a dark headland jutting out 
 towards the west ; while there, also, was the still more 
 fiery Sirius, that burned and palpitated behind the black 
 birch-woods in the south. And then they turned to seek 
 the island of Heimra — out there on the mystic and sombre 
 plain — under that far-trembliiig and shining canopy. 
 
 " Well," said Kiithchen, with some vehemence of in- 
 dignation (for her Highland blood had mounted to her 
 head), " I know this, Mary : scapegrace or no scapegrace, 
 if I were the young fellow living out there, I know what 
 I should do — I would kill that factor ! Isn't it perfectly 
 clear it was he who goaded your uncle into pulling down 
 the old castle and draining the loch ? " 
 
 JNIary was silent for a second or two. Then she said, 
 in an absent kind of way — 
 
 "There are wrongs and injuries done that can never be 
 undone. I can never rebuild Castle Heimra." 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE CAVE OF THE CROWING COCK. 
 
 Mary Stanley's eyes had not deceived her ; the boat of 
 which she had caught a momentary glimpse was a smart 
 little yawl of twenty tons or so, that was making in for 
 Heimra Island ; and there were three men on deck — two 
 redcaps forward, the master at the helm. This last was 
 a young fellow of about six and twenty, a little, not much, 
 over middle height, of somewhat pale complexion, and with 
 singularly dark eyes and hair. The curious thing was this : 
 though you could not say that any of his features were 
 particularly fine (except, perhaps, his coal black eyes, which 
 were clearly capable of flame, if the occasion demanded) 
 the general effect of them was striking ; they seemed to 
 convey an impression of strength — of a certain lazy audacity 
 of strength ; while the forehead revealed by the peaked 
 cap being pushed carelessly backward denoted at once 
 intelligence and resolution. But indeed at this moment 
 the young man's attitude was one of merely quiescent in- 
 difference — though there was an occasional quick scrutiny
 
 THE CAVE OF THE CROWING COCK 29 
 
 of the neighbouring coast ; all the graver perils of the 
 voyage were over ; they were running easily before a 
 steady wind ; and they would get safely to their anchorage 
 ere the light had wholly died out of the western skies. 
 
 " Down foresail ! " he called to the men. For now they 
 were passing a headland that formed one of two arms 
 encircling a slieltered little bay — a strangely silent and 
 solitary-looking place it seemed in this mysterious light. 
 Sterile, too ; tumbled masses of rock with hardly a scraj:) 
 of vegetation on them ; a few clumps of birches here and 
 there ; an occasional dark green pine higher up the cliffs. 
 But at all events it was quiet and still ; the water lapped 
 clear and crisp along the shingle ; while the murinur of 
 the outer sea was still everywhere around, and also, on 
 the northern side of the bay, there was a long out-jutting 
 reef where there was a continuous surge of white foam 
 over the saw-toothed edge. 
 
 " Down jib ! " The sound of a human voice was so 
 strange in this solitude — far stranger than the mere rattle 
 of blocks and tackle. 
 
 " Main sheet ! " 
 
 The two men came aft : the steersman jammed down his 
 helm ; the vessel slowly rounded into the wind — the boom 
 being hauled in meanwhile — the mainsail flapping and 
 shivering in the light breeze. 
 
 " Stand by to let go ! " was the next order ; and the 
 hands went forward again — the vessel gradually losing 
 the way that was on her, until she seemed absolutely 
 motionless. 
 
 "Let go!" 
 
 There was a splash and a roar that sent a thousand 
 shuddering echoes through the silence, A heron uttered a 
 hoarse croak and rose on heavy and slow-moving wings to 
 make for some distant shelter. A pair of dunlins — unseen 
 in the dusk — added their shrill piping cry. Then all was 
 still again, save for the continual moaning of the surge on 
 the distant reef. 
 
 " Give a haul at the topping-lift, lads ! " This was the 
 final direction ; and then, with another keen look round 
 the little bay, young Ross of Heimra — or Donuil Og Vich 
 Iain Vich Ruari, as some were proud to call him — went
 
 30 DONALD ROSS OF HEtMRA 
 
 down into the cabin to put a few things together before 
 going ashore. 
 
 Of the two sailors now left on the deck one was a 
 powerfully built man of about thirty, with a close clipped 
 brown beard, bushy brown eyeljrows, and eyes of a clear 
 Celtic grey. His name was Kenneth Macleod ; but he 
 was more generally known as Coinneach Breac — that is 
 to say, Kenneth of the small-pox marks. His companion 
 was younger than himself — a lad of twenty or two-and- 
 twenty ; long and loutish of figure ; but with a pleasant 
 expression of face. This was Malcolm, or rather, Calum, 
 as they called him. Probably he had some other name ; 
 but it was never heard of ; the long, lumpish, heavily- 
 shouldered lad was simply known throughout this neigh- 
 bourhood as Calum, or Calum-a-bhata, Calum of the Boat. 
 
 " It is I who will have a sound sleep this night," said 
 he, in Gaelic, as he stretched his hands above his head and 
 yawned. 
 
 "And I, too, when the work is over," said his neigh- 
 bour, pulling out a short black pipe. " And now you see 
 what it is to have many friends. Oh, I know you, Calum ; 
 you are a young lad ; and you are strong : you think of 
 nothing but fighting, like the other young lads. But let 
 me tell you this, Calum ; it is not a good thing, fighting 
 and quarrelling, and making enemies ; it is easier to make 
 enemies than to make friends ; and many times you will 
 be sorry when it is too late, and when that has been put 
 wrong which you cannot put right. For you know what 
 the wise man of Islay said, Calum ; he said — ' He who 
 killed his mother a feto tnoments ago ivould fain have her 
 alive notv ! ' " 
 
 "But who was talking about fighting, Coinneach — tell 
 me that 1 " said the youth, angrily. 
 
 " I was giving you advice, Calum, my son," said Coin- 
 neach — lighting his pipe and pulling away, though there 
 appeared to be very little tobacco inside. " I was telling 
 you that it was a good thing to have many friends, as the 
 master has. Oh, he is the one to make friends, and no 
 doubt about that ! For look you at this, Calum ; you know 
 what is stowed in the cabin ; and here we come into the 
 bay, without waiting for the night at all, and just as if
 
 THE CAVE OF THE CROWING COCK 31 
 
 there was nothing on board but a few tins of meat for our 
 own use and a loaf or two. That is the wisdom of havincr 
 many friends, as I am telling you. Why, if there was any 
 one after us, if tliere was any one wishing to put trouble 
 upon us, do you know what would have happened this even- 
 ing ? — there would have been a bonfire on every headland 
 between Ru-Gobhar and the Black Bay. And that is what 
 I tell you, Calum, that it is a very good thing to have 
 plenty of friends ashore, who are as your own Icinspeople 
 to you, and will come between you and the stranger, and 
 will see that the stranger does not harm you. The master, 
 he is the one to make friends with old and young ; and 
 believe me as far as that goes, Calum. Ay, you are a young 
 lad ; and you do not know what the world is ; and you do 
 not know what it is to go sailing with a hard skipper; 
 and if you are an apprentice, a bucket of water in your 
 bunk to wake you in the morning. But the master — oh, 
 well, now, look at this : if there is bad weather, and there 
 is something difficult to be done, and you do it smartly, 
 why, then he calls out to you ' Fhir mo chridhe ! ' * and 
 that is a far more welcome thing to you than cursing and 
 swearing ; it is a far more welcome thing, and a good thing 
 to comfort you." He shook the ashes out of his pipe, and 
 put it in his pocket. " Well, now, see to the tackle, Calum, 
 and we'll get the boat hoisted out, for the master will 
 be going ashore." 
 
 The boat — a twelve-footer or thereabouts — had been 
 stowed on deck ; but they soon had her launched over the 
 side, and everything put ship-shape and in readiness. And 
 presently the young man who had gone down into the 
 cabin re-appeared again ; he threw some things into the 
 boat, and took his place in the stern-sheets; the men 
 shoved off, and presently they were well on their v.ay to the 
 beach, where there was a rudely-formed slip. By this time 
 the streaks of lemon-hued light that had appeared in the 
 west were dying away ; darkness was coming over land and 
 sea ; already, in the east, one or two stars were visible 
 between the thinning and breaking clouds. 
 
 Young Ross landed at the slip, and made his way up to 
 
 * Fldr mo chridhe ! — Man of my heart 1
 
 32 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 a level plateau on which stood a long, rambling, one-storeyed 
 building mostly of timber : a sort of bungalow, with a 
 slated porch, and with some little pretence of a garden 
 round it, though at this time of the year nothing, of course, 
 was visible in it but a few leafless bushes. At the door 
 stood an old woman neatly and smartly dressed, whose 
 eyes were still expressive enough to show how pleased she 
 was. 
 
 " Good evening to you, Martha," said he in Gaelic, 
 "and I hope you are well." 
 
 " Indeed I am all the better for seeing you back, sir," 
 replied the old woman, with many smiles. " The house is 
 no house at all when you are away." 
 
 She followed him obsequiously into the narrow hall. He 
 only glanced at the newspapers and letters on the table. 
 But there was something else there — a brace of grouse. 
 
 " Will I cook one of the birds for Mr. Ross's dinner % " 
 she asked, her Highland politeness causing her to address 
 him in the third person. 
 
 A quick frown came over his face. 
 
 " Who brought these here ? " he demanded. 
 
 " Oh, well — they were left," said old Martha, evasively. 
 
 " Yes, yes, left ; but who left them 1 " he asked again. 
 
 " Oh, well ; may be it was the Lochgarra keepers," 
 said she. 
 
 " The keepers 1 Nonsense ! " he said angrily. " Do you 
 tell me the keepers would shoot grouse at this time of the 
 year, when the bii'ds have paired, and soon will be nesting 1 
 It was Gillie Ciotach,* I'll be bound. Now you will tell 
 the Gillie Ciotach, Mai^tha, that if he does not stop his 
 tricks I will have him sent across the land to go before 
 the Sheriff at Dingwall ; and how will he like that ? " 
 
 "Oh, well, indeed, sir," said Martha, in a deprecating 
 way, "the poor young lad meant no harm. He was coming 
 over here anyway, because he lost a dog, and he was wishing 
 to find the dog." 
 
 At this the young master burst out laughing. 
 
 " The Gillie Ciotach is an excellent one for lies, and 
 that is certain ! " said he. " His dog 1 And how could 
 
 * Gillie Ciotach — the left-handed young man.
 
 THE CAVE OF THE CROWING COCK 33 
 
 his dog swim across from Lochgarra to Eilean Heiinra % 
 Tell Gillie Ciotach from me that when he comes over here 
 he may look after the lobsters, but he will be better not to 
 tell lies about a dog, and also he will do well to leave the 
 Lochgarra grouse alone. And now, Martha, if there is any 
 dinner for me, let me have it at once ; for I am going 
 back to the yacht by-and-by." 
 
 He went into the simply-furnished dining-room, where 
 there was a lamp on the table and likewise a magnificent 
 peat-fire ablaze in the big iron grate — a welcome change 
 from the little stove in the cabin of the Sirene. He had 
 brought his letters with him in his hand. He drew in 
 a wickerwork lounging-chair towards the fireplace, and idly 
 began to tear the envelopes open; here were tidings, 
 various hushed voices, as it were, from the busy world that 
 seemed so distant to him, living in these remote solitudes. 
 It is true he had been away for a time from Eilean 
 Heimra ; but during that interval there had not been 
 much of human companionship for him ; nay, there was for 
 the most pai't a greater loneliness than ever, especially 
 when he took his watch on deck at night, sending the two 
 men below for much-needed rest. Indeed these letters 
 and newspapers seemed almost to make a stir and noise ! 
 — so used had he been to silence and the abstraction of his 
 own thoughts. 
 
 Meanwhile Coinneach and Calum had returned to the 
 yacht, had got some supper, and were now up at the bow, 
 contemplatively smoking, and chatting to each other in 
 their native tongue. Night had fallen ; but the skies were 
 becoming clearer and more clear ; the starlit heavens were 
 gradually revealing themselves. There was not a sound — 
 since the rattle of the anchor had disturbed the quietude 
 of the little bay. 
 
 " The work is not over yet," Coinneach was saying, in 
 somewhat low tones, " and it is the part of the work that 
 I have no liking for. Anything else I shrink not back 
 from, when the master wishes ; he is the one to follow, and 
 I will go with him wherever he desires ; and that in safety, 
 too — for who knows the navigation like himself, yes, and 
 speaking every language that is known upon the earth ? I 
 will go with him wherever he wishes ; I will do whatever 
 
 D
 
 34 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 he wishes. But, Calum, I have no liking for the Uamh 
 coilich na glaodhaich." * 
 
 "Nor I, Coinneach," said his companion. "Especially 
 in the night-time." 
 
 " Day-time or night-time : what is the difference in the 
 Uamh coilich na glaodhaich, when it is so dark that no 
 man has ever been to the end of it, or knows to what it 
 leads % Nor is any man likely to try to discover, since the 
 one that went on and on, until he heard a cock crowing. 
 Oh, God, that must have been a terrible thing, to be so 
 near the edge of another world that you could hear a cock 
 crowing there. And if the people had caught him and 
 kept him — they would have taken him away to the place 
 where the piper went when he played Cha Ml mi tuilich ; f 
 and that is a tale that is told of many caves ; and it may 
 be this, Calum, that all the great caves lead to that other 
 world ; but who can tell about such fearful things 1 A cock 
 crowing — that is nothing — when you are in your own 
 home, with the daylight around you ; but to hear the 
 crowing of a cock after you ha.ve gone away into the earth, 
 then that tells you of wonderful things, for you know the 
 saying, ' Deej? is the low of a cow ujwn strange ixisture.^ 
 Weil, well, what the master says must be done ; but many's 
 the time I am wishing that when the kegs have to be 
 hidden, it was some other place we had for the hiding of 
 them than the Cave of the Crowing Cock." 
 
 " Coinneach," said the lad, and he also spoke in a hushed 
 kind of way, " how long ago is it since that one heard 
 the cock crowing % " 
 
 " How long ? Who can answer such questions ? Can 
 you tell me when the Macarthurs came into the world ? 
 For you have heard the saying, Calum : ' The hills and 
 the streams and the Jilacaljnnes came together ; but tvho can 
 say tvhen the Macarthurs came ? ' It is a long time ago ; 
 it is not any use asking. Ay, and there was something 
 before all of those." He paused for a second : then he 
 said darkly — " That was — that was when the Woman was 
 in these islands." 
 
 * Uamh coilich na glaodhaieh — The Cave of the Crowing Cock, 
 t Cha till mi tuilich — I shall never more return. 
 
 (
 
 THE CAVE OF THE CROWING COCK 35 
 
 " What woman ? " said Calum, with the eager curiosity 
 of youth. 
 
 But Coinneach seemed disinclined to answer. 
 
 " Have you not heard ? " said he. "But it is wise not 
 to speak of such things." 
 
 " What woman was that, Coinneach % " his companion 
 persisted, fixing his eyes on Coinneach's face, that was full 
 of a sombre meditation. 
 
 "Did you never hear of her — the Woman that was here 
 before there were any people in these islands or in the 
 mainland either ? But it is not prudent to speak." 
 
 " Who was she, Coinneach ? " said Calum. " Surely she 
 cannot hurt you if she was dead these many thousands of 
 years % " 
 
 " Do not say that," he responded rather gloomily. 
 "Who can tell? — for there are strange things. You know 
 I am not a coward, Calum." 
 
 " That is what I know well ! " said Calum, confidently. 
 " How many days is it since you stood up against the 
 French skipper, and he with four of them at his back 1 " 
 
 "Ay, but there are things that are more terrible than 
 blows ; and it is of these that I am afraid. Or perhaps 
 not quite afraid ; but I think. And that is the difference 
 between one man and another man, Calum. There is 
 always ill-luck happening ; but one man will sufier it and 
 not inquire, while the other man will ask what caused it 
 or who it was that did him the harm. And if it is not 
 always prudent to speak of such afiairs, at least the truth 
 is the safest : you know the saying ' Speak the truth as if 
 you were in the presence of kings.^ And now I will tell 
 you this, Calum, of a strange thing that happened to me 
 when I was a boy." 
 
 He abated his voice, as if afraid of being overheard. 
 Calum's eyes ' glowered ' in the dusk. 
 
 " I had been over to Ru-Gobhar, where I had a sister 
 married then ; and I was I'eturning home. It was a moon- 
 light night ; the sea very calm ; there was no wind. Well, 
 when I was at the highest point of the road, above the 
 Black Bay, do you know what happened ? But I will tell 
 you what happened. And this is what I saw : the sea 
 began to move, although there was not a breath of wind, 
 
 D 2
 
 36 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 and there was no noise either ; only it moved and heaved 
 in a terrible way ; and there was a line of white, but it 
 was more like white fire than white foam, all along the 
 land, from Ru-Gobhar in to INIinard, and all round the 
 headlands to where I was. For I was standing looking, 
 and very much afraid to see so strange a thing ; and then 
 this is what happened : I got to know that there was some 
 one behind me ; and then I got to know it was the Woman, 
 and I durst not look round, for I was shaking with terror. 
 May you never have such an experience in your life, 
 Calum, as was mine that night. I knew that she had 
 come across the sea, from the islands, noticing that I was 
 alone and no one to help me ; and now I knew that she 
 was not only behind me, but in front of me, and all around 
 me, though I could not see anything, for I was in such 
 terror. She did not speak to me, nor touch me ; but I 
 felt myself choking at the throat as if she had a grip of 
 me ; and I gave myself up for dead — for I could not run 
 away from her — and I knew it was the Woman who had 
 a grip of my throat. Well, well, I gave myself up for 
 dead ; but all of a sudden it entered my mind that she 
 would carry me away out to the islands and bury me in 
 one of the caves ; and with that I made a great effort, 
 and cried out ' God on the cross, save me, save me ! ' 
 That was the last I knew of it ; when I came to myself I 
 was lying in the road, cold as a stone ; and the sea was 
 quite smooth again. May you never have an experience 
 like my experience of that night, Calum ! " 
 
 Calum was silent for a little while. Then he said, 
 slowly — 
 
 " Coinneach, do you suppose the Woman came from the 
 cave where the cock was heard crowing ? " 
 
 "How can I tell?" was the answer. "Perhaps I have 
 said too much. But what I have said to you, that is the 
 least part of what happened to me that night, for it is not 
 to be spoken of." And then he rose ; and put his pipe in 
 his pocket. " Come, Calum, my son, we must take the 
 boat ashore now, for the master will be coming down to 
 the slip. But do not you speak of such things as I have 
 told you ; for it is not good to speak of them." 
 
 And to this Calum merely replied —
 
 THE CAVE OF THE CROWING COCK 37 
 
 " What the master wishes is enough for you and me, 
 Coinneach ; but I would rather not be going into the 
 Uamh coilich na glaodhaich this night." 
 
 They rowed the boat in to the shore — they could see 
 their way well enough, for now the heavens were quite 
 clear, and a universe of white worlds was shining down on 
 them ; and there they ran her bow into the soft seaweed 
 by the side of the slip. They had not long to wait. There 
 was a sound of footsteps on the gravel-path ; then from out 
 of the shadow emerged a figure into the open space above 
 the beach ; they knew who this was. Young Ross of 
 Heimra seemed to be in no great hurry ; his hands were 
 in his pockets ; he came down towards the boat with long, 
 lounging, leisurely strides ; and he was whistling a gay air 
 that was unfamiliar to them — for Coinneach and Calum 
 could hardly be expected to recognise '■La Noce de Jeanne' 
 
 " It is the master who is not afraid of anything," said 
 the elder of the two men, under his breath. 
 
 " Indeed you may say that," rejoined Calum, as he, too, 
 put his pipe in his pocket. "I think he would face old 
 Donas* himself, and not ask for any allowance." 
 
 Young Ross came down the beach. 
 
 " Lend a hand here, lads," he sung out, " and we'll take 
 the other boat with us. Maybe we'll be able to do it in 
 one trip ; and I'm sure it's a good long sleep both of you 
 will be wanting this night." 
 
 They speedily had the second boat launched and shoved 
 along to the slip ; then they attached the painter to the 
 one in which they had come ashore ; and presently they 
 were pulling both boats quietly out to the Sirene. The 
 gangway was open. Ross and the elder of the two men 
 stepped on board ; and proceeded to remove the skylight 
 of the chief cabin — Calum securing the boats by the side 
 of the yacht. And then began the final business of the 
 expedition — the hoisting up on deck and the transferring 
 to the boats alongside of a considerable number of kegs 
 that were small enough to be handled with comparative 
 ease. Young Ross, who was down in the cabin, worked 
 just like the others : slim as his figure seemed, thei^e wa§ 
 
 * Donas — the Devil.
 
 38 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 plenty of strength about his arms and shoulders. There 
 was no lamp in the cabin, nor yet on deck ; nor was there 
 need of any ; the black figures labouring away there did 
 very well with the faint illumination shed by those 
 thousands of tremulous stars. And in course of time 
 the operation was complete ; the casks that had been skil- 
 fully stowed in the main cabin of the Sirene were now 
 ranged as tightly as might be in the boats alongside ; 
 then the men stepped in and took to the oars ; while the 
 young master went to the tiller. Calum had been told to 
 put a couple of candles in his pocket ; and he was not likely 
 to forget that — for they were going to the Cave of the 
 Crowing Cock. 
 
 It was a long and laborious pull — the boat astern acting 
 as a heavy drag ; moreover, even with this clear starlight, 
 they dared not go anywhere near that saw-toothed reef 
 that guarded the next small bay whither they were bound. 
 They could hear each successive thud of the surge, and 
 the long-receding roar ; and they could even descry in a 
 kind of way the line of white foam that boiled and churned 
 incessantly along the almost invisible rocks. But once 
 they were round this dangerous point — giving it a signifi- 
 cantly wide berth— they found themselves in smooth water 
 again. Not a woi'd was spoken. The two men toiled 
 away at the oars — most likely thinking of the welcome 
 sleep awaiting them when all was done. The land ahead 
 seemed to grow darker as they approached, even as the 
 black precipitous cliflfs appeared to soar higher and higher 
 into the clear starlit skies. Then there was a whispering 
 of water : the beach was near. Young Ross bade them 
 pull more gently now : he was trying to make out the 
 most suitable landing-place — in amongst those mysterious 
 shadows. 
 
 Eventually the two boats were grounded, and dragged 
 up to be secvire from the tide ; while the work of getting 
 the kegs out began. 
 
 " Calum," said the young master, " take the candles 
 now and get them lighted ; and mind you do not light 
 them until you are well inside the cave." 
 
 Calum appeared to receive this commission very un- 
 willingly ; at all events he hesitated.
 
 THE CAVE OF THE CROWING COCK 39 
 
 "It is asking for your pardon I am, sir," said he ; 
 (< but — I have brought a pistol with me." 
 
 " A pistol % And why so % " said Donald Ross. 
 
 " It is the pistol that I would like to be firing into the 
 cave," said Calum, rather timidly, " before any of us went 
 into it." 
 
 " And what is your reason for that, Calum ? " 
 
 Calum rather hung his head ; but he said all the same — 
 
 " If there would be wild beasts in the cave, it will scare 
 them before we go in." 
 
 "Wild beasts? And what wild beasts are there in 
 Eilean Heimra ? " Then the young man laughed. " Calum, 
 is it a badger, or a wild cat, or an otter that you fear? 
 Or is it not rather the Dai'k Person you are afraid of, 
 who used to come every night to Lochgarra to ask 
 Mr. Stanley if he wvas not ready yet ? Did you believe 
 that story, Calum ; and did you not think the Dark Person 
 very foolish to talk Gaelic to Mr, Stanley, when he was 
 not understanding a word of it ? " 
 
 Calum did not answer : he was shamefacedly awaiting 
 permission to fire into that dreaded place. 
 
 "Well, well, Calum," young Ross said good-naturedly, 
 " you are not long from your mother's apron-string : if you 
 are afraid, give me the candles, and keep the pistol in 
 your pocket. Give me the candles — and lend Coinneach 
 here a hand with the kegs." 
 
 But at this Calum raised his head. 
 
 " Indeed that will I not do," said he, " for it is not Mr. 
 Ross that must go first into the cave, when I am here, 
 or when Coinneach is here. If I am not to fire the pistol, 
 then I will not fire the pistol. But it's myself that am 
 going to light the candles in the cave." 
 
 "And a lucifer-match, Calum," said the young master, 
 turning away from him, " will frighten wild beasts as well 
 as any pistol — besides making a great deal less noise." 
 
 The Uamh coilich na glaodhaich was only a few yards 
 distant ; but the entrance to it was concealed by a huge 
 mass — a perpendicular pinnacle — of rock ; and when Calum 
 had got behind this gigantic natural screen, there were no 
 more cheerful stars to guide him ; he was confronted by 
 darkness and unknown terrors. And yet he scrupulously
 
 40 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 obeyed his instructions. His trembling fingers, it is true, 
 grasped the pistol, but he kept it in his pocket neverthe- 
 less ; while with his left hand he groped his way well into 
 the cave — dreading at every moment to see two fiery eyes 
 glaring on him — before he set to work to light the candles. 
 And how feeble and ineffectual were the small red flames 
 in this vast cavern ! Their flickering hardly showed the 
 roof at all ; but it was not the roof that Calum was re- 
 garding ; it was the far-reaching and black abyss in front 
 of him, that led — whither? Perhaps the inhabitants of 
 that other world could see better than himself, and were 
 now regarding him ? — that other world in which the dawn 
 began in the middle of the night, and where there were 
 cocks crowing when all the natural universe was asleep. 
 He had to fasten each lighted candle into the neck of a 
 bottle that had been left there for the purpose ; but all 
 the while he did so he was staring into that vague and 
 awful space that the feeble, dull red glow did not seem 
 to pejietrate at all — staring into it as if he expected to find 
 two white eyes and a ghastly countenance suddenly become 
 visible. And then again, when he had placed the bottles 
 on a shelf of rock that ran along one side of the cave, a 
 few feet from the ground, he did not instantly turn and 
 go. He retreated backward — cautiously, for the shelving 
 shingle was loose and slippery — keeping his face towards 
 that hollow darkness, so that he might guard himself 
 against any strange thing, or be warned by hearing any 
 strange noise. Then a colder stirring of air told him that 
 he was outside ; he made his way past the over-looming 
 rock and into the clear star-light again ; and with a beating 
 heart— but a thankful heart withal — he went quickly along 
 the beach and rejoined his companions. 
 
 By this time the kegs had been all got out ; so that in 
 case of any sudden danger, of which they appeared to have 
 but little dread, the three of them could have jumped into 
 one of the boats and made off. There remained, therefore, 
 only the task of canning along the casks and stowing them 
 in the cave ; and this work young Ross left to the two 
 men. He remained on watch — if watch were needed — 
 pacing up and down the shingle, looking at the far re- 
 splendent heavens and the darker sea, and listening to the
 
 THE CAVE OF THE CROWING COCK 41 
 
 continuous murmur of the distant surf. He had lit his 
 pipe, too ; he did not seem to have much apprehension of 
 being interfered with. And indeed all went well ; and in 
 due course of time the two dark figures came along the 
 beach with the intelligence that all the kegs had been 
 safely stowed, and that they were now ready to row the 
 master back to his own home. 
 
 " Coinneach," said Donald Ross, seated at the helm, 
 when they were some way out on the black and tumbling 
 water, that glanced and quivered here and there with the 
 reflections of the stars, " they were telling me before we 
 left in the yacht that the lady was shortly coming to 
 Lochgarra House." 
 
 "And indeed I heard the same thing myself," said 
 Coinneach, " and they were making ready at the big house 
 for the coming of the Englishwoman." * 
 
 "And I have no doubt," the master continued, "that 
 Purdie will come with her, to show her the property, and 
 introduce her to the people." 
 
 "The Little Red Dwarf," said Coinneach; and then he 
 muttered to himself : "It is the lowermost floor of hell 
 that I am wishing for him, and for every one of his 
 accursed house ! " 
 
 Young Ross of Heimra took no notice of this pious 
 ejaculation. 
 
 "Now listen," said he. "This is what I wish to say to 
 you, Coinneach. When Purdie comes to Lochgarra with 
 the lady who is the new proprietor, that would be a very 
 good time indeed for widow Mac Vean to ask them to give 
 her a cow in place of the one that she lost in the Meall- 
 na-Fearn bog. Maybe they will give the poor woman a 
 cow ; and she will pay them back bit by bit if they allow 
 her time." 
 
 " It is of no use asking the Little Red Dwarf for any- 
 thing," said Coinneach, sullenly. "There is no goodwill in 
 his heart towards the people. ISTor is thei-e any goodwill 
 in their hearts towards him — God forbid that there should 
 be any such thing. Indeed, now, there is something I 
 
 * Ban-sassunnach -was the term he used. But young Ross had 
 referred to her as Baintighearna, or lady-proprietor— a much more 
 respectful appellation.
 
 42 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 could say about the Little Red Dwarf — But it does not 
 serve to talk." 
 
 "What were you going to say, Coinneach?" the young 
 master demanded — knowing Coinneach's ways. 
 
 ''Oh, perhaps Mr. Ross would not like to hear," said 
 C\/inneach, evasively. 
 
 " Indeed, but I wish to hear. Now what is it you have 
 to tell me about the Troich Bheag Dhearg ? " 
 
 Coinneach was silent for a second or two. 
 
 " Well," said he, slowly, "it was some of the young lads 
 they were saying that it only wanted a word from Mr. 
 Ross. Yes ; they were saying that. It was just a word 
 from Mr. Ross ; and they would see that the Little Red 
 Devil did not trouble any one any more, neither in this 
 nor in any other country." 
 
 "Oh, indeed," said the master, placidly. "Then it is a 
 murder the Gillie Ciotach and the rest of them are for 
 planning — is that what you have to tell me ? " 
 
 "I would not give a thing a bad name," said Coinneach, 
 as he laboured at the oar. "No, no; they were not 
 talking of a murder, or any bad thing like that. But — 
 but there might be an accident ; and a very good thing, 
 too, if an accident happened to the Little Red Dwarf ! " 
 
 " And what kind of an accident % " 
 
 "Oh well," said Coinneach, looking away out to the 
 horizon as if the suggestion might come from any quarter. 
 " Maybe he would be riding home on a dark night ; and 
 maybe there might be a wire stretched across the road ; 
 and if he was to break his neck, who could help that % 
 And it is I who would laugh to hear that he had broken 
 his neck ; indeed I would laugh ! " said Coinneach, though 
 there was little laughter in his sombre tones. 
 
 "And that is what you call an accident, Coinneach? It 
 is an accident that might end in your finding yourself with 
 a hempen collar round your neck. And what was it set 
 the young men talking like that ? " 
 
 " Oh well, indeed, they were talking about the draining 
 of the loch and the pulling down of Castle Heimra ; and 
 they were saying that nowadays the law was being altered 
 by the people themselves, and that i-ight and justice could 
 be done without waiting for the courts. They were saying
 
 THE CAVE OF THE CROWING COCK 43 
 
 that. And they were saying that we have come into a 
 new time, which is the truth. They were speaking of the 
 people over there in the Lews ; and the last that was heard 
 was that the people would not wait any longer for more 
 pasture to be given them ; they would not wait for the 
 courts ; they were going to take the deer-forest to them- 
 selves, and hamstring every one of the stags — them that 
 they could not eat; and they had got their tents and 
 baggage ready, to go into the forest and take possession. 
 In former times they would not have dared to do so ; 
 but times are different nov/ ; and people have not to wait 
 for justice ; it is they themselves who must say what is 
 right, whether about the Little Red Dwarf, or anything 
 else. They were telling me that. And who was to put 
 the crofters and cottars out of the deer-forest over there 
 in the Lews 1 Not all the policemen in the island : there 
 are not enough. And if they were to send soldiers, the 
 Queen's soldiers dare not fire on the Queen's subjects, or 
 the officer would be hanged. That was what they were 
 telling me." 
 
 " Coinneach," said the young master, "if the Gillie 
 Ciotach and his companions are talking like that, they 
 will be getting themselves into trouble one of these days. 
 They'd better let the Little Red Dwarf alone ; for one 
 thing, I dare say he is safe enough ; the devil looks after 
 his own brats. But do not forget what I am telling you 
 now — about Mrs. IMac Vean. Old Martha will be wanting 
 you to go over to the mainland to-morrow ; and when you 
 are there, you can seek out Mrs. Mac Yean, and bid her 
 tell the factor how her cow was lost in the Meall-na-Fearu 
 bog. She can do no harm by asking." 
 
 "It's very little she will get from the Troich Bheag 
 Dhearg," said Coinneach, gloomily, " whether by asking or 
 any other way." 
 
 At last the long pull was over ; and the men, having 
 landed the master at the slip, set out again for the yacht. 
 Young Ross of Heimra went up to the house. But before 
 going in, he paused at the porch, to have a final look at the 
 wonderful glories of that vast firmament — the throbbing 
 Sirius low down in the south, the gleaming belt and sword 
 of Orion, the powdered diamond-dust of the Pleiades, the
 
 44 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 jewelled head of Medusa, Cassiopeia's silver throne. And 
 perhaps he was not thinking so much of those distant 
 and shining worlds as of her who had iirst taught him 
 their various names — of the worse than widowed woman 
 who had shut herself up here in proud isolation, himself her 
 only care. Well, she was at peace now ; her wrongs and 
 sufferings and bitter memories all come to an end ; surely 
 there was nothing but quiet and sweet slumber around 
 that white grave-stone, far up there on the top of the cliff, 
 overlooking the wide and lonely western seas. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE BAINTIGHEARNA. 
 
 Next morning Mary went eagerly and joyously to the 
 window, for here indeed was a welcome change : no more 
 louring heavens and streaming roads, but a vast expanse of 
 v.'ind-driven sea, blue as the very heart of a sapphire, 
 and yet with innumerable sudden flashes of white from 
 the crest of its swift-hurrying waves. The sky cloudless ; 
 the fresh breeze blowing straight in from the Atlantic ; 
 the world all shining around her ; even those long spurs 
 and headlands, sterile as they were, looked quite cheerful 
 in the prevailing sunlight. And out yonder, too, was the 
 island of Heimra, to which her eyes would go back again 
 and acfain with a curious interest. She thouijht of the 
 lone mother, and of the boy brought up like a wild goat 
 among the rocks. And if he had turned out a reckless 
 and unscrupulous ne'er-do-well, an Ishmael with his hand 
 against every man, well, that was a deplorable thing, 
 though perhaps not to be wondered at ; moreover, it could 
 matter little to her what such an outcast might think 
 of her or of her family ; but, nevertheless, deep down in 
 her heart there was an odd and ever recurring feeling of 
 compunction. She wished to be able to say " I am sorry." 
 Certainly it was not she who had destroyed the last relic 
 and monument of the ancient name — who had drained the 
 loch and levelled the old stronghold with the ground ; and 
 he must know that ; but she wished him to know more ; 
 she wished him to know how indignant she had been when
 
 THE BAINTIGHEARNA 45 
 
 she first heard of that monstrous and iniquitous act of 
 vandalism. And then again (as she still stood gazing at 
 the island out there in the wide blue waters, with the 
 white foam springing high in the sunlight along its southern 
 coasts) it seemed to her that she rather feared meeting 
 this man. Eudeand lawless and mannerless, might he not 
 laugh at her stumbling apologies ? Or in his Highland 
 pride he might scorn her southern birth, and vouchsafe 
 no word in reply ? Well, being sorry was all that remained 
 for her ; what was done could not be undone ; it was not 
 within her power to bring back Castle Heimra from 
 that waste of ruin. 
 
 She had got up very early, but she did not care to 
 waken Kate, who was no doubt tired with the long drive 
 of yesterday ; she thought instead she would quietly slip 
 outside and have some little investigation of her surround- 
 ings. So she quickly finished dressing ; went down and 
 through the lofty oak hall ; passed out upon the stone 
 terrace, and from thence descended into the garden, where 
 she found herself quite alone. The air was sweet and soft ; 
 there was a pleasant scent of newly-delved earth ; and 
 everywhere there was abundant evidence that the Spring 
 had already come to this sheltered space — for there were 
 masses of daffodils and primroses and wallflower all aglow 
 in the warm sunlight, and there were bunches of blossom 
 on the cherry-trees trained up the high stone wall. She 
 went away down to the end of the garden, opened a door 
 she found there, and, passing through, entered the wilder 
 solitude of the woods. And ever as she wandered idly 
 and carelessly along, the sense that she was the mistress 
 and owner of all these beautiful things around her seemed 
 to grow on her and produce a certain not unnatural joy 
 and pride. For the moment she had forgotten all the 
 problems in human nature and in economics that lay ahead 
 of her; here she had all the world to herself — this pic- 
 turesque world of silver-grey rock, and golden gorse, and 
 taller larch and spruce, all dappled with sun and shadow, 
 while the fresh odours of the Spring were everywhere 
 around, and a stirring of the new life of the year. And 
 then, when she had fought her way through the thick 
 underwood to the summit of one of the westward-looking
 
 46 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 cliffs — behold ! the dark blue sea, and the sunny headlands, 
 and Eilean Heimra, with its thunder-shocks of foam. 
 Heimra island again ; it seemed to be always confronting 
 her ; but however long she might gaze in that direction, 
 there was no sign of any white-winged yacht coming sailing 
 out into the blue. 
 
 And then she scrambled down from this height to the 
 water's edge ; and here she discovered a most sequestered 
 little haven — a small, semicircular bay sheltered from the 
 landwinds by rocks and trees, while the pellucid green sea 
 broke in ripples of silver along the cream-white and lilac 
 pebbles. A most solitary spot — quiet, and sunny, and 
 peaceful : she began to thinlc that whatever might be done 
 with other portions of her property, she would keep this 
 little bit of picturesque seclusion entirely for herself. 
 This, surely, could l^e of no use to anybody — the pebbly 
 beach, the rocks purple-black with mussels or olive-green 
 with seaweed, the clear water whispering along the shore. 
 Political economy should not follow her hither ; here would 
 be her place of rest — her place of dreaming — when she 
 was done with studying the wants of others, and wished to 
 commune with her own soul. 
 
 But all of a sudden she found she was not alone : an 
 apparition had become visible — a solitary figure that had 
 quietly come I'ound the rocky point, and was now regarding 
 her with dumb apprehension. This was a girl of about 
 five-and-twenty, who had something of an Irish cast of 
 face ; fair-complexioned, freckled, a tilted nose, grey eyes 
 wide apart and startled-looking, and curly light-brown hair 
 that was mostly concealed by the scarlet shawl she wore 
 round her head and shoulders. She regarded Miss Stanley 
 with ol:)vious fear, and did not advance ; her eyes, that 
 had the timidity of a wild animal in them, had something 
 more than that ; they seemed to say that the poor creature 
 was but half-witted. Nevertheless the young proprietress 
 instantly concluded that this was one of "her people," and 
 that, therefore, she was bound to make friends. 
 
 "Good morning!" said Mary, and she brought her 
 wonder-working smile and dimple into play, as well she 
 knew how. 
 
 A quick light, of wonder and pleasure, sprang into the
 
 THE BAINTIGHEARNA 47 
 
 girl's eyes. She came forward a little way, timidly. She 
 smiled, in a pleading sort of fashion. And then she ven- 
 tured to hold out her hand, timidly. Mary went forward 
 at once. 
 
 " I am very glad to make your acquaintance," she said, 
 in her bland tones, " and you must tell me who you are." 
 
 But the girl, taking the hand that was offered to her, 
 bent one knee and made a humble and profound curtsy 
 (where she could have learnt this trick it is hard to say), 
 and then she uplifted her smiling and beseeching eyes to 
 the great lady (who was considerably taller than she), 
 and still held her hand, and repeated several times some- 
 thing that sounded like Bentyurna veen — Bentyurna veen* 
 "I am very sorry I don't know Gaelic," said Mary, 
 rather disappointedly. " Don't you know a little English 1 " 
 The girl still held her hand, and patted it ; and looked 
 into her face with pleased and wistful eyes ; and again 
 she was addressed as Bentyurna veen. And then, in 
 this unknown tongue, something more was said, of which 
 Mary could only make out the single word Heimra. 
 
 " Oh, do you come from Heimra island 1 " she asked, 
 quickly. 
 
 But of the girl's further and rapid speech she could 
 make nothing at all. So she said — 
 
 " I am really very sorry ; but I don't know any Gaelic. 
 Come with me to the house, and I will get some one to 
 speak between us. Come with me, to Lochgarra House ; 
 do you understand 1 " 
 
 The girl smiled, as if in assent ; and thereupon the two 
 of them set out, following a winding path through the 
 woods that eventually brought them to the garden gate. 
 But here a curious incident occurred. Mary opened the 
 gate, and held it for her unknown friend to follow ; but 
 at the same moment the girl caught sight of Mr. Purdie, 
 who had come along for instructions, and was now in the 
 garden awaiting Miss Stanley's return. The instant that 
 this stranger girl beheld the Little Red Dwarf, she uttered 
 a quick cry of terror, and turned and fled ; in a moment 
 she was out of sight in the thick underwood. Mary 
 
 * Baiiitujhearna mhin — the gentle lady.
 
 48 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 stood still, astounded. It was no use her trying to follow. 
 And so, after a second or two of bewilderment, she turned 
 and went on to the house, saying a few words to Mr. Purdie 
 in passing, but not with reference to this encounter. Some 
 instinct suggested that she ought to seek for information 
 elsewhere. 
 
 When she went into the dining-room she found that 
 Kathchen had come down, and also that Barbara was 
 bringing in breakfast. 
 
 "Barbara," said she, "do you know of a girl about here 
 who seems to be not quite in her right mind, poor thing % 
 A fair-complexioned girl, who wears a red shawl round 
 her head and shoulders " 
 
 " Oh, that was just Anna Chlannach* that Miss Stanley 
 would be seeing," said Barbara, in her soft-spoken way. 
 
 "And does she come from Heimra island?" Was the 
 next question. 
 
 " Oh, no, she is not from Eilean Heimra," said Barbara. 
 "Maybe she would be speaking to Miss Stanley, and it is 
 abaut her mother she would be speaking. Her mother 
 died about two years ago ; but Anna thinks she has been 
 changed into one of the white sea-birds that fly about 
 Eilean Heimra, and that she is coming back, and so she 
 goes along the shore and watches for her. That is what 
 she would be saying to Miss Stanley." 
 
 " Barbai'a, can you tell me why the girl should be afraid 
 of Mr. Purdie % " 
 
 " Oh, well, indeed, ma'am, they were saying that 
 Mr. Purdie was for having her sent away to an asylum ; 
 and it is no doubt Anna would rather be among her own 
 people." 
 
 "To an asylum 1 " Mary demanded sharply. " For what 
 reason ? She does no harm 1 " 
 
 " There is no harm about Anna Chlannach," said Bar- 
 bara, simply and seriously, as she busied herself with the 
 table things. "There is no harm at all about Anna 
 Chlannach, poor girl. But when Mr. Purdie wishes a 
 thing to be done, then it has to be done." 
 
 The hot blood mounted to Mary Stanley's face, 
 
 * Anna Chlavnach — Anne of the many curls.
 
 THE BAINTIGHEARNA 49 
 
 " Oil, do you think so % " said she. "For I do not think 
 so — not at all ! It is not Mr. Purdie who is to be the 
 master here — when I am here. I will let Mr. Purdie 
 understand that he is not to — to interfere with my 
 people " 
 
 " JNIary ! " said Kate Glendinning in an undertone. 
 
 Mary was silent ; she knew she had been indiscreet. 
 But presently she said — 
 
 " Well, Kathchen, I see I must learn Gaelic." 
 
 "Gaelic," observed Kate, sententiously, "is a very 
 intricate key ; and then when you've got it, and put it 
 in the lock, and turned it, you find the cupboard empty." 
 
 " Perhaps so with regard to literature — I do not know ; 
 but I want to be able to talk to the people here, without 
 the intervention of an interpreter. Barbara," said she, to 
 the parlour-maid, who had come into the room again, " do 
 you know what hentyurna veen is 1 " 
 
 " Baintighearna mhin ? " said Barbara, with a smile. 
 " Oh, that is ' the gentle lady.' And that is what Anna 
 Chlannach would be calling Miss Stanley. I have no 
 doubt of that." 
 
 "Well, now, Barbara," Mary continued, "you must 
 tell me how to say this in Gaelic — ' Am I tvelcome ? ' 
 What is that in Gaelic 1 " 
 
 But here Barbara became very much embarrassed. 
 
 "I am sure it is not necessary that Miss Stanley should 
 say that — oh no, indeed," she answered with averted 
 eyes. 
 
 " I am not so sure," said Mary, in her direct way. " I 
 hope the time will come when I shall not have to ask such 
 a question in going into any one's cottage ; but at present 
 I am a stranger, and I must make my way gradually. 
 Now, Barbara, what is the Gaelic for ' Am I welcome 1 ' " 
 
 But still Barbara hesitated. 
 
 " If you would ask Mr. Purdie, ma'am, he would give 
 you the good Gaelic." 
 
 "No, I will not," said the imperative young mistress. 
 " I dare say your Gaelic is quite as good as Mr. Purdie's." 
 
 "And you would be saying 'Am I welcome V in going 
 into a house 1 " said Barbara, slowly — for translation is a 
 gerious difficulty to the untutored mind. " Oh, I think 
 
 E
 
 50 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 you would just s.ay '■An e mo hheatliaV ; but why would 
 Miss Stanley be saying sucli a thing as that 1 " 
 
 " ' An e mo hheatha ? ' — is that right ? Very well ! " 
 
 " And how will you understand their answer, Mamie 1 " 
 Kate Glendinning asked. 
 
 "I will read that in their faces," was the reply. 
 
 It was quite clear that the young proprietress had in 
 no wise been disheartened by that first interview with one 
 of her tenants on the previous evening. This fair-shining 
 morning found her as full of ardent enthusiasm, of generous 
 aspirations, as ever ; and here was the carriage awaiting 
 them ; and here was Mr. Purdie, obsequious ; and even 
 Kathchen looked forward with eagerness to getting a 
 general view of the estate. Then their setting forth was 
 entirely cheerful ; the Spring air was sweet around them ; 
 the sunlight lay warm on the larches and on the tall and 
 thick-stemmed bushes of gorse that were all a blaze of 
 gold. But it was not of landscape that Mary Stanley was 
 thinking ; it was of human beings ; and the first human 
 being she saw was a little old woman who was patiently 
 trudging along with a heavy creel of peats strapped on 
 her back. 
 
 " The poor old woman ! " she exclaimed, with an infinite 
 compassion in her eyes. " Doesn't it seem hard she should 
 have to work at her time of life ? " 
 
 "She's a good deal better off than if she wei^e in Seven 
 Dials or the Bowery," said Kathchen. "But perhaps you 
 would like to give her a seat in the carriage 1 " 
 
 "You may laugh if you like," said Mary, quite simply, 
 "but it seems to me it would be more becoming if that 
 poor old woman were sitting here and I were carrying 
 the creel. However, I suppose we shall have to begin 
 with something more practicable." 
 
 But was it more practicable 1 — that was the question 
 she had speedily to jDut to herself. For no sooner had 
 they left the wooded ' policies ' and surroundings of Loch- 
 garra House than they entered upon a stretch of country 
 the sterility of which might have appalled her if only she 
 had fully comprehended it. Land such as the poorest of 
 Galway peasants would have shunned — an Arabia Petrpea 
 — rocks, stones, and heather — wave upon wave of Hebridean
 
 THE BAINTIGHEARNA 51 
 
 gneiss, the ruddy-grey knolls and dips and heights showing 
 hardly a trace of vegetation or of soil. And yet there 
 ■were human beings here, busy on their small patches ; and 
 there were hovels, some of them thatched, others covei^ed 
 over with turf tied down by ropes ; while now and again 
 there appeared a smarter cottage, with a slated roof, and 
 lozenge-panes of glass in the window. Moreover, they had 
 now come in sight of the sea again ; yonder was a far- 
 stretching bay of silvery sand ; and out at the margin of 
 the water, which was at lowest ebb, thei'e were a number 
 of people, mostly women and young lads and girls, stooping 
 at work ; while an occasional small dark figure, with a 
 hump on its back, was seen to be crossing the expanse of 
 white. 
 
 " What are they doing, Mr. Purdie 1 " Mary asked. 
 
 " They're cutting seaware for manure to put on their 
 crofts," was the answer. 
 
 And at the same moment her attention was drawn to a 
 man not far from the roadside who, in his little bit of 
 rocky ground, was making use of an implement the like of 
 which she had never seen or heard of. 
 
 "What is that, Mr. Purdie? Is it some kind of spade ?" 
 
 " Oh, just a foot-plough — there's no other kind of plough 
 would be of any use in this district." 
 
 And nothing would do but that she must descend and 
 examine this novel method of tillage. She went boldly up 
 to the man : he was a tall, lean, swarthy person, severe of 
 aspect, who kept a pair of hawk-like eyes fixed on the 
 factor all the time he rather unwillingly answered her 
 questions. Por Mary, to her great delight, discovei'ed that 
 this man could speak English ; and she wanted information 
 at first hand ; and indeed she immediately showed a very 
 definite knowledge of what she was after. The man 
 clearly did not like being cross-examined ; again and aga n 
 he resumed his delving operations with that long-coultered 
 instrument that he worked with foot and arms ; but she 
 would take no heed of his sullen humour. What stock 
 had he? — two cows, two stirks, eight sheep up on the 
 common pasture, and a pony. What potatoes did he 
 raise !— well, he would plant about two barrels, and maybe 
 get ten or twelve barrels. Did he make any meal ?— 
 
 B 2
 
 52 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 hardly any ; the cows and stirks did not let his crops 
 come to the threshing. And so forth, until Mary said — 
 
 " But I don't see where you get any capital to work the 
 croft, or to increase the stock if we could give you more 
 land. You don't seem to be getting any money." 
 
 " No, no money at ahl," said the crofter. 
 
 " Listen to him ! " interposed Mr. Purdie, with an angry 
 frown. " Let me tell you this, Miss Stanley : that man 
 gets twenty-five shillings a week, gillie's wages, when the 
 gentlemen are here for the shooting, and besides that he 
 hires his pony to them at twenty-three shillings a week ; 
 and I suppose he's just the one to cry out that not a sports- 
 man should be allowed to come into the country." 
 
 " Is it true that you get that money % " said Mary calmly. 
 
 " Ay, that is true," he admitted, in rather a sulky fashion ; 
 "but it is not from the croft I get the money." 
 
 "Well, I am only making enquiries at present," said 
 Miss Stanley. "I wish to know what improvements are 
 possible — I wish to know what the people want " 
 
 But here, to her surprise, she was interrupted. 
 
 " A railway," said the tall, black-a-vised crofter. 
 
 " A railway % " she repeated. 
 
 "Ay^ — a railway to Bonar. " 
 
 " A railway to Bonar Bridge 1 " she said, staring at the 
 man. " Why, what good would that do you ? Take your 
 own case. You say you have nothing to sell. Even if 
 there were a railway to Bonar Bridge — and there couldn't 
 be, for the cost would be enormous, and there would be 
 no traffic to speak of — but supposing there were a railway, 
 how would that benefit you 1 " 
 
 He made no rej^ly ; he merely worked away with the long 
 and narrow coulter, turning up the poor soil. So she saw 
 it was no use arguing with him ; she bade him a cheerful 
 " Good-morning ! " and came away again. 
 
 And with a right gallant courage did she continue her 
 house-to-house visitation, desperately trying to win friends 
 for herself, and wondering more and more that she was so 
 ill received. She was not accustomed to sour looks and 
 sullen manners ; and in casting about for some possible 
 reason for this strange behaviour she began to ask herself 
 whether she might not get on better with these people if
 
 THE BAINTlGHEARNA 53 
 
 Mr. Purdie were well away back in his office in Inverness. 
 One point struck her as being very peculiar ; not a single 
 man or woman of them asked for a reduction of rent. 
 She thought that would have been the first thing for them 
 to demand, and the simplest for her to consider; but it 
 was never mentioned. They asked for all kinds of other 
 things — when they would speak at all. They wanted 
 herring-nets from the Government ; they wanted more boats 
 from the Government — and the instalments of repayment 
 to be made smaller ; they wanted the steamer to call 
 in thrice a week, during the ling season ; they wanted their 
 arrears of debt to the curers to be wiped off; they wanted 
 more pastui'e land ; they wanted more arable land. 
 
 "As for pasture land," said Kathchen, in an undertone, 
 as they were leaving one of these poor steadings, " I don't 
 know whether you will be able to persuade Mr. "Watson 
 to give up a slice of his sheep-farm ; but as regards arable 
 land, Mary, you should tell those people they have made 
 a mistake about you. You are not the Creator of the 
 Universe ; you can't make arable land out of nothing." 
 
 "Don't be profane," said Mary, severely. "And mind, 
 I'm not going to have any giggling disparagement of my 
 work : I can tell you, it promises to be very serious." 
 
 Serious enough ! When they got back to Lochgarra 
 House in the afternoon, her head was fairly in a whirl 
 with conflicting statements and conflicting demands. She 
 knew not how or where to begin ; the future seemed 
 all in a maze ; while the personal reception accorded her 
 (though she tried to think nothing of that for the moment) 
 had been distinctly repellent. And yet, not satisfied with 
 this long day's work, she would go down to the village in 
 the evening, to see what was expected of her there. 
 
 "I suppose I can interfere!" she said, to Mr. Purdie, 
 who was having tea with them. 
 
 " Beg pardon ? " 
 
 " I suppose I can interfere? The village belongs to me, 
 does it not % " she demanded. 
 
 " In a measure it does," said the factor. " Of course 
 you are the Superior ; but where feus have been granted, 
 they have the land in perpetuity, while you have only the 
 rent "
 
 54 bONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 " Oh, I can't interfere then ? " said she, with some 
 disappointment that her sphere of activity seemed limited 
 in that direction. 
 
 "You can step in to see that the conditions of the leases 
 have been respected " 
 
 "But I can't do things?" 
 
 " They'll let you do whatever ye like — so long as it 
 means spending money on them," said Mr. Purdie, with 
 grim sarcasm. 
 
 " The inn, for example % " 
 
 " The inn is difierent. We built the inn. The land- 
 lord is only a yearly tenant." 
 
 " We will go down and see him at once, if you please, 
 Mr. Purdie," said Mary, with promptitude. "I have a 
 scheme in my head. Kiithchen, are you tired ? " 
 
 Kate laughed, and dragged herself from her chair. In- 
 deed, she was dead tired ; but none the less she was deter- 
 mined to see this thing out. So the three of them pro- 
 ceeded along to the village as far as the inn — which was 
 a plain little two-storeyed building, with not even a sign 
 hanging over the door ; and there they went into the stuffy 
 little parlour, and sate down, Mr. Pui^die ringing the bell 
 and sending for the landlord. 
 
 "Aren't those things dreadful?" said Mary, glancing 
 around at the hideous stone and china ornaments on the 
 mantelshelf and elsewhere — pink greyhounds chasing a 
 yellow hare ; bronze stags that could only have been de- 
 signed in wild delirium ; impossible white poodles on a 
 ground of cobalt blue, and the like ; while on the walls 
 were two gaudy lithographs — German-looking nymphs with 
 actual spangles in their hair and bits of gold and crimson 
 tinsel round their neck. "I must have all this altered 
 throughout the cottages " 
 
 " Oh, yes, Mamie," said Kiithchen ; " Broussa silks — 
 Lindos plates — a series of etchings " 
 
 But here was the landlord, a rather youngish and shortish 
 man, who seemed depressed and dismal, and also a little 
 apprehensive. 
 
 "Well, Peter," saidMi\ Purdie, in his merry way, "what 
 are ye frightened for 1 Ye've got a face as if ye'd 
 murdered somebody. We're not going to raise your rent."
 
 THE BAINTIGHEARNA 55 
 
 "It would be little use that — fori could not pay it," 
 said the sad-looking young man with the cadaverous grey 
 face and grey eyes. 
 
 " Won't you take a seat ? " said Miss Stanley, interposing. 
 " I have a proposal to make to you." 
 
 Peter Grant did not answer : he remained standing, 
 stolidly and in silence. 
 
 "It seems to me," she went on, "that something should 
 be done to bring visitors here in the spring, as well as 
 the few that come through this way in the autumn. It 
 would be a benefit all round — to the inn, and to the gillies 
 who would be required, I mean for the salmon-fishing 
 in the Garra. Now I don't particularly want the salmon- 
 fishing in the spring months ; and it seems to me if you 
 were enterprising you would rent it from me, and advertise 
 it, and let it to two or three gentlemen, who would come 
 and live in your house, and give you a good profit. Do 
 you see ? " 
 
 He answered not a word ; he kept his eyes mostly fixed 
 on the carpet ; so she continued — 
 
 " Gentlemen will go very far for salmon-fishing now-a- 
 days, so I am told ; and you might give them quiet quarters 
 here, and make them comfortable, and every year they 
 would come back. And I should not be hard vipon you in 
 fixing the rent. Indeed, I would rather the proposal came 
 from you. What do you think you could afibrd to give 
 me for the spring fishing in the Garra ? " 
 
 "Oh, as for that," said the young landlord, rather un- 
 civilly, "I do not see that there should be any rent. For 
 the people about here were saying that no one has a right 
 to the salmon more than anyone else." 
 
 " Now you know you're talking nonsense," said Mary, 
 with decision. "For if everyone had aright to the salmon, 
 in a fortnight's time there would not be a single fish left 
 in the river. And besides, do you forget that there is the 
 law % " 
 
 "Oh, yes, Peter knows there is the law," interposed 
 Mr. Purdie, who seemed to be in a most facetious mood. 
 " Not more than two months ago Peter found that out 
 when the Sheriff" at Dingwall fined him ten shillings and 
 ten shillings expenses for having carried and used a gun
 
 56 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 without a license. There is quite sufficient of law in the 
 land, as Peter has just found out." 
 
 The young man's eyes were filled with a sullen fire ; 
 but he said nothing. 
 
 "However," continued Miss Stanley, not heeding this 
 interruption, "I would not insist much on rent: I might 
 even give you the spring fishing for nothing, if you thought 
 it would induce the gentlemen to come and occupy the inn. 
 It is an out of-the-way place ; but perhaps you would not 
 be charging them very much either — not very much — I 
 don't quite know what would be a fair rent to ask — " 
 
 " I would charge them £30 a month," said he. She 
 looked up, a trifle indignant. 
 
 " Oh, I see. The fishing is worth nothing while I have 
 it ; but it's worth .£30 a month when you have it : is that 
 how the matter stands ? Do you call that fair dealing ? 
 Well, I haven't given you the fishing yet — not on those 
 terms." She rose — rather proudly. "Come, Kathchen, I 
 think we might go and have a look at this fishing that 
 seems to alter in value so remarkably the moment it 
 changes hands. We need not ti'ouble you, Mr. Purdie. 
 Good evening ! " This last salutation was addressed to 
 the landlord, who seemed to have no word of explanation 
 to offer : then the two girls went out from the inn, and 
 walked off in the direction of the river, which they had 
 seen in passing on the previous evening. 
 
 Mary was no doubt considerably hurt and offended ; and 
 there were still further trials in store for her before the 
 end of this arduous and disappointing day. She had pro- 
 posed this excursion to the river chiefly in order to get rid 
 of Mr. Purdie ; but when she and Kathchen found them- 
 selves by the side of the Garra, a vague curiosity drew 
 them on, until they had penetrated into solitudes where 
 the stream for the most part lay still and dark under the 
 gloom of the steep overhanging banks. There was some- 
 thing strangely impressive in the silence and in the dusk ; 
 for while a distant range of hill flamed russet in the western 
 light — an unimaginable glory — the stealthily creeping river 
 was here almost black in shadow, under the thick birch- 
 Avoods. And then suddenly she caught Kathchen by the 
 arm. Surely there was some one there — a figure out in
 
 TiJE BAINTIGHEARNA 57 
 
 tlie stream — a faint grey ghost in the mysterious twilight % 
 And then a startling thing occurred. The figure moved ; 
 and instantly, on the black and oily surface of the water' 
 there was a series of vivid blue-white circles widening out 
 and out, and slowly subsiding into the dark again. Each 
 time the grey ghost moved onward (and the two girls stood 
 motionless, watching this strange phenomenon) there was 
 this sudden gleam (the reflection of the clear-shining heavens 
 overhead) that lasted for a moment or two ; then the vague 
 obscurity once more encompassed the unknown person, and 
 he became but an almost imperceptible phantom. And was 
 there not some sound in the all-pervading stillness ? — an 
 occasional silken 'swish' through the air? Mary under- 
 stood what this was well enough. 
 
 "That man is poaching," said she, calmly — and she took 
 no pains to prevent herself being overheard. " And I 
 suppose you and I, Kathchen, have no means of arresting 
 him, and finding out who he is." 
 
 Her voice was clear, and no doubt carried a consider- 
 able distance in this perfect silence. Immediately after 
 she had spoken there were two or three further series of 
 those flashing rings — nearing the opposite bank : then 
 darkness again, and stillness ; the spectral fisherman, who- 
 ever he was, had vanished into the thick birchwood. 
 
 But Mary Stanley made no doubt as to who this w^as. 
 
 " Now I understand," she said, bitterly, as she and her 
 companion set out for home again, " why the salmon fishing 
 isn't worth £30 a month to me — when it does not belong 
 to me ! And now I understand what Mr. Purdie said 
 about the poaching — and the connivance of everybody 
 around. And yet I suppose Mr. Ross of Heimra calls 
 himself a gentleman ? I suppose he would not like to be 
 called a thief? Well, I call him a thief ! I call poaching 
 thieving — and nothing but thieving — whatever the people 
 about here may think. And I say it is not the conduct 
 of a gentleman." 
 
 She was very angry and indignant ', and the moment 
 she got back to Lochgarra House she sent for the head- 
 keeper. In a few minutes the tall and bushy-bearded Hector 
 presented himself at the door of the room, cap in hand — 
 a handsome man he was, with a grave and serious face.
 
 58 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Is any one allowed to fish in that river who pleases % " 
 she demanded. 
 
 " I was not aware of any one fishing, ma'am," said the 
 keeper, very respectfully. 
 
 " But is there no one watching ? " she demanded, again. 
 " Can any poacher who chooses have the run of the stream ? 
 Does it belong to everybody ? Is it common property % 
 Because — because I merely wish to know." 
 
 She was somewhat perturbed and excited ; she did not 
 think she was being dealt with justly ; and she saw in the 
 grave and reticent manner of the head-keeper only an inten- 
 tion of screening the culprit whom she herself had by 
 accident detected a little while before. 
 
 " The fishing in the Garra is not very good in the spring," 
 said the weather-browned Hector, " and we were not 
 thinking it was much use to have a water-bailiff what- 
 ever." 
 
 " But surely it is your business to see that no poaching 
 goes on, either on the river or anywhere else ? Surely 
 that is your duty ? And if there were no fishing, would 
 anyone fish % — you may trust a poacher to know ! I'm 
 sure," she went on, with something of a hurt manner, 
 "it is veiy little I ask. I only want to be treated fairly. 
 I am trying to do my best for every one in the place — I 
 wish to do what is right by every one. But then I want 
 to be treated fairly in return. And poaching is not fair ; 
 nor do I think it fair that you, as a keejDer, should make 
 excuses for it, or try to screen anyone, whoever he may 
 be." 
 
 The man's face became rather pale — even under the 
 weather tan. 
 
 " If Miss Stanley would be wanting to get another 
 gamekeeper," he said, slowly and respectfully, "I would 
 not be asking to stay." 
 
 " Oh, you would rather leave than interfere with 
 
 Mr. ." She did not complete the sentence. She turned 
 
 away and walked to the window. The fact is, it had been 
 a long and harassing day ; her nerves had got unstrung ; 
 and all of a sudden a fit of helplessness and despair came 
 over her ; it seemed impossible she could ever struggle 
 against this misconstruction and opposition and dislike.
 
 THE MEALL-NA-FEARN BOG §9 
 
 Kate Glendinning turned to the keepei'. 
 
 " You need not wait, Hector," said she, in an undertone. 
 
 Then she went to her friend. Mary had broken down 
 completely — and was sobbing bitterly. 
 
 " Mamie ! " 
 
 " I — I am not used to it," she said, between her sobs. 
 " All day long, it has been nothing but hatred — and — and 
 I am not used to being hated. What have I done to 
 deserve it ? I wish to — to do what is right by every one — 
 and — and I tried my — my very hardest to make friends 
 with every one. It is not fair — " 
 
 "No, it is not," said Kathchen, and she took her com- 
 panion by the hand and led her back into the room. "But 
 you must not be disheartened all at once. Give them time. 
 They don't understand you yet. And I will back you to 
 win over people against any one I ever knew : the fact is, 
 Mary, you have always found it so easy, that when you 
 meet with a little trouble you are terribly disappointed. 
 They don't hate you, those people ; they don't know you 
 —that is all." 
 
 And indeed the girl's naturally sunny temperament soon 
 broke through these bitter mortifications. 
 
 " After all, Kathchen," she said, " I have not quite lost 
 a day : I was forgetting that I made one friend." There 
 was an odd smile shining from behind her tears. "It is 
 true she is half-witted ; but all the same I am glad that 
 Anna Chlannach seemed to approve of me." 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE MEALL-NA-FEAEN BOG. 
 
 And once again a wild, clear, breezy morning ; the sea a 
 more brilliant blue than ever ; the heavy surge bursting- 
 like a bomb-shell on the rocks of Eilean Heimra, and 
 springing some sixty or seventy feet in the air. Altogether 
 a joyous and gladdening sight — from the several windows 
 of this spacious room in the tower ; but nevertheless Kate, 
 who was far from being a foolish virgin, observed that the 
 wind must have backed during the night to the south, 
 and therefore she began to talk about waterproofs. For
 
 60 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Mr. Purdie was leaving to-day ; and the two girls, thrown 
 upon their own resources, had planned an excursion to 
 those portions of the estate they had not yet visited — the 
 higher moorland districts ; and of course that had to be 
 accomplished on foot. They did not propose to take a 
 guide with them : they would simply go along to the 
 ' march ' beyond the little hamlet of Cruagan, and follow 
 the boundary line across the hills. Sooner or later they 
 would strike either the Corrie Bhreag or Glen Orme, with 
 the lower parts of which they were acquainted. 
 
 And so, with some snack of luncheon in their pocket 
 and a leather drinking-cup, and with their waterproofs 
 over their arm, they set out — the sunlight pleasant around 
 them, and odour of seaweed in the air. This was to be a 
 little bit of a holiday : for this one day, at least, there were 
 to be no persistent and patient questions met by sullen 
 replies, no timid proffers of friendship answered by obdu- 
 rate silence. And yet as they neared the village, Mary 
 was reminded of her perplexities, and griefs, and disappoint- 
 ments ; for here was the solitary policeman of the place, 
 standing outside the small building that served him for 
 both police-office and dwelling-house. John, as he was 
 simply called — or more generally, Iain — was not at all a 
 terrible-looking person ; on the contrary he was quite a 
 young man, very sleek and fat and roseate, with rather a 
 merry blue eye, and a general appearance of good-nature : 
 a stout, wholesome-complexioned, good humoured young 
 man, who was evidently largely acquainted with the virtues 
 of porridge and fresh milk. When Mary saw him, she said, — 
 
 "Well, Kathchen, if they're all in league against me, 
 even my own gamekeepers, to screen the poaching that is 
 going on, I will appeal to the policeman. He is bound to 
 put down thieving of every kind." 
 
 " You'd better not, Mamie," was the instant rejoinder. 
 " It would be very awkward if a question were asked in 
 the House of Commons — about a Highland proprietor who 
 had the shameless audacity to ask Her Majesty's own 
 representative to watch a salmon-river in place of the 
 ordinary keepers." 
 
 However, this project came to nothing in the present 
 case ; for as they drew near they found that the belted
 
 THE MEALL'NA-FEARN BOG 6i 
 
 guardian of the peace was himself in dire trouble. An 
 elderly woman — no doubt his mother — had opened an 
 upper window in the small two-storeyed building ; and 
 she was haranguing and scolding him with an unheard-of 
 volubility. What it was all about, neither Kathchen nor 
 Mary had the least idea, for the old woman was rating 
 him in Gaelic ; but John, seeing the young ladies approach, 
 grew more and more roseate and embarrassed. Of course 
 he pretended not to hear. He gazed out towards Heimra 
 Island. Then with his stick he prodded at the mass of 
 seaweed by the roadside that Avas waiting there to be 
 carted away. And then he smiled in a tolerant manner, 
 as if all this tempest were rather amusing ; and finally, not 
 being able, in such humiliating circumstances, to face the 
 two ladies, the upholder of the majesty of the law turned 
 and beat a speedy I'etreat, hiding himself in the lower floor 
 of the house until they should pass. So that on this occa- 
 sion Mary had no chance of asking Iain whether he would 
 catch poachers for her. 
 
 " I am sure," said she, as they were passing thi'ough the 
 town, and over the Garra bridge, and up into the country 
 beyond, " I do not care to preserve the game, if it were for 
 myself alone. If I thought it woidd be really for the good 
 of the people here, I would have every head of game on 
 the estate destroyed, and every salmon netted out of the 
 river. But you hear what they say themselves — many of 
 them would never see money at all if it weren't for the 
 gillies' wages, and the hiring of the ponies, and so on, in 
 the autumn. Then the few deer that stray on to the 
 ground, from the Glen Orme forest, they don't come near 
 the crofts — they do no harm whatever, except, perhaps, 
 to Mr. Watson's pasture, and he can easily get rid of them, 
 if he likes, by saying a word to his shepherds. So that the 
 shooting and the fishing are nothing but an advantage, and 
 a very great advantage, to the people ; and I tell you this, 
 Kathchen, that I mean to preserve them as well as ever 
 I can. And really it seems shameful that a gentleman in 
 Mr. Ross's position should have so little self-respect as to 
 become a common poacher — " 
 
 "You forget how he has been brought up — according 
 to Mr. Purdie's account," Kathchen put in. 
 
 »
 
 62 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 But Mary did not heed the interruption. She was 
 very indignant on this point. 
 
 " It is quite excusable," said she, "for the poor, ignorant 
 people about here to believe that the Rosses of Heimra 
 are still the rightful owners of the land. They know 
 nothing about the law courts and agent's offices in London. 
 They only know that as far back as they have heard of, 
 and down to their own day, the land has belonged to the 
 Rosses ; and their Highland loyalty remains staunch and 
 true ; it is not to be bought over by the stranger ; and 
 perhaps it is not even to be acquired by kindness — but 
 we'll see about that in time. However, what I say is this, 
 that I don't complain of these poor people having such 
 mistaken ideas ; but Mr. Ross knows better ; he knows 
 well enough that he has not the least shadow of right to 
 anything belonging to the Lochgarra estate ; and that if 
 he takes a grouse, or a hare, or a salmon, he is constituting 
 himself a common thief." 
 
 But now, and for an instant, she was stricken dumb. 
 They had come in sight of the dried-up loch and the waste 
 heajD of stones that once was Castle Heimra ; and this sad 
 spectacle seemed to put some strange fancies into her head. 
 
 "Kathchen," said she, "do you think he does it out of 
 revenge ? " 
 
 Now Kate Glendinning herself was of Highland blood ; 
 and she made answer boldly — 
 
 " I have told you already, Mary, that if I were young 
 Ross of Heimra, and such an injury had been done to me 
 and mine — well, I should not like to say what I should be 
 inclined to do in return. A sentimental grievance ! — yes ; 
 but it is sentimental grievances that go deepest down into 
 the Highland nature, and that are longest remembered. 
 But then on the other hand it seems to me that shootinsf 
 game or killing salmon is a very paltry form of revenge. 
 That is not how I should try to have it out with Mr. 
 Purdie — for who can doubt that it was Mr. Purdie de- 
 stroyed the loch and the castle ? — I saw his air of triumph 
 when he told the story. No ; poaching wouldn't be my 
 revenge^" 
 
 "There is more than that, Kathchen," Mary said, 
 absently. " It isn't merely defying the keepers, or being
 
 THE MEALL-NA-FEARN BOG 63 
 
 in league with them. There is more than that. I wonder, 
 now, if it is he who has set those people against us, so that 
 they will never regai'd us but as strangers and enemies ? 
 It is not natural, their sullen refusal of kindness. There 
 is something hidden — something behind — that I don't 
 understand." She was silent for a second or two : then 
 she said — " I wonder if he thinks he can drive me out of 
 the place by stirring up this bitter ill-will." 
 
 " There is one way to get over the difficulty," said 
 Kiithchen, lightly. "Ask him to Lochgarra House. He 
 is a Highlander : if he has once sate down at your table, 
 he cannot be your enemy afterwards." 
 
 A touch of colour rose to Mary's face. 
 
 " You forget the character he bears," she said, somewhat 
 proudly. 
 
 And here they were at the Cruagan crofts ; and the 
 people were all busy in the wide stretch of land enclosed 
 by a dilapidated fence of posts and wire. James Mac- 
 donald, the elderly crofter who had complained of the 
 dyke-tax, was ploughing drills for potatoes ; two or three 
 women and girls were planting ; and a white-haired old 
 man was bringing out the seed-potatoes in a pail. The 
 plough was being drawn by two horses wearing huge black 
 collars — what these were for the two visitors could not 
 imagine. 
 
 "Are you going to speak to him, Mary?" Kate asked 
 in an undertone — as the plough was coming towards the 
 end of the field. 
 
 "Yes, I am," said the young lady. "I want to see if 
 the remission of the tax has had no effect on him. Perhaps 
 he will have a little more English now." 
 
 There was no time to be lost — the horses were turniner. 
 She stepped across from the road. 
 
 "May I interrupt you for a moment? I want to ask 
 you—" 
 
 Well, the grey-bearded man with the shaggy eyebrows 
 did check the horses — perhaps he had meant to give them 
 a rest at the end of the drill. 
 
 " Oh, thank you," said Mary, in her most gracious and 
 friendly way. " I only wished to ask you whether Mr. 
 Purdie had told yovi that there was to be no more tax
 
 64 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 for the dyke, and that there was to be fifteen years' of it 
 given back." 
 
 The Russian-looking crofter regai'ded the shafts of the 
 plough without removing his hands ; and then he said — 
 
 "Yes — he was saying that." 
 
 Not a word of thanks , but perhaps — she generously 
 thought — his English did not go so far. 
 
 "It is good dry weather for ploughing, is it not % slie 
 remarked at a venture. 
 
 There was no reply. 
 
 "That very old man," she asked, "who is he — is ho 
 your father % " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " It seems a pity he should be working at his age," she 
 went on, wishing to show sympathy. " He ought to be 
 sitting at the cottage door, smoking his pipe." 
 
 " Every one will have to woi'k," said the elderly crofter, 
 in a morose sort of way ; and then he looked at his horses. 
 
 " Oh well," said Mary, blithely, " I hope to be able to 
 make it a little easier for you all. This land, now, how 
 much do you pay for it ? What is your rent 1 " 
 
 " It — thirty shillings an acre." 
 
 " Thirty shillings an acre? That is too much," said she, 
 without a moment's hesitation. " Surely thirty shillings 
 an acre is too much for indifferent land like that ! " 
 
 The small, suspicious eyes glanced at her furtively. 
 
 " I not saying it too mich," he made answer, slowly. 
 
 " Oh, but I will consult Mr. Purdie about it," said she, in 
 her pleasantest way. " My own impression is that thirty 
 shillings an acre is only asked for good land. But I will 
 inquire ; and see what can be done. Well, good morning ! — 
 I mustn't take up your time." 
 
 She was coming away Avhen he looked after her. 
 
 " I not saying — it — too mich rent," said he ; and then he 
 turned to his plough ; and his laborious task was resumed. 
 
 " Isn't that odd 1 " said Mary, as they were going along 
 the highway again. " None of them seem anxious to 
 have their rents reduced. All day yesterday — not a single 
 complaint ! " 
 
 "Well, Mamie," said Kiithchen, "I don't know; but I 
 can guess at a reason — perhaps they are afraid to complain."
 
 THE MEALL-NA-FEARN BOG 65 
 
 This set Mary thinking ; and they went on in silence. 
 She wished she knew Gaelic. 
 
 When they came within sight of the ancient boundary 
 line, they left the road, struck across a swampy piece of 
 land whei^e there were a few straggling sheep, and then 
 set to work to climb the bare and rocky hill-side. It was 
 an arduous climb ; but both the young women were active 
 and lithe and agile ; and they made very fair progress — 
 stopping now and again to recover their breath. Indeed, 
 it was not the difficulty of the ascent that was present 
 to their mind ; it was the terribly bleak and lonely 
 character of this domain they were entering. Higher 
 . and higher as they got, they seemed to be leaving the 
 living world behind them ; and then, when they reached a 
 level plateau, and could look away across this new world, 
 there was nothing but an endless monotony of brown and 
 purple knolls and slopes, covered with heather and withered 
 grass, and then a series of hills along the horizon, with 
 one or two lofty mountain-peaks, dark and precipitous, 
 and streaked here and there with snow. There was no 
 sign of life ; nor any sound. As they advanced further 
 and further into this wilderness, a strange sense of in- 
 trusion came over them ; it was as if they had come into 
 a land peopled by the dead — who yet might be regarding 
 them ; they looked and listened, as if expecting something, 
 they knew not what. They did not speak the one to the 
 other ; indeed, they were some little way apart — those two 
 small figures in this vast moorland solitude. Then they 
 came to a tarn — the water black as night — not a bush 
 nor the stump of a tree along its melancholy shores. Nor 
 even here was there the call of a curlew, or the sudden 
 whirr of a wild-duck's wings. At this point the girls had 
 come together again. 
 
 "Who can wonder at the superstitions of the High- 
 landers 1 " said Kathchen, half absently. 
 
 Mary's answer was a curious one. She was looking at 
 the black and oozy soil around her, with its scattered 
 knobs of yellow grass. 
 
 "I suppose," she said, meditatively, "they send the 
 sheep up here later on % But it must be wretched pasture 
 even at its best." 
 
 F
 
 66 DONALD JiOSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 All this time they had been shut out of sight of the 
 sea by the higher ranges on their right ; but by and by, 
 when they had surmounted the ridge in front of them, 
 they came in view of at least one new feature in the 
 landscape — the river Garra, lying far below them, in a 
 wide and empty valley. No hanging birch woods here, or 
 deep pools sheltered by lofty banks, as in the neighbour- 
 hood where they had surprised the ghostly fisherman ; but 
 a treeless expanse of rather swampy-looking ground, with 
 the river for the most part rushing over stony shallows. 
 
 " Did it occur to you, Kathchen, that we should have to 
 cross that stream % " Mary asked, as they were descending 
 the hill. 
 
 " Where is the difficulty ? " said Kathchen, coolly. "We 
 shall simply have to do as the country girls do, take off 
 our shoes and stockings, wade over, and put them on 
 again on the other side." 
 
 However, this undertaking they postponed for the pre- 
 sent ; for it was now midday ; and they thought they 
 might as well have luncheon when they got down to the 
 side of the Garra. They chose out a rock wide enough to 
 afford them seats ; opened their small packages, and filled 
 the leather drinking-cups at the stream. Up in these alti- 
 tudes the water was not at all of a peaty-brown ; it was 
 quite clear, with something of a pale greenish hue ; it 
 had come from rocky regions, and from melting snow. 
 
 "It seems very odd to me," said Mary, as they con- 
 tentedly munched their biscuits and sliced hard-boiled 
 eggs, " that I should find myself in a place like this — a 
 place that looks as if no human being had ever been here 
 before — and yet be the actual owner of it. I suppose 
 thei'e never were any people living here ? " 
 
 " They must have been clever if they did," said Kathchen. 
 "To tell you the truth, Mary, the most part of the Loch- 
 garra estate that I have seen is only fit for one thing, 
 and that is to make heather brooms for sweeping kitchens." 
 
 "Ah, but wait," said the young proprietress, confidently. 
 " Wait a little while, and you will see. Wait till you hear 
 of all the improvements " 
 
 " A railway to Bonar Bridge % " said Kate Glendinning, 
 carefully lifting the leather cup.
 
 THE MEALL-NA-FEARN BOG 67 
 
 " Now look here, Mephistopheles," said Mary, seriously. 
 " I could murder you, without the least trouble, I am 
 stronger than you ; I could kill you, and hide you in a hole 
 in the rocks, and you'd never be heard of again. So you'd 
 better have a little discretion in flouting at my schemes. 
 Ah, if you only knew ! Why, listen to this, now : are 
 you aware that there is a far greater demand for the 
 Harris homespun cloth than the people can supply % I 
 discovered that at Inverness. I was told that half the 
 homespun sold in London is imitation, made in Manchester. 
 Well, I propose to let them have the real homespun — ^yes, 
 and plenty of it ! And more than that ; I'm going to 
 have homespun druggets, and homespun plaids ; and 
 blankets, and shawls, and patch-work quilts ; and all the 
 carding and spinning and weaving, and all the knitting of 
 the stockings, to be done by my own people. And I'll have 
 a sale-room in London ; and advertise in the papers — that 
 they're the real things, and not sham at all ; and if I have 
 any friends in the South, well, let them show themselves 
 my friends by coming forward and helping us ! No charity 
 — far from it ; they get value, and more than value for 
 their money ; why, where is there any such stuff as home- 
 spun for gentlemen's shooting costumes or for ladies' ulsters ; 
 and where can you get such warmth in winter from any 
 other kind of stockings % I don't like to see so many 
 women working in the fields — especially the old women — 
 and carrying those heavy creels of seaweed ; I'm going 
 to get them lighter work — that will pay them better ; 
 and when their sons or husbands are away at the East 
 Coast fishing, they will be earning almost as mu^ch at 
 home. What do you think of this now % For a good web 
 of homespun I can get 5s. a yard from the clothiers them- 
 selves ; and they will do very well when they get Is. or 
 Is. 6c?. a yard profit ; but when I sell in my own store at 
 6s. 6c?. a yard, then that is all the more coming back to us 
 here at home. Oh, I tell you, you will soon hear plenty of 
 spinning-wheels going, and shuttles clacking, at Lochgarra ! " 
 
 It was a pretty enthusiasm ; and Kathchen did not like 
 to say anything. Indeed it was Mary herself who paused 
 in this dithyrambic forecast. She had chanced to look at 
 the gathering skies overhead. 
 
 F 2
 
 68 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Kathchen," said she, " it was a good thing we brought 
 our waterproofs." 
 
 Kate Glendinning followed the direction of her glance. 
 
 " Yes," she answered, " and I think we'd better be 
 getting on." 
 
 Then here was the business of getting over the stream. 
 Mary went down to the edge of the river ; pulled off 
 her shoes and stockings covertly (covertly, in this solitude, 
 where there was not even a hawk poised on wing ! ) 
 and then put one foot cautiously into the swift-running 
 water. The consequence was a shrill shriek. 
 
 "No," she said, " I can't do it. It's like ice, Kathchen ! 
 I'm going to put my shoes and stockings on again ; and 
 find some stones or rocks somewhere that I can get across." 
 
 " You'll fall in, then," said the matter-of-fact Kathchen, 
 who was by this time over the ankles, and making good 
 pi'ogress — Avith her teeth clenched. 
 
 But Mary did not fall in. She sought out shallows ; 
 and made zig-zag experiments with the shingle and with 
 bigger stones ; and if she did get her feet wet before reach- 
 ing the other side, it was gradually. Very soon it was 
 not of wet feet they were thinking. 
 
 For when they ascended the opposite hill — entering upon 
 a still wilder region than any they had as yet traversed 
 — they became aware that all the world had grown much 
 darker ; and when at length they beheld the far line of 
 the sea, it was of a curiously livid, or leaden, hue. The 
 wind was blowing hard up on these heights ; now and 
 again there was a sting of moisture in it — the flying pre- 
 cursor of the rain. But the most ominous thing that met 
 their gaze was a series of sickly-looking, formless clouds 
 that seemed rising all along the western horizon ; while 
 the sea underneath was growing unnaturally black. Rising 
 and spreading those clouds were, and swiftly ; with a 
 strange and alarming appearance — as if the earth were 
 about to be overwhelmed : they looked close and near, 
 moreover, though necessarily they must have been miles 
 away. At first the two girls did not mind very much ; 
 all their strength was needed to withstand the buffetings 
 of the wind ; indeed, there was a kind of joyance in driving 
 forward against the ever-increasing gale, though it told on
 
 THE MEALL-NA-FEARN BOG 69 
 
 their panting chests. They had to shout to each other, 
 if they wished to be heard. 
 
 " Where is the ' march,' Mary % " 
 
 " I haven't seen any trace of it . . . this side of the 
 Garra . . . But of course we're in the right direction . . . 
 We must get into the Corrie Bhreag sooner or later." 
 
 Then came the rain — at first in flying showers, but very 
 soon in thin gauze veils that swept along between theni 
 and the distant hills. Waterproofs were donned now ; 
 but they proved to be of little use — they were blown every 
 kind of way, with an immensity of ballooning and flapping 
 and clapping ; while they materially impeded progress. 
 But nevertheless the two wanderers struggled on bravely, 
 hurling themselves, as it were, against these rude shocks and 
 gusts, until their wet hair was flying all about their faces, 
 and their eyes were smarting with the rain. Sometimes 
 they paused to take breath — and to laugh, in a rueful way. 
 
 " There's nothing so horrid as wet wrists ! " Mary called to 
 her companion, on one of these occasions, as she shook her 
 arms and hands. 
 
 " It won't be wrists only, very soon," said Kathchen, in 
 reply, as they started on again. 
 
 The gale increased in violence, so that on the higher 
 slopes ahead of them the heather was beaten and driven 
 into long waves of motion ; while even through those 
 whirling veils of rain they could see the torn shreads and 
 tatters of lurid cloud that crossed the greyer sky. The 
 moaning of the wind rose and fell in remote and plaintive 
 cadence ; and then again it would mount vip into a shrill 
 and long-continued scream, that struck terror to the heart. 
 For there was no more laughter now. All their dogged, 
 half-blind struggle against the storm did not seem to lead 
 them any nearer to any practicable way of getting down to 
 the coast ; and they were afraid to leave the line they had 
 conceived to be the march — the imaginary line which they 
 had hoped would bring them to the Corrie Bhreag, or, at 
 furthest and worst, to some portion of Glen Orme. And if 
 the dusk were to come down and find them in these trackless 
 solitudes ! During one of their pauses to recover breath, 
 and to get their wet hair out of their eyes and lips, Mary 
 took off her waterproof, and her companion followed her
 
 70 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 example ; the worse than useless garments were secured by 
 a lump of rock, and left to be searched for by a shepherd 
 on the following day. Then forward again — with the wind 
 moaning and howling across these desert wastes — with the 
 driving rain at once blinding and stifling them — and a dim 
 unspoken fear of the coming darkness gradually taking 
 possession of their mind. 
 
 One odd thing was that though Mary Stanley was the 
 taller and much the more strongly built of the two, she 
 could not hold on as well as her smaller companion, who 
 was in a measure familiar with the work of getting over 
 heather-tufts and across peat-hags. Mary complained that 
 the wind and the rain choked her — she could not breathe. 
 And at last she stopped, panting, breathless, entirely 
 exhausted with the terrible strain. 
 
 " Kathchen," she said, in a despairing sort of way, " I'm 
 done. But don't mind me. I will stay here, until the 
 storm goes over. If you think you can push on until you 
 find some valley to take you down to the coast, then you 
 will be able to get home " 
 
 " Mamie, what are you talking about % " said Kiithclien, 
 indignantly. " I am going to keep by you, if both of us 
 stay here all night. But we musn't do that. Come, have 
 
 courage ! " 
 
 " Oh, I've a fearful amount of courage, but no strength," 
 said Mary, with a very dolorous sort of smile. " When- 
 ever I begin, I get caught by the throat. Well, here goes 
 once more ! " 
 
 And again they set forth with a desperate resolution, 
 forcing themselves against the gale, though their own 
 saturated clothes were dragging heavily upon them. But 
 they had not gone on thus for many minutes when it 
 somehow seemed as though this laborious stepping from 
 one heather-tuft to another was becoming easier. Surely 
 the land was trending down ? 
 
 " Kathchen," Mary called out, brushing away the rain 
 from her eyelashes, " here is a valley, and surely it must 
 lead down to the sea. I don't know Avhich it is " 
 
 " Oh, never mind ; we must take our chance," said 
 Kate ; "if we can get down to the coast-line anywhere, we 
 shall be all right."
 
 THE MEALL-NA-FEARN BOG 71 
 
 And so, notwithstanding their dire fatigue, they kept on 
 now with lighter hearts ; their progress becoming more and 
 more easy, being all down hill. Not that this valley was 
 anything in the nature of a chasm, bvit rather a hollow 
 plain gradually sloping down to the west. And then 
 again, the further they got away from the wild heights 
 they had left behind them, the violence of the storm 
 seemed to diminish ; they were better able to breathe ; and 
 if the rain did continue to fall, they were about as wet 
 as they well could be, so that did not matter. 
 
 Suddenly Kate Glendinning uttered a joyful cry. 
 
 " Look ! Look ! " 
 
 Far away down the wide valley, and through the mists 
 of the rain, they could make out a small cottage or hut ; 
 and there were signs of life, too — wavering smoke that the 
 wind blew level as it left the chimney. This welcome 
 sight put new animation into their exhausted frames ; and 
 they pushed forward right cheerfully now, little thinking 
 that they were walking into a far more deadly peril than 
 any they had encountered among the hills. 
 
 For when they got further down the valley, they found 
 that there intervened between them and the cottage a 
 circular plain : and although it certainly looked marshy, it 
 never occurred to them that they ought to go round by the 
 side of it. How could their feet be wetter 1 So they 
 made straight across, Kathchen leading the way, and 
 jumping from clump to clump of heather, so as to avoid the 
 little channels where the black ooze and water might be 
 deep. 
 
 But by and by she was forced to go more cautiously ; 
 and had to hesitate before choosing her course. For those 
 oozy channels had grown broader ; and not only that, but 
 the land she had reached was very far from being solid — it 
 trembled in a mysterious way. She still held on, never- 
 theless, hoping to reach securer foundation j and now she 
 was not following any straight line whatever, but seeking 
 anywhere and everywhere for a safe resting-place for her 
 foot. Matters speedily grew worse and worse. She could 
 not make the slightest movement without seeing the earth 
 vibrate for twenty yards around her — an appalling 
 phenomenon ; and at last she dared hardly stir, for a
 
 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 sickeniiig feeling had come over her that a single step 
 jnight plunge her into an unfathomable abyss. 
 
 " Kiithchen," said Mary, in a low voice (she was close 
 behind), "don't you think we should try to go back?" 
 
 But the girl seemed absolutely paralyzed with terror. 
 She turned an inch or two, and looked helplessly around. 
 
 " I — I don't know the way we came," she said — and her 
 eyeballs were contracted as if with pain. "Will you try, 
 
 Mary?" 
 
 And then she made a strenuous effort to pull herself 
 
 together. 
 
 "No, no !— let me go first!" she said in a kind of 
 desperation, " I am lighter than you." 
 
 "No," Mary made answer, quite calmly, "I will go first." 
 
 Yes, outwardly she was quite calm ; but dismay had 
 possession of her too. For the whole world underneath 
 felt so strangely unstable ; it shivered even as she stood ; 
 and as for going back the way they came — why, it seemed 
 to her that the smallest movement in any one direction 
 must necessarily cause this quaking morass to open like 
 the sea and engulf them for ever. She had undertaken 
 to go first ; but whither was she to go % When she put 
 out a foot tentatively, the solid earth seemed to slide away 
 from her in billows. Again and again she tried ; and again 
 and again she instinctively drew back — her whole frame 
 trembling like the trembling soil beneath her ; until at 
 last she stood speechless and motionless, turning strange 
 eyes towards Kiithchen — eyes that asked a question her 
 white lips could not utter. And the dusk was now coming 
 over the world. 
 
 But help was near. They were suddenly startled by a 
 sound — a distant cry — and at the same moment they 
 caught sight of a man who had come running from the 
 direction of the cottage. As soon as he perceived he was 
 seen, he held up both arms : it was a signal to them not 
 to move — as if movement were possible to them in this 
 prostration of fear ! He came along with an incredible 
 rapidity, by the outskirts of the morass, until he was 
 opposite them, and then he ventured in a little distance. 
 But he did not attempt to approach them ; with his hand 
 he directed them which way to go ; and they — their heart
 
 THE MEALL-NA-FEARN BOG 73 
 
 in their mouth the while — obeyed him as well as they 
 could. By the time they got near to where he was 
 waiting, they found themselves with some firmer con- 
 sistency under their feet ; and then, without a word, he 
 turned and led the way off the morass, they following. 
 There he paused for a second, to give them a brief 
 direction. 
 
 " You must keep along the side ; it is very dangerous," 
 he said, in a somewhat cold manner. 
 
 But in an instant Mary had divined who this was. 
 The young man with the pale, clear-cut features and coal- 
 black eyes belonged to no shepherd's hut. 
 
 "I — I want to thank you, sir," she said, breathlessly (he 
 had raised his cap to them slightly, and was going away). 
 "If it had not been for you, what should we have done % 
 It is a dreadful place — we were afraid to move " 
 
 He glanced at her and her companion with some swift 
 scrutiny. 
 
 "You are wet," said he, in the same distant and reserved 
 fashion. " You will find a fire in the widow's cottage." 
 
 " You might show us the way," said Kathchen, half- 
 piteously. " We are frightened." 
 
 After that he could not well leave them ; though, to be 
 sure, the way to the cottage was plain and easy enough, 
 so long as they kept back from the dangerous Meall-na- 
 Fearn bog. He walked ahead of them, slowly ; he did not 
 attempt to speak to them. His demeanour had not been 
 unfriendly ; on the contrary, it had been courteous ; but it 
 was courtesy of a curiously formal and reticent kind. 
 Perhaps he had not known who these strangers were when 
 he came so quickly to their help. 
 
 And in truth the two girls could hardly follow him ; for 
 now all the enfeeblement of the terror they had suflTered 
 had come upon them : they were no longer strung up by 
 a shuddering apprehension of being entombed in that 
 hideous morass; and the previous fatigue, physical and 
 nervous, that they had fought against so heroically, was 
 beginning to tell now, especially upon Mary. At length 
 she did stop ; she said, " Kathchen ! Kathchen ! " in a low 
 voice ; her figure swayed, as if she would fall to the earth ; 
 and then she sank to her knees, and burst into a wild fit
 
 74 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 of hysterical weeping, covering her face with her hands. 
 Their guide did not happen to notice : he was going on : 
 and it was becoming dark. 
 
 " Stay a moment, sir ! " said Kathchen, in tones of 
 indignant remonstrance. " My friend is tired out." 
 
 He came back at once. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," said he, gravely. "Tell her it is 
 only a little way further. I am going on to get some- 
 thing ready for you." 
 
 And he did go on ; so that it was left for Kathchen 
 to encourage her companion, and subdue this nervous 
 agitation. 
 
 " It is only the cold, Kathchen," said Mary, who was 
 trembling from head to foot. " I suppose you are wet 
 through, too." 
 
 But indeed the cottage was quite close by now ; they 
 made their way slowly ; when they reached it, the door 
 was open ; and here was the young man, with his sailor's 
 cap in his hand, giving a few further directions, in Gaelic, 
 to an old woman and a young girl of thirteen or fourteen, 
 who appeared to be the sole occupants of the earthen- 
 floored hut. There was a peat-fire burning, and a pannikin 
 slung over it. The old woman went into the other apart- 
 ment — the " ben " of the cottage — and returned with a 
 black bottle, and some sugar ; and presently she had 
 brewed a most potent liquor which, in two tea-cups, she 
 presented to the young ladies, and insisted on their 
 swallowing. They were seated on a rude bench by the 
 grateful warmth of the peat ; they were made to finish 
 this fiery draught ; and here were oat-cakes and milk 
 besides. Life seemed slowly to come back to them — to 
 stir in their veins. But the young man who had guided 
 them hither? Well, he had disappeared. 
 
 After some little time Kathchen happened to turn and 
 look round. 
 
 " Where has the gentleman gone % " she asked. 
 
 It was the young girl with the jet-black hair and the 
 wild, timid eyes who made answer. 
 
 " I was told to take the ladies to Lochgarra House," said 
 she, in excellent English, and with a very pretty pro- 
 nunciation.
 
 THE MEALL-NA-FEARN BOG 75 
 
 " You % It is nearly dark ! " Kathchen exclaimed. 
 " Why did he leave us ? " 
 
 But here Mary interposed in her mild, suave fashion ; 
 and she regarded the girl with kindly eyes. 
 
 "Yes, I am sure you will be able to show us the way 
 very well," said she. " Only you must tell your mother — 
 is she your mother % " 
 
 " My grandmother, lady," was the answer. 
 
 " Well, tell your grandmother that you must stay the 
 night at Lochgarra House ; you cannot come back here so 
 late. We will send you along in the morning ; or I will 
 come with you myself." 
 
 But the old grandmother knew a little English too. 
 
 "Yes, yes, indeed, indeed,'' said she. " Whatever the 
 ladies will be pleased." 
 
 And by and by they set out; the sure-footed young 
 mountaineer acting as their guide. Night had fallen now, 
 and there were no stars ; but after they had gone on some 
 time they could make out the sound of the sea — and it was 
 a welcome sound, for it told them they were nearing the 
 road that here runs all along the coast. And indeed it 
 was not until they were actually in the highway that it 
 occurred to Kate Glendinning to ask how far they had 
 still to go before they got to Lochgarra. 
 
 "It will be about seex miles, or more than five miles 
 whatever," was the answer. 
 
 " Six miles !" said Kathchen, faintly. "I wish v>'e had 
 stayed at your grandmother's cottage. Mamie, shall you 
 ever be able to manage it ? " 
 
 "I hope so, Kathchen," Mary said, though not very 
 joyfully. "I am a little warmer now; and there is less 
 wind blowing." 
 
 And so they went on — the unseen sea thundering 
 beneath them in the dark, along the iron-bound coast — ■ 
 the wind sometimes rising into a mournful moan, but 
 bringing no rain with it now. It was a long and weary 
 tramp ; but they were on a good road ; and their brave 
 little guide, whatever she may have thought of the 
 darkness, went forward unhesitatingly. 
 
 Then of a sudden they beheld two points of fire away 
 ahead of tiiem ; and presently there was a sound of wheels.
 
 76 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "I will give £20 for the loan of that carriage," said 
 Mary, "whosesoever it is !" 
 
 "Why," said Kathchen joyfully, "in this neighbourhood, 
 whose can it be but your own % " 
 
 And indeed it was. And not only that, but here was 
 the gentle-spoken Barbara, profuse of compassion and pretty 
 speeches ; and she had brought with her an abundance of 
 blaixkets — not shawls and wraps, or any feminine knick- 
 nackery — but substantial and capacious blankets, along 
 with many smaller comforts and cordials. And when 
 they had all four got into the shut landau (for the girls 
 would not allow their young guide to go on the box) Mary 
 said — 
 
 " But who took the news to Lochgarra House, Bai'baral 
 Who told you to bring the carria.ge % " 
 
 " Oh, just the young master himself," said Barbara, 
 with miling eyes, as she was busy with her ministrations. 
 And then she corrected herself. " It was just young 
 Mr. Ross of Heimra. And did Miss Stanley not know 
 who he was ? " 
 
 But Miss Stanley had known very well. And Kathchen 
 had guessed. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 GILLEASBUIG MOR. 
 
 Kathchen was standing at the window, looking out upon 
 the wild and wayward sea, that was all brilliantly dappled 
 with sun and cloud, while Mary was at her dressing-table, 
 preparing to go down to breakfast. It was a blowy and 
 blusterous morning, after the storm ; but the welcome 
 sunlight was abroad again ; and the heavens shone serene 
 and fair. 
 
 "Never no more," Kathchen was solemnly remarking, 
 as she regarded the wide plain of hurrying waves and the 
 white sea-birds that dipped and sailed and circled in the 
 light, " never no more shall I have a word to say against 
 smuggled brandy. By rights, Mary, you and I ought 
 both to be in a raging fever this morning ; and you look 
 as well as ever you did in your life, and I have ocily a
 
 GILLEASBUIG MOR 77 
 
 little bit of a headache. Nor against poaching : I have 
 nothing to say against poaching — when it suddenly produces 
 somebody to get you out of a hideous and horrible morass, 
 worse than any quicksand that ever I heard of. Do you 
 know, I hardly dared put my foot to the floor this morning : 
 I was afraid that frightful sensation would come back, 
 as if I were standing on nothing, and just about to sink. 
 Wasn't it terrible 1 I know I shall dream about it to my 
 dying day." And then she said : "I wonder what took 
 young Ross of Heimra up to that out-of-the-way place? 
 Not poaching ; for he had neither rod nor gun." 
 
 " More likely selling brandy to that old woman," said 
 Mary ; and then she added, with a touch of scorn : '' A 
 pretty occupation for a Highland gentleman 1 " 
 
 " Well, Mary," said Kathchen, reflectively, " I confess 
 that story does not sound to me true. I should like to 
 have some proof before believing it. No doubt it is just 
 possible he may have wanted to make up to these poor 
 people for Mr. Purdie having banished the illicit stills ; 
 and perhaps he could not aftbrd to get them spirits for 
 nothing ; and so he may charge them what he himself has 
 paid. But it Is not like what a Highland laird would do, 
 however poor he might be — and in a kind of way he still 
 stands in the position of laird towards these people. No, 
 it does not sound probable ; but anyhow I mean to find 
 out — if we are going along to-day to thank the old woman 
 for her kindness of last night. And whether it was 
 poaching, or smuggling, or whatever it was, that took 
 young Mr. Ross up to that hut, it was a very lucky 
 thing for us : we should never have seen the morning if 
 we had been left there." 
 
 " That is true enough," Mary admitted ; but then she 
 went on to say, with some asperity : " At the same time, a 
 favour is twice a favour when it is graciously conferred. 
 He seemed to me a most ill-mannered young man. I 
 doubt whether he would have come near us at all if he had 
 known who we were." 
 
 " Oh, I don't agree with you — not in the least ! " said 
 Kathchen, warmly. " I thought he was most courteous, and 
 — and respectful. Remember, we were entirely strangers 
 to him. And just think of his going all the way to
 
 78 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Lochgarra to get the carriage sent for us — and very 
 quickly he must have done it, too." 
 
 But IMary had not a word in favour of this young man 
 whom she suspected of far worse offences (in her eyes) 
 than killing salmon or bringing smuggled brandy into the 
 district : she suspected him, in truth, of stirring up wi-ath 
 and ill-will, and setting these people against her. 
 
 "I suppose," she said, rather coldly, "we must thank 
 him, if we should see him." 
 
 " I, for one, mean to do so, and very heartily," Kathchen 
 said at once. " I think he was most kind and considerate 
 — if — if a little — a little reserved. And not at all the 
 wild savage I had expected — most distinguished-looking I 
 should call him " 
 
 " Come away down to breakfast, Kathchen," said Mary, 
 taking her friend by the arm : she would hear no more on 
 that subject. 
 
 In the hall they encountered the little Highland lass 
 who had been their guide on the previous night ; and she, 
 looking up with timid eyes towards this tall and beautiful 
 lady whose smile was so gracious and winning, said — 
 
 " Am I to be going home now ? " 
 
 " Home % " said Mary. " Have you had your breakfast ?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, indeed." 
 
 " Very well, you need not go yet ; you may as well wait 
 and come with us in the carriage — for we want to thank 
 your grandmother for her kindness to us. You can amuse 
 yourself in the gai'den, if you like, until we are ready." 
 
 She was obediently going away, but Kathchen stopped 
 her. 
 
 " I don't think you ever told us your name." 
 
 " Just Isabel," said the little maid, in her pretty fashion. 
 
 "Of course you know Mr. Ross?" was the next question. 
 
 " Oh, yes." 
 
 " What was he doing up at your cottage last night ? " 
 
 " Kathchen ! " said Mary ; but the little girl did not 
 notice the interruption : she answered quite simply — 
 
 " He came up to ask about the cow." 
 
 " What cow I " 
 
 But hei'e Isabel did begin to look a little frightened ; 
 and she glanced anxiously at Miss Stanley.
 
 GILLEASBUIG MOR 79 
 
 " Perhaps the lady will be angry," she said, with shrink- 
 ing eyes. 
 
 "Oh, no, she won't be angry," Kathchen interposed at 
 once. " What about the cow % Tell me about the cow." 
 
 " It was my mother's cow that got into the bog and was 
 drowned." 
 
 " The bog we strayed into % " Kathchen exclaimed. " Do 
 you mean to say that cattle have been swallowed up in 
 that place % " 
 
 " Ay, many and many a one," said the little girl. 
 
 " I'll have it fenced round at once," said Mary, in her 
 usual prompt and emphatic way, "no matter what it costs !" 
 
 " And the cow % " said Kathchen, encouragingly, to the 
 little Highland lass, " What did Mr. Ross want to know 
 about the cow 1 " 
 
 " Mr. Ross," continued Isabel, " he was sending a 
 message that my mother would ask Mr. Purdie and the 
 lady for a cow in place of that one, and the money to be 
 paid back bit by bit as we could do it ; yes, and Mr. Pui'die 
 was to be asked for the cow ; and Mr. Ross he came up 
 last night to see if we were to get the cow. But we were 
 not hearing about it from any one." 
 
 Mary's face flushed with vexation. 
 
 " Why was I not told about this ? " she said, turning 
 indignantly to Kathchen. " What right had Mr. Purdie 
 to decide — and go away without saying a word ? I suppose 
 he refused 1 — and that was to be all of it ! " 
 
 But the little girl, hearing the lady talk in these altered 
 tones, grew frightened ; and tears started to her eyes. 
 
 " Please, I was not asking for the cow," she said, 
 piteously ; for she knew not what terrible mischief she had 
 done. " I was not intending to make the lady angry " 
 
 Mary turned to the girl, and put her hand in a kindly 
 way on the raven-black hair. 
 
 " Don't you be alarmed, Isabel," she said, with a re- 
 assuring smile. "You have done no harm ; you were quite 
 right to tell me the story. And you need not be afraid ; 
 your mother shall have the cow ; perhaps even two of 
 them, if the byre is big enough. Now go into the garden 
 and amuse yourself, until you hear the carriage come 
 round."
 
 8o DONALD ROSS OF HETMRA 
 
 However, it may here be said that in this instance 
 Mr. Purdie was in no wise culpable. It appeared that the 
 widow MacVean had two days before gone over to Cruagan, 
 where she had a married daughter, in order to help in the 
 fields ; and her only chance of presenting the petition was 
 by intercepting the factor on his way homeward. Whether 
 she did or did not present the petition was of no immediate 
 consequence : Mary had resolved upon offering up this cow, 
 or perhaps even two cows, as a sort of sacrificial thanks- 
 giving for her deliverance from the Meall-na-Fearn bog. 
 
 After breakfast they set out, Isabel seated beside the 
 driver. And once again they came in sight of the Minard 
 township, with its poor little crofts on the rocky soil, and 
 the long sweep of white sand where, the tide being out, the 
 people were busy with their sickles cutting the seaweed 
 from the rocks. 
 
 " I wonder," said Mary, meditatively, " if I couldn't 
 revive the kelp-burning ? " 
 
 " Oh, no," said Katlichen (who did not quite understand 
 how indefatigable the young proprietress had been in 
 qualifying herself for her new position). " That is all 
 over now. Those were the grand days for the Highlands 
 — for both the landlords and the people ; but modern 
 chemistry has spoiled all that." 
 
 "You don't know, then," said Mary, quietly, "that 
 kelp-burning is carried on in some places at this moment % 
 It is, though. Over in South Uist the crofters get from 
 £2 10s. to £3 a ton for kelp. But perhaps they need all 
 the seaweed they can get here for their crofts, or perhaps 
 it isn't the right kind of tangle : I must find out about 
 that." 
 
 They drove as far as they could along the road ; and 
 they had to descend from the carriage, to make the rest 
 of their way on foot. And strange it was that the moment 
 the two girls left the highway and found themselves upon 
 the yielding heather, they betrayed an unmistakable alarm 
 — looking all around them as if they feared to be betrayed 
 into some hidden quagmire. But indeed at this point the 
 land consisted chiefly of rocks and peat and stones ; and 
 gradually they got accustomed to following their surefooted 
 young guide who was going up the hill-side with the
 
 GILLEASBUIG MOR %\ 
 
 liglitest of steps. Long before they had climbed to the 
 cottage, they saw the old ■woman come out to scatter some 
 remains of porridge to the hens : a pleasant-looking old 
 dame she was, with silvery-grey hair and a rennet com- 
 plexion ; moreover (whether she had expected them or 
 not) she was very tidily dressed — a clean white " mutch," 
 a short-skirted blue gown, a white apron, and red stockings. 
 When she saw the strangers, she remained outside ; and 
 when they came toiling up she saluted them with a grave 
 and gentle " good moarning ! " But beyond returning that 
 salutation, Mary did not enter into further talk just then. 
 Her eyes were drawn with a morbid fascination to the 
 black morass that had so nearly proved fatal to her and 
 her companion. She seemed to feel herself once more 
 standing on that trembling soil, unable to move in any one 
 direction, the dai-kness coming down. And had the 
 darkness fallen, what would the morning have seen? The 
 morning would have dawned upon that level waste just 
 as it was now — silent, empty, all its secrets sucked down 
 and buried for ever and ever. A hideous and lingering 
 death : the slow torture- of the long and sombre hours, 
 before utter exhaustion came, and despair, and a swooning 
 into the unknown. She shivered a little : then she turned 
 to the old grandmother, who was talking to Kiithchen 
 with such English as she could muster. 
 
 "Yes," she was saying, "my daughter, she over at 
 Cruagan " 
 
 " And so perhaps she did not speak to Mr. Purdie about 
 the cow?" Mary interposed. "Yery welL That's all 
 right. Little Isabel was telling me about the cow that 
 was lost. Well, I Avill see that you have one in its place." 
 
 The old woman could not speak ; the withered, weather- 
 wrinkled face wore a pained look, as if she were trying 
 not to cry ; and she furtively wiped her hand on her api'on 
 and timidly held it out — it was by shaking hands that she 
 could best express her thanks. And here was an exti"a- 
 ordinary thing ! — here was actual gratitude, the very first 
 symptom of it that Mary Stanley had encountered since 
 she came to the place. But the next moment she was 
 saying to herself bitterly : 
 
 " Why ? Why is this old woman friendly 1 Because
 
 82 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 she saw that Mr. Ross of Heimra condescended to be civil 
 to me yesterday evening. If he throws a word to me, then 
 I am to be tolerated ! But if I had come here by myself, 
 I miglit have offered to double the size of her byre, and 
 give her two cows instead of one, and there would have 
 been nothing but sullen looks and silence. Was I not 
 Avarned the moment I set foot in the place ? It's Donald 
 Ross of Heimra who is their laird. I am a stranger, and 
 an enemy." 
 
 And now it was Kate Glendinning's turn to make a 
 few discreet inquiries : for the allegation that a Highland 
 gentleman would condescend to sale and barter was still 
 rankling in her soul. 
 
 "Well, IMrs. Mac Yean," said she pleasantly, "that was 
 very excellent brandy you gave us last night, and very 
 welcome, too : I suppose we should have died of the cold 
 and wet if you had not given us the hot drink. But where 
 did you get brandy in an out-of-the-world place like this % " 
 
 An alarmed expression came into the old woman's face, 
 though she endeavoured to conceal it. She looked away 
 down the hillside, and said vaguely : 
 
 " It Avas — in the house. Oh, ay — in the house." 
 
 "Yes ; but where did you get it? " Kate asked. 
 
 There was a moment of silence — and distress. 
 
 " The brandy ? — Mr. Ross — he ordering me to give 
 it to you." 
 
 " Oh, yes," said the young lady, in the same off-hand 
 sort of way, "and it was very thoughtful of him — and very 
 kind of you. It seemed to bring us back to life again. 
 I don't know what we should have done without it. I was 
 only wondering where you got such good brandy in this 
 part of the Highlands." 
 
 The old woman looked anxiously from the one to the 
 other ; wei'e they trying to entrap her 1 — even after their 
 generous promise that she should have the cow. 
 
 " Oh, ay," she said, still clinging desperately to those 
 evasive phrases, "the brandy — it in the house — and — and 
 Mr. Ross, he ordering me to give it — and any one very 
 pleased, whatever he wishes. And the ladies — very, very 
 wet and cold — and a long weh home to Lochgarra — " 
 
 " Come, come Mrs. Mac Yean," Kathchen said, " you
 
 GILLEASBUIG MOR 83 
 
 ought to know that we don't want to make any trouble — 
 is it likely, just after Miss Stanley has promised- to give 
 you the cow ? I am asking only out of curiosity ; and I 
 can keep a secret as well as any one. And of course we 
 are quite aware that it is Mr. Ross who brings the brandy 
 into the neighbourhood^ — and very properly, too, for good 
 brandy is better than bad whisky, and you must have 
 something in the house in case of sickness. Very well : 
 tell me what he charges you for it." 
 
 "Chai'ges?" the old woman repeated, with a puzzled 
 air. 
 
 "Yes," said Kilthchen, encouragingly. "I only want to 
 know for — for information ; and I am not likely to tell any 
 one. What do you pay him for it % " 
 
 Then the old grandmother understood ; and though slie 
 did not say much, there was something in lier tone that 
 showed how keenly she resented this imputation. 
 
 " Pay — Mi-. Ross of Heimra — for the brandy?" said she, 
 as if it was herself who had been insulted ; and she was 
 turning angrily away. "You think — the young master — 
 tekkin money from the like of me 1 " 
 
 " Then he gives you the brandy for nothing ? " said Kate, 
 — and this question at once arrested the old dame, who 
 made answer somewhat sulkily — 
 
 " I not saying that — I not saying that at ahl." 
 
 "Of coux'se not," said Kiithchen, with cheerful good 
 humour. "It is not necessary for you to say anything. 
 But now I understand ; and I am glad of it ; for I have 
 Highland blood in my veins, myself, and I did not like 
 to think of a Highland gentleman taking money for little 
 kindnesses of that sort. And indeed I did not believe it ; 
 and I am very pleased indeed that you have made it pos- 
 sible for me to conti'adict such a ridiculous story." 
 
 Shortly thereafter — the old grandmother having been 
 won into something of a more conciliatory mood by re- 
 iterated expressions of thanks and a circumstantial promise 
 with regard to the cow — the two young women left ; and 
 as they descended the hill, Kate Glendinning was most 
 triumphant about this refutation of what she considered a 
 malignant slander. Mary, on the other hand, was inclined 
 to be coldly severe in her judgment wherever young Ross of 
 
 G 2
 
 84 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Heimra was concerned — though neither coldness nor severity 
 formed part of her ordinary temperament. 
 
 "I don't see anything to be proud of, Kathchen " said 
 she. " He is cheating the revenue, for one thing." 
 
 "Cheating the i-evenue," said Kathchen, in her matter- 
 of-fact way, " is not likely to trouble a Highlander's con- 
 science much. But I dare say he thinks the Goverinnent 
 can get along well enough without taking any more taxation 
 from these poor people; and I have no doubt he says to 
 himself that if he pays for a bottle of good brandy for 
 some poor woman with ague or rheumatism in her old 
 joints, the Government can afford to let her have it with- 
 out the duty. In a climate like this you rnust have spirits 
 of some kind ; and as I was saying to Mrs. Mac Yean, good 
 brandy is better than bad whisky filled with fusel oil." 
 
 "I know perfectly well what his object is," Mary said, 
 proudly and indignantly. " His object is simply to steal 
 away the hearts of the people — and to stir up ill-will 
 betv/een them and whoever happens to be at Lochgarra 
 House. They are all his friends — and my enemies. He 
 can shoot and fish wherever he pleases ; he has the run of 
 the whole estate ; he is welcome at every fireside ; whilst I, 
 when I want to lower the rents, and better the condition 
 of the people in every way, and be their friend — Avell, I am 
 kept outside at the door, and if I say ' Am I welcome % ' 
 there is no answer. Por him — everything ; for me — nothing. 
 And I think it is hardly fair." 
 
 She spoke in a proud and hurt way, and her lips trembled 
 for an instant : it was clear that she considered she had not 
 deserved this ill-usage. 
 
 "No, no, no, Mary," her friend protested. "You are 
 unjust, as far as Mr. Ross is concerned anyway. For one 
 thing it is very likely that the poor people about here 
 were accustomed to look to his mother for little comforts 
 when they fell ill ; and he may be trying to carry out the 
 same kind of thing, in the only way that would occur to 
 a man." Then a demure smile came into Kathchen's eyes. 
 " But I will be honest with you, Mary. I don't think it is 
 done to spite you at all : although your family have wrought 
 him and his suflicient wrong. But if you wei-e to ask me 
 if it wasn't done with a determination to spite Mr. Purdie
 
 GILLEASBUIG MOR 85 
 
 — in return for the destruction of the illicit stills — well, 
 you see, people may act from various motives, and I shouldn't 
 be surprised if that had something to do with it. As for 
 stealing the hearts of the people — if you knew the cuiious 
 loyalty and devotion of the Highlanders towards the old 
 families, you would hardly think it necessary that Mr. Ross 
 should have to make use of any bribe " 
 
 "But why should they hate me.?" Mary exclaimed 
 — and Kathchen had no answer. 
 
 However, if Miss Stanley had on one or two occasions 
 suspected that the presence of the detested factor might 
 have something to do with the failure of her efforts to 
 cultivate amicable relations with her tenants, here was an 
 opportunity of seeing what she could do by herself ; for on 
 their way back they again came to the small township of 
 Minard, where the amphibious population were busy in the 
 crofts and along the shore. She dismissed the carriage ; 
 and proceeded to make a few friendly little calls —guarding 
 carefully against any appearance of intrusion, and, indeed, 
 almost humbly begging for something of consideration and 
 good-will. And she was resolved to take no heed of any 
 surly manners or uncivil speech ; for she was of a large, 
 bland, magnanimous nature ; and she had a considerable 
 fund of patience, and gentleness, and sweetness, to draw 
 upon. Then she had to remember that her uncle had been 
 unpopular, and had no doubt amply earned his unpopu- 
 larity. Moreover, a factor who stands between a wilful 
 and domineering landlord and a tenantry not in the 
 happiest condition, is most invidiously situated : he is the 
 universal scapegoat, and is bound to be hated as well as 
 feared. But here was she willing to make what atone- 
 ment was possible ; ready to sacrifice her own interests for 
 the general good; and above all things anxious to make 
 friends. With gifts in both hands, ought she not to have 
 been welcome at every door ? Then she was pleasant to 
 look upon ; her manner was gracious and winning ; her eyes 
 were kind. With the small children she could get on well 
 enough : they knew nothing of any deep-slumbering feud. 
 
 But her charm of manner, her wonder-working smile, 
 her unfailing good-humoui', that had made life easy for her 
 elsewhere, seemed to be of no avail here — with the grown-
 
 86 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 up folk, at all events. Not that they were rude : they 
 were merely obdurate and silent. Of course, Avhen she got 
 this one or that pinned by a direct question, he did not 
 absolutely refuse to reply ; but their answers were so con- 
 tradictory, and their demands in most cases so impossible, 
 that no practical enlightenment was possible. One man 
 wanted more boats from the Government ; another said that 
 more boats were of no use unless the Government supplied 
 nets as well ; a third said boats and nets were valueless 
 unless they had a steamer calling daily. There was also a 
 demand that the Government should build more harbours ; 
 and when Mary said, in reply to this, that she understood 
 the harbours they had got— Lochgarra, that is to say, and 
 Camus Bheag — to be about as excellent as any in the 
 West Highlands, she was answered that the harbours were 
 perhaps good enough— if there was a railway. Then there 
 were some who did not seem to have any occupation 
 at all. 
 
 " Don't you have anything to work at % " she said, to one 
 tall and rather good-looking young fellow, who was standing 
 looking on at the women and girls gathering the sea-tangle. 
 
 "My father has a croft," he made answer, in a listless 
 way. 
 
 "But wouldn't you," she said, in a very gentle and 
 hesitating mamier, so as not to seem impertinent, " wouldn't 
 you rather go away and find some work for yourself ? " 
 
 "Aw, well, I was at Glasgow, and I was getting twenty 
 shillings a week there." 
 
 " And you did not stay ? " 
 
 "Well, I could not live there," he said, simply enough. 
 " It is no use getting twenty shillings a week if you cannot 
 live in a place ; and in a few years I would be dead, if I 
 was living in Glasgow. I am better to be alive here 
 than dead in Glasgow," 
 
 " Then perhaps you go to the East Coast fishing ? " she 
 suggested. 
 
 " No, I am not going there now. I was there one or 
 two years, but it did not pay me." 
 
 "And don't you do anything? " she asked again. 
 
 " Well, in January I am in the Naval Reserve." 
 
 "And the rest of the year you don't do anything?"
 
 GILLEASBUIG MOR 87 
 
 "Well, my father has a croft " — and that was about all 
 the information she could extract from him. 
 
 As a final attempt she said to him, timidly — 
 
 " If I were to try to get you a boat and nets from the 
 Government, would it be of service to you % " 
 
 "It would need eight of a crew," said he, with an 
 obvious lack of interest, "and I would not be knowing 
 where to find them." 
 
 However, a great surprise was in store for her : before 
 getting back to Lochgarra on this occasion she actually 
 encountered a human being who received her proffered 
 friendliness and good-will with cheerful and unhesitating 
 gratitude, and responded with a frank comradeship that 
 quite won her heart. It is true the man was drunk ; but 
 at first she did not perceive that ; and indeed she was 
 ready to make ample allowances in her eager desire to 
 establish pleasant relations with anybody, after the dis- 
 heartening coldness she had just experienced at Minard. 
 This man whom she and Kiithchen overtook on their 
 homeward way was a huge, lumbering, heavy-shouldered 
 giant, with a prodigious brown beaixl and thick eyebrows, 
 whose deep-set grey eyes (though a little bemused) looked 
 at once intelligent and amiable. On his shoulder he had 
 hoisted a rough wooden box ; and as he trudged along he 
 smoked a small black clay pipe. 
 
 " Good-day to you ! " said Mary to the giant. 
 
 "Aw, good-deh, good-deh, mem !" said he, with a broad 
 grin of welcome, and he instantly jDut the pipe in his 
 pocket. 
 
 " That is a heavy box you are carrying," said she ; "I 
 wish I were driving, and I would take it along for you." 
 
 "Aw, it's glad I am I hef something to carry," said 
 he, in a strong Argyllshire accent, " and I wass thinking 
 that mebbe Miss Stanley herself would be for tekkin a 
 lobster or two from me, for the house. Aw, I'll not be 
 charging Miss Stanley mich for them — no, nor anything at 
 ahl, if Miss Stanley would be for tekkin a lobster or two 
 from me " 
 
 "Oh, these are lobsters?" said she, with the most 
 friendly interest. 
 
 "A^, chist that," said the giant.
 
 88 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " And you will be sending them away by the mail-cart ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " Ay, chist that — it's to London I am sending them." 
 
 " Oh, really," she said. " All the way to London % Well, 
 now, I wonder if you would think me inquisitive or im- 
 pertinent if I asked you how much you get for them % " 
 
 "How much? Aw, chist two-and-sixpence the dissen," 
 said he, in a good-natured fashion, as if he hardly expected 
 to get anything. 
 
 But Mary was most indignant. 
 
 " What ? " she said. " Two-and-sixpence the dozen ? It's 
 monstrous ! Why, it's downright robbery ! I will write 
 to the London papers. Two-and-sixpence a dozen 1 — and a 
 single lobster selling in London for eighteenpence or two 
 shillings, and that a small one, too. Isn't it too bad, 
 Kathchen ? I will write to the newspapers — I will not 
 allow such robbery." 
 
 " It is a long ^yeh of communigation," said the big, heavy- 
 shouldered, good-humoured-looking man; "and Mr. Cor- 
 storphine he paying ahl the cai'riage, and sending me the 
 boxes." 
 
 " I will get you twice as much as that for the lobsters," 
 said Mary with decision, "if I sell them among my own 
 friends. I will guarantee you twice as much as that, and 
 I will pay the carriage, and get you the boxes. What is 
 your name 1 " 
 
 "Archie MacNicol, mem," said he ; but the whisky had 
 made him talkative, and he went on : "I am from Tarbert 
 on Loch Fyne ; I am not from among these people here at 
 ahl. These people, they are not proper fishermen — aw, 
 they are afraid of the sea — they will not go far out — I hef 
 seen the East Coast men coming along here and tekkin 
 the herring from under their very eyes. There is one of the 
 Government boats that they got ; and it is not paid for 
 yet ; and it is lying half-covered with sand at Achnacross, 
 and no one using it at ahl. Ay, and the curers willing 
 to give elevenpence a piece for ling. Ay, and I wass 
 into Loch Hourn, and I got fifty crans of herring, and I 
 wass curing them myself " 
 
 " But wait a moment," said Mary, to whom this informa- 
 tion seemed a little confused. " If you are not tired, won't
 
 GILLEASBUIG MOR 89 
 
 you keep on your way to the village, and we will walk 
 with you % You see, I am anxious to get all the infoi'ma- 
 tion I can about this place ; and the people here don't 
 seem to be very communicative — although it is altogether 
 in their own interests that I should like to make inquiries. 
 But they appear to be afraid of me — or there is some 
 quarrel, or ill-will, that I don't understand " 
 
 "A quarrel with Miss Stanley?" said the lobster- 
 fisherman, deprecatingly — for he was in a mellow and 
 generous mood, " No, no — he would be a foolish man that 
 would be saying that." 
 
 " Yery well," said Mary, as they were all three going on 
 to the village, " tell me about your own circumstances. 
 I want to know how I can be of help to the people about 
 here. I have not come to Lochgarra to raise rents, and 
 collect money, and take it away and spend it in London. 
 I want to live here — if the people will let me ; but I 
 don't want to live among continuous enmity and ill-will." 
 
 " Aw, yes, yes, to be sure, to be sure now ! " said Archie, 
 in the most amiable way, and Mary was entirely grateful 
 to him for his sympathy — it was so unexpected. 
 
 " Tell me about your own circumstances," she went on. 
 " Is there anything I can do for you and the other lobstex'- 
 fishermen ? " 
 
 " Aw, Cosh ! " he cried (but it was the whisky that 
 was responsible : Archie himself meant to be most polite). 
 "Would Miss Stanley be doing this for us, now — would she 
 be writing a letter for us to the Fishery Board % " 
 
 " Oh, certainly," she answered with promptitude, " if 
 that will be of any service to you. What about ? " 
 
 And here Big Archie (Gilleasbuig Mor, as they called 
 him) in his eagerness to tell his tale, stopped short, and 
 deposited the lobster-box in the road. 
 
 " It's this way now — that there will be many a brokken 
 head before long if something is not done. For they are 
 coming from ahl quarters to the lobster-fishing — stranchers 
 that hef no business here at ahl ; and they are building 
 huts ; and where there is a hut there will soon be a house ; 
 and it does not require the wise man of Mull to tell any one 
 the truth of that. Yes, and they will be saying they hef 
 the right from the Fishery Board ; but as I am thinking
 
 90 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 that is nothing Ijut lies ; for how can the Fishery Board 
 give stranchers the right to come here and build huts on 
 the crofts above the shore — ay, and going on, and paying 
 no rent, either to Miss Stanley, or the crofter, or to any- 
 one ? And Gillie Ciotach and me, ay, and two or three of 
 the young lads, we were saying we would tek sticks and 
 stones, and drive them into the sea — ay, though there 
 might be a bluidy nawse here and there ; and others would 
 be saying no, that it was dancherous to do anything against 
 the Fishery Board. And would Miss Stanley be for sending 
 a letter to the Board, to ask if it is lies those people are 
 telling us, and whether they can come and build a hut 
 whenever they like % " 
 
 " Certainly I will," said she. " Only, there is to be no 
 fighting and bloodshed, mind. Of course, the space occupied 
 by a hut is a very trifling matter ; I suppose what you 
 really object to is those strangers coming to your lobster- 
 ground ? " 
 
 " Ay, chist that ! " said Big Archie, eagerly. 
 
 " Very well. It seems to me quite absurd to think that 
 the Fishery Board should have given any one the right to 
 build huts ; however, I will inquire ; and then, if I get the 
 answer I expect, you must go peaceably and quietly to 
 those peojjle, and tell them they are mistaken, that they 
 have no right from the Fishery Board or from any one 
 else, and that they must leave " 
 
 " Evictions ! " said Kiithchen, under her breath ; she saw 
 trouble coming. 
 
 " Quite peaceably and quietly, you understand," Mary 
 continued; "there must be no broken heads or anything 
 of that kind ; you must tell the people what the Fishery 
 Board says, and then they will see that they are bound to 
 go." 
 
 " Ay, ay, chist whatever Miss Stanley pleases," said Big 
 Archie ; and therewith he shouldered the heavy lobster-box 
 again, and resumed his patient trudge, while he proceeded 
 to give Miss Stanley some further information about those 
 marauding fishermen and their evil ways. 
 
 But when they were nearing Lochgarra, Mary, who had 
 been rather silent and abstracted for some little time back, 
 said to him—
 
 THE PIRATE'S LAIR 91 
 
 "I suppose you have a boat, Mr. MacNicol ? " 
 
 " Aw, ay, and a fine boat too," said Archie. " And if 
 Miss Stanley herself would be wishing for a sail, I would 
 bring the boat round from Camus Bheag." 
 
 " That is just what I have been thinking of," Mary said : 
 they were now come in sight of the sea, and she was absently 
 looking out towards the horizon. 
 
 " Ay, chist any time that Miss Stanley pleases, and I 
 will not be charging anything," said the good-natured giant 
 with the friendly (and bemused) eyes. " Aw, naw, there 
 would be no charge at ahl — but chist a gless of whisky 
 when we come ashore." 
 
 " Oh, I must pay you for your time, of course," said 
 she, briefly. " I suppose you could bring your boat round 
 this evening so that my friend and myself might start 
 pretty "early to-morrow morning? We should be ready 
 by ten." 
 
 Kiithchen turned wondering eyes upon her. 
 
 "But where are you going, Mamie % " 
 
 " I am going out to Heimra Island," she said. 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 THE pirate's lair. 
 
 It was a bold undertaking ; and Kiithchen hardly con 
 cealed her dismay ; but Mary Stanley was resolute. 
 
 " I must see my enemy face to face," she said. " I 
 want to know what he means. Why should he stir up 
 enmity and malignity against me 1 If he had any thought 
 for those people who seem to regard him with such 
 devotion, he would be on my side, for I wish to do every- 
 thing I can for them. He ought to welcome me, instead 
 of trying to drive me out of the place. And if he fishes 
 and shoots over the Lochgarra estate simply to spite me, 
 suppose I refuse to be spited? Suppose I present him 
 with the shooting and fishing, on condition that he allows 
 me to be kind to these people ? How would that do, 
 Kathchen ? Wouldn't that be a fine revenge ? I think 
 that ought to make his face burn, if he has anything of 
 gentle blood left in him ! "
 
 93 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 There was a vibrant chord of indignation in her tone, as 
 there generally was when she spoke of this young man ; 
 for she did not think she was being fairly treated. But 
 Kiithchen, ignoring the true sources of her dismay, began 
 to urge objections to this proposed visit, on the ground 
 of social observances. 
 
 "I do really think, Mamie, it will look strange for two 
 unmarried girls to go away out and pay such a visit — ■ 
 and — to that lonely island. Now if you would only wait 
 until the Free Church Minister comes home, he might go 
 with us, and then it would be all right. Not that the 
 Free Church Minister is certain of a welcome — if the 
 young man is Avhat he is said to be ; but at all events he 
 would be a chaperon for us." 
 
 But Mary would not hear of waiting ; she would challenge 
 her secret antagonist forthwith. 
 
 "Very well, then," said Kate Glendinning, more seriously 
 than was her wont, "if we do go, we must have some 
 excuse; and you must tell him you have come to thank 
 him for having got us out of that frightful bog." 
 
 Nor did the uninviting look of the next morning cause 
 Miss Stanley to alter her resolve. It was hardly a day for 
 a pleasure sail. The wind, it is true, had abated during 
 the night ; and there was not much of a sea on ; but the 
 skies were heavy and lowering ; and dark and sombre were 
 those long headlands running out into the leaden-hued 
 main. But there was the lobster-boat lying at anchor, in 
 charge of a young lad ; and the dinghy was drawn up on 
 the beach ; and a message had just come in that Big 
 Archie was waiting below to carry wraps and rugs. 
 
 "Kiithchen," said Mary, sitting hastily down to her 
 writing-desk, "I have discovered that the Fishery Board 
 sits at Edinburgh; but I can't lind out who are the 
 members. Do you think I should begin ' My Lords and 
 Gentlemen,' or only ' Gentlemen ' ? " 
 
 "I don't know," said Kiithchen; "I should think 
 ' Gentlemen ' would be safer." 
 
 So, in happy singleness of purpose, Mary pi'oceeded to 
 write her letter about the alien lobster-fishermen — little 
 thinking to what that innocent action was to lead ; then 
 she went and quickly got ready ; and by-and-by the two
 
 THE PIRATE'S LAIR 93 
 
 girls were on their way down to the beach, accompanied 
 by the gigantic and massive-shouldered Gilleasbuig Mor. 
 Big Archie, if the truth must be told, was moodily silent 
 this morning : the fact being that on the previous evening 
 he had woimd up the day's promiscuous indulgence by 
 " drinking soi-e," as they say in those parts ; and now his 
 physical conscience was troubling him. But if his con- 
 versation was limited to monosyllables, and if he wore a 
 sad and depressed look, he was, nevertheless, most kind 
 and assiduous in his attentions to the two ladies ; and 
 when he had rowed them out in the dinghy, and got them 
 ensconced in the stern of the bigger boat, he did everything 
 he could for their comfort, considering the rudeness of 
 their surroundings. And presently, when the anchor was 
 got up, Big Archie came aft to the tiller ; the young lad 
 lay prone on the bit of deck forward, to keep a look-out ; 
 and Mary and her companion knew they were now pledged 
 to the enterprise, whatever might come of it. 
 
 Indeed the two girls were themselves rather inclined 
 to silence. It was a gloomy sort of morning ; there was 
 even a threatening of rain brooding over the distant head- 
 lands ; and the dai-k sea lapped mournfully around them, 
 with not a single swift-glancing flash of white. But the 
 light breeze was favourable, and they made steady progress, 
 unfamiliar features of the coast-line becoming visible on 
 right hand and on left as they made further and further 
 out to sea. 
 
 It seemed a long and weaiy time — given over to dream- 
 insfs, and doubtins:s, and somewhat anxious forecasts. But 
 all of a sudden JMary was startled by the voice of the 
 skipper. 
 
 " Will Miss Stanley be for going in to Heimra?" 
 
 And then for the moment her courage failed her. 
 
 "What do you say, Kathchen ? Do you think — we 
 should send a message — before calling ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, certainly," said Kiithchen, with eagerness. 
 " That is certainly what we ought to do." 
 
 " Oh, very well, then," said Mary, turning to the steers- 
 man (but there was a flush of self-conscious shame on her 
 cheeks), "you need not take us to the house — we will 
 merely have a look at the island — and some other day
 
 94 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 we will come out, when we have told Mr. Ross before 
 hand." 
 
 "Very well, mem," said Big Archie, holding on the 
 same course, which was taking them by the south side of 
 the island. 
 
 It was an angry-looking coast — steep and sheer — a long, 
 low, heavy surge breaking monotonously along the black 
 rocks. But when they got round the westward-trending 
 headland, they gradually came in sight of the sheltered 
 waters of the little bay, and of the sweep of silver beach, 
 and the solitary cottage perched on its small plateau. 
 And of course Kiithchen's eyes were full of intensest 
 interest, with something, too, of apprehension ; for this 
 (according to Mr. Purdie) was the pirate's den ; this was 
 the home of the outlaw whose deeds by night and day, by 
 sea and shore, had gained him so dark a renown. But 
 Mai'y's attention had been attracted elsewhither. She was 
 regai'ding a white mai-ble slab, placed high on the top of 
 the cliff, facing the western seas. 
 
 " Look, Kiithchen," she said, in rather a low voice. 
 And then she turned to the silent little bay before her. 
 " Poor woman ! " she said, " It was a lonely place to live 
 all those years." 
 
 Presently Mary bethought her of the errand that had 
 brought her so far ; and she repented of her irresolution. 
 
 " Can you take us into the bay, Mr. MaclSTicol % " said 
 she, without staying to consult Kathchen. 
 
 "Aw, yes, mem, zurely." 
 
 " For it is a long way to have come — and — and I am 
 anxious to see Mr. Ross." 
 
 "Aw, very well, mem," said Archie, at once altering his 
 course. 
 
 And then she said, looking all round the bay— 
 
 " But where is the yacht % " 
 
 " Is it Mr. Ross's yat, mem ? It v/ass lying in Camus 
 Bheag when I Avass coming aweh last evening." 
 
 " And was Mr. Ross on board % " Kiithchen asked, Avith 
 a quick sense of relief. 
 
 " Indeeed I am not zure of that," said Archie. " For 
 mebbe he wass sending the men over to the mainland, 
 and himself staying on the island."
 
 THE PIRATE'S LAIR 95 
 
 " In any case, Kiithchen, that need not mattei' to you," 
 Mary interposed. " You can remain where you ai"e, and 
 I will go up to the house by myself. Why should you 
 bother about my business affairs ? " 
 
 This was a view of the case that was not likely 
 to commend itself to Kate Glendinning, who could nerve 
 herself on occasion. When the lobster-boat had come to 
 anchor, and they had gone ashore in the dinghy, she pro- 
 ceeded to walk up to the house along with her friend just 
 as if nothing unusual was happening to her. She kept 
 watch — furtively ; but her outward air was one of perfect 
 self-possession. As for Mary, she was too deeply engaged 
 in thinking how her complaints and demands were to be 
 framed to heed anything else at this moment. 
 
 They knodted at the door, and again knocked ; after 
 a little while the old woman Martha appeared — the surprise 
 in her face being obvious testimony to the rarity of visitors 
 to this remote island. 
 
 " Is Mr. Ross at home 1 " Mary asked. 
 
 It was a second or so before Martha recovered from her 
 amazement — for she had not seen the lobster-boat appear 
 in the bay, nor yet the strangers come ashore. 
 
 " Oh, no — he is over on the mainland," said the trimly- 
 dressed old woman. " What a peety — what a peety ! " 
 
 Mary was rather taken aback ; however, she said- 
 
 " It is not of much consequence, for, if he is on the main- 
 land — or if he is in the neighbourhood— I daresay I shall 
 be able to see him before he returns to Heimra." 
 
 And then she was about coming away when Martha 
 interposed, with Highland courtesy. 
 
 " But would not the leddies come in and sit down for 
 a little while — and hef some tea, or a little milk, or some- 
 thing of that kind 1 Mr. Ross very sorry when he knows 
 — to be sure — and a great peety him not here " 
 
 " Oh, thank you," said Kiithchen (whose face had 
 lightened considerably when she heard of Donald Ross 
 being absent), " it is very kind of you ; and I am sure I 
 shall be very glad to have a glass of milk, if you will be 
 so kind." 
 
 Kathchen wanted no milk ; but she suddenly saw before 
 her a chance of having her curiosity satisfied without risk :
 
 gB DONALD liOSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 she would be allowed to see what kind of lair this was in 
 which the savage outlaw lived. And so the unsuspecting 
 Martha led the way ; and the two young ladies followed 
 her into the passage, and into the first room leading 
 therefrom, which was a kind of morning-apartment and 
 study combined. They seated themselves, and she left to 
 get them such refreshment as the out-of-the world cottage 
 could afford. 
 
 The two girls were silent ; but their eyes were busy. 
 The first thing that attracted their notice was a portrait 
 over the mantelpiece — the poi'trait of a very beautiful 
 woman, pale somewhat and dark, with refined and imj^res- 
 sive features, and of a simple yet dignified bearing. A 
 sad face, perhaps ; but a face full of chai'acter and distinc- 
 tion : the first glance told you this was no common person 
 who looked at you so calmly. Mary said nothing ; Kiithchen 
 said nothing,; but they knew who this w^as — the likeness 
 was too obvious. 
 
 And as for the other contents of the room ?— well, there 
 were neither guns, nor rods, nor splash-nets, nor anything 
 else connected with fishing or shooting, legal or illegal ; 
 but there was an abundance of books on the shelves that 
 lined three walls of the apartment. Moreover, there was 
 one volume lying on the table before them — beside a 
 wooden pipe. They regarded this for some little time ; 
 but it was Kiithchen who spoke first. 
 
 " Mary, would it be very impertinent if I looked ? " 
 
 Mary Stanley laughed. 
 
 "I don't know," she said. "Most people do pick up 
 things when they are left in a room. But we are in a 
 peculiar position. We are here without the consent of the 
 owner." 
 
 "Yes, that is so," said Kiithchen, resignedly, and she 
 remained still. 
 
 But she continued looking towards the book in a wistful 
 way. 
 
 "It's only the title I should like to see," she began 
 again, " What hainn can there be in that ? If Mr. Ross 
 were here himself, I would take up the book in a minute — 
 yes, I would ! What do you say, Mary % " 
 
 "Well," said Mary, frankly, "I really should like to
 
 THE PIRATE'S LAIR 97 
 
 know wliat kind of literature commends itself to any one 
 living in a strange place such as this. But at the same 
 time we are not his guests — we are intruders — or if we 
 are guests, we are the housekeeper's guests, and it is but 
 fair to her we shouldn't pry into secrets." 
 
 Kathchen had risen and gone across to the table : 
 perhaps it would not be breaking the laws of hospitality 
 if she could get a glimpse of the title of the book without 
 actually laying hands on it % But the back of it was 
 away from the light. In these desperate circumstances, 
 Kiithchen yielded to temptation; she hastily snatched up 
 the volume, glanced at the title, and as quickly returned 
 to her seat again. 
 
 " Good gracious ! " said she. " That is fine entertainment 
 for a lonely island — Joshua Williams's ' Real Property ' ! " 
 
 "A law book?" said Mary, with her face becoming 
 suddenly grave. " I hope there is not going to be— any 
 trouble — a lawsuit is such a dreadful thing " 
 
 " Oh, no ; I understand what that means," said Kathchen, 
 " I know quite well. That is one of the books my brother 
 had when he was reading up for the bar- — I remember it 
 because I spilt some ink over it, and he made me buy 
 him another. I wonder, now, if Mr. Ross is reading up 
 for the bar ? "Wouldn't that be a blessed dispensation of 
 Providence for you, Mamie — if he were to go away and 
 shut himself up in the Temple, and leave you Lochgarra 
 entirely in your own hands, shooting, and fishing, and 
 everything? Only," she added, "I don't quite understand 
 how such a wild savage as Mi'. Purdie described to us 
 would be likely to get on with the Judges. I am afraid 
 there would be scenes in court. What do they call dis- 
 missing a barrister ? — not cashiering ? — unfrocking ? " 
 
 Kathchen had suddenly to cease ; for here was the 
 elderly Martha, carrying a large tray amply provided with 
 homely and wholesome fare — oatmeal cake, soda scones, 
 marmalade, strawberry jam, fresh butter, and a jug of milk. 
 And Mary did not pause before breaking bread in the 
 house of her enemy ; for she saw that the old housekeej)er 
 was anxious that her bounties should be appreciated ; and 
 besides, oat-cake and marmalade and fresh milk ought to 
 recommend themselves to any healthily-constituted young 
 
 H
 
 98 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 woman. By and by, when Martha had left the room, 
 Miss Stanley said — 
 
 " What shall I give her as we are going away, Kathchen 1 
 Half-a-sovereign % " 
 
 " Oh, for goodness' sake, Mamie, don't think of such a 
 thing!" Kathchen exclaimed. "At any other time give 
 her anything you like ; but you must not pay for food 
 '\\\ this house ; you cannot imagine how offended she 
 would be. She would take it as an insult offered to her 
 master : she rej)resents Mr. Ross in his absence — it is Mr. 
 Ross who is entertaining us now " 
 
 " Oh, it is Mr. Ross who is entertaining us % — yes of 
 course," said Mary thoughtfully ; and — perhaps without 
 noticing the coincidence— she put down the piece of oat- 
 cake she held in her hand, nor did she take it up again. 
 
 And furthermore, as they were going down to the 
 boat — having made due acknowledgments to Martha for 
 her hosj)itality — Maiy walked as one in a dream ; while 
 Kathchen, rejoiced to have come through this dreaded 
 ordeal with such unexpected ease, was in the gayest of 
 humours. She did not notice her friend's reverie ; she 
 was chattering away about their foolhardiness in entering 
 the savage's lair — about her surprise in finding no skulls 
 and bones lying in corners — about the quiet and studious 
 aspect of the place being a pretty cover for all kinds of 
 dark and lawless deeds. Mary did not reply ; once or 
 twice she looked up to the white grave on the hill — she 
 was thinking of other things. 
 
 But when they had all got into the larger boat again, 
 and set out on their return voyage, Kathchen found a 
 companion more of her own mood. The truth is that 
 while the young ladies were being entertained in the front 
 part of the house, Big Archie had slipj^ed up to the back, 
 had paid his respects to Martha, and had been presented, 
 as is the custom in the west, with his morning dram. This 
 welcome mitigation of his Katzenjaminer had made a new 
 man of him ; and he was noAV disposed to be as talkative 
 as hitherto he had been morose ; so that, as he sate with 
 his ai^m on the tiller, he was cheerfully telling the young 
 lady all about himself, and his doings, and circumstances. 
 And Kiithchen, finding him thus sociable, and finendly,
 
 THE PIRATE'S LAIR 99 
 
 affected much interest, and plied him with appropriate 
 questions. 
 
 " Do you keep a cow, Mr. MacNicol ?" said she. 
 
 "Aw, now," said he, deprecatingly, "the young leddy 
 will be mekkin me ashamed. It's chist Archie they'll bo 
 calling me." 
 
 " Very well, Archie — do you keep a cow ? " 
 
 " I starve one," said Archie, with ironical humour. 
 
 " And a kitchen fi^arden ? " 
 
 " Aw, is it a garden % And you will not know that I 
 wass tekken the prize for the garden, ay, more as three or 
 four years % Well, well, now, there is no longer a prize 
 given for the best garden, and it's a peety, too " 
 
 " But tell me," said Kiithchen, with some astonishment, 
 "why was the prize stopped? It seems a very reasonable 
 thing, a prize for the best kitchen garden among the 
 crofters and fishermen — I'm quite sure Miss Stanley would 
 give such a prize. Why was it stopped ? " 
 
 Big Archie hesitated for a second or two ; then he said, 
 with a grin of confession — 
 
 " Well, now, I will tell you the God's truth, mem ; for 
 there's two ways about every story ; and there's my way 
 of it, and there's Mr. Purdie's way of it ; and mebbe the 
 one is true or the other. And this is my way of it : I wass 
 gettin the prize — oh, yes, I will not deny that — year by 
 year, and very proud I wass, too, of the cabbages, and the 
 scarlet beans, and the like of that, and the thirty shuUins 
 of the prize a very good thing for me. And then kem 
 the time the Minard crofters they were for sending an 
 appligation to Mr. Stanley for to have the rents revised, 
 and I put my name to the paper too ; but Mr. Stanley 
 he would do nothing at ahl — he said ' Go to Mr. Purdie.' 
 Then Mr. Purdie he sees my name on the paper ; and he 
 says, ' Veiy well, there will be no more prize for the garden, 
 and you can do without your thirty shullins.' It wass a 
 punishment for me, that I wass putting my name on the 
 paper. Now, mem, that is my story about the prize " 
 
 " I think it was very shabby treatment ! " Kath- 
 chen exclaimed. 
 
 " And that is the way I see my side of it," continued 
 Big Archie, honestly ; " but I am not denying there may 
 
 H 2
 
 100 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 be another way. Aw naw, mem, I want to tell you fair ; 
 and Mr. Purdie he would hef another version for you, if 
 you were to believe it " 
 
 " Well, then, what is his version % " said Kiithchen — for 
 the time being rather priding herself on playing Mary 
 Stanley's part. 
 
 " Well, I wass speaking to Mr. Pettigrew, the minister, 
 and he wass speaking to Mr. Purdie, about getting the 
 prize back, and Mr. Purdie he says to Mr. Pettigrew, ' No, 
 I will not give the prize back ; for there was not enough 
 competition, and Archie MacNicol he wass always tekkin 
 the prize, and it wass the same as thirty shullins a year off 
 his rent. The prize,' he wass saying, ' wass to encourache 
 ahl the people to attend to their gardens, and not to give 
 Archie MacNicol thirty shullins a year.' And that's the 
 God's truth, mem, and both ways of the story ; but what 
 I will be thinking to myself is that there wass no talk of 
 stopping the prize till Mr. Purdie found my name on the 
 paper. That's what I would be thinking to myself some- 
 times." 
 
 Kiithchen glanced rather timidly at her friend. But 
 Maiy was still in that curiously abstracted reverie — her 
 eyes turned wistfully towards the now receding Eilean 
 Heimra — her thoughts remote. So Kiithchen merely said 
 in an undertone — 
 
 " Yery well, Archie, I will put both versions of the 
 story before Miss Stanley, and I have no doubt she Avill 
 do what is right. For my own part, I don't see why you 
 should be deprived of the prize simply because you keep a 
 sjnarter garden than the other peoj^le." 
 
 A great event happened this afternoon — nothing less 
 than the arrival from the South of Mr. Watson, the sheep- 
 farmer. Miss Stanley's principal tenant. The two girls had 
 landed from the boat, walked along the shore, and were 
 just about turning off" towards Lochgarra House, when 
 they were overtaken by some one riding a stout and ser- 
 viceable little cob ; and Mary instantly guessed who this 
 must be — for persons on horseback are rare at Lochgarra. 
 The stranger lifted his hat, but did not draw rein. 
 
 " Mr. Watson," said she — looking towards him with a 
 plain intimation that she desired to speak Avith him.
 
 THE PIRATE'S LAIR loi 
 
 Mr. "Watson immediately pulled up, dismounted, and 
 came towards her, leading the cob by the bridle. He was 
 a middle-aged man with a fresh complexion, grizzled hair, 
 short whiskers, and shrewd blue eyes — looking prosperous 
 and well-satisfied with himself, and with some little turn 
 for jocosity about his firmly-set lips. 
 
 "I beg your pardon," she said, with a little embarrass- 
 ment, " but — I wished to speak with you " 
 
 " ]\Iiss Stanley ? — I am glad to make your acquaintance," 
 said he, in a marked south-country accent. And he bowed 
 to Miss Stanley's companion. 
 
 " Won't you come into the house for a moment or two '^ " 
 said Mary, with a vague notion that she ought to be 
 polite to a tenant who paid her XI 400 a year : moreover, 
 she had ulterior ends in view. Mr. Watson consented ; 
 Mary went and called a gardener, who took charge of the 
 (!ob \ and then the two young ladies and the farmer pro- 
 ceeded up the stone steps, and through the hall, and into 
 the wide hexagonal drawing-room in the tower. Then she 
 asked him to be seated, adding some vague suggestion 
 about a glass of wine and a biscuit after his ride. 
 
 " No, I thank ye," said IMr. Watson. " I am a tee- 
 totaller — not an ordinary thing in these parts. Ay, and 
 a vegetarian. But I practise — I don't preach," he ex- 
 plained, with a complacent smile ; "so I do no harm to 
 other folk. Both things suit me ; but I let other jDeople 
 alone. That's the fair way in the world." 
 
 " I wanted to ask you, Mr. Watson," said she, with a 
 certain timidity, " whether you would be disposed to give 
 up the pasturage of Meall-na-Cruagan % " 
 
 In a second the shrewd and humorous blue eyes had 
 become strictly observant and business-like. 
 
 " To give it up 1 " he said slowly. 
 
 " I mean," she interposed, "at a valuation. I know 
 it is yours under the lease ; we cannot disturb you ; nor 
 should I wish to do so, except entirely with your own 
 goodwill." 
 
 " Miss Stanley," said he, " I v/ill ask ye a plain ques- 
 tion : what for do ye want me to give up the Meall-na- 
 Cruagan ? " 
 
 "The crofters >"
 
 I02 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "Ay, ay, just that," said he, without much ceremony. 
 " They've been at ye, in the absence of Mr. Purdie. Well, 
 let me tell ye this : I am willing on my part to give 
 up the Meall-na-Cruagan, at a fair valuation; but I warn 
 ye that if ye hand it over to the crofters, they'll be not one 
 penny the better off, and you'll be just so much the worse. 
 Where are they to get the stock to put on it? They've 
 enough grazing for what stock they've got." 
 
 " Yes, but it is not wholly that," said Mary. " I want to 
 have them satisfied." 
 
 " Ye'll never see them satisfied, though ye gave them 
 the whole Lochgarra estate for nothing," said this very 
 plain-spoken person. " Surely ye ai-e aware that the agents 
 of the Highland Land League have been here, as they 
 have been in every hole and corner of the Highlands ; and 
 while some of them have been making reasonable enough 
 demands, others of them have been showing themselves 
 nothing bu.t irresj)onsible mischief-makers, firing the brains 
 of these poor creatures with revolutionary nonsense, and 
 trying to turn the whole place into another Ireland. 
 Well, well, it's not my business ; it's not for me to speak ; 
 but I warn ye. Miss Stanley, that giving vip Meall-na- 
 Cruagan will not satisfy them. What many of them 
 want — especially what the more ignorant among them 
 want — is for the landlords to quit the country altogether, 
 and leave them the entire stock, lock and barrel of the 
 estates — the land and all that belongs to it." 
 
 "I know," said Mary, quietly, "what the Land League 
 have been doing ; but if there had not been widespread 
 discontent and distress they could not have done anything 
 at all. And surely there was reason for the discontent ; 
 look at the reductions the Crofter's Commission have made 
 — thirty and foi'ty per cent, in some places. However, I 
 am not concerned with the economic question of the High- 
 lands generally ; I am concerned merely with Lochgarra ; 
 and I want to do what is fair by the tenants ; I want to 
 see them satisfied, and as well-to-do and comfortable as 
 the circumstances will allow. But what has been puzzling 
 me since I came here," she continued — for this seemed a 
 frank and well-wishing kind of man, and she was glad to 
 have any sort of help or advice — " is that when I have
 
 THE PIRATE'S LAIR 103 
 
 spoken about lowering the rent, they have had nothing to 
 say in reply. They seem rather to look to the Government 
 for aid. Yet you would imagine that the lowering of the 
 rent would be the first and all-important thing," 
 
 Mr. Watson smiled, in a condescending way. 
 
 "I think ye might understand why they would not com- 
 plain to you about the rent," 
 
 " Why ? " she demanded. 
 
 He hesitated — and there was an odd look on his face. 
 
 "I do not wish to say anything against fi'iend Purdie," 
 he observed. 
 
 " But I want to know the tru.th," she insisted. " How 
 am I to do anything at all unless I know the exact and 
 literal truth % " 
 
 " Well, well, let us put it this way," said Mr. Watson, 
 good-naturedly. " There's some that would call Mr. Purdie 
 a hard man ; and there's some that wovdd call him an 
 excellent factor, business-like, thoroughgoing, and skilled 
 in his work. It's not a nice position to be in at the 
 best ; it's not possible to please everybody. And there's 
 different ways of dealing with people." 
 
 All this sounded very enigmatic. Mary could not in the 
 least understand what he meant. 
 
 " I wish you to speak plainly, Mr. Watson," said she 
 " You may be sure it will be in absolute confidence." 
 
 He considered for a moment. Then he said — 
 
 " It's of little consequence to me. Friend Purdie and 1 
 get on very well, considering ; and besides I have my lease. 
 But I'll just give ye an instance of what has happened 
 on this estate, and you'll judge for yourself whether it's 
 likely the tenants would come to you for a reduction of 
 rent, or ask ye to interfere in any way whatever. It was 
 about four years ago that one of the crofts over at Cruagan 
 fell vacant. Very well. Then Mr. Purdie would have it 
 that the pasture of that croft should be taken by the 
 other Cruagan crofters, each one paying his share of the 
 rent; while the arable land of the croft should be added 
 to the Glen Sanna farm, which was also vacant just then. 
 The Cruagan crofters objected to that arrangement ; Mr. 
 Purdie insisted ; and at last the crofters sent a petition to 
 Mr. Stanley, asking to have the arable land of the croft at
 
 I04 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 well, or else to be let alone. I am not saying anything 
 against your uncle, Miss Stanley." 
 
 "But I want to get at the truth of the story, 
 Mr. Watson," said Mary, firmly. "That is the main 
 point. What happened % " 
 
 " I may explain that your uncle never interfered with 
 Mr. Purdie," the farmer continued, rather apologetically, 
 " and that's no to be wondered at. Many landlords make 
 it a rule not to interfere with their factor, for of course 
 he's doing the best he can for the estate, and knows about 
 it better than they can know themselves. Then what 
 happened, do ye say 1 What happened was this — at the 
 very next term every crofter that had signed the petition 
 was served with a notice to quit; and that was only 
 withdrawn when they undertook to pay, each man of 
 them, £3 a year additional rent — that is 15s. for their 
 share of the added pasture, and £2 5s. as a fine for having 
 objected to Mr. Purdie's arrangements. That's just what 
 happened. Miss Stanley." 
 
 Maiy was silent for a second or so — looking towards 
 Kathchen, her eyes full of indignation. 
 
 " Why, it is one of the most abominable pieces of 
 tyranny I ever heard of ! " she exclaimed. And then she 
 turned to Mr. Watson. " If people are treated like that, 
 can you wonder if the Land League shoidd find it easy to 
 put revolutionary ideas into their head 1 " 
 
 " At all events," said Mr. Watson, with a shrewd and 
 cautious smile, "ye will understand that they are not 
 likely to apply to you for any lowering of rent. They 
 know the consequences." 
 
 "Ah, do they?" said she quickly. "Well, I must show 
 them that they are mistaken. I must convince them they 
 have nothing to fear. They must learn that they can 
 come to me, without dread of Mr. Purdie or anyone else. 
 But," she added, with a bit of a sigh, " I suppose it will 
 take a long time." 
 
 After some little further conversation, of no great 
 moment, but marked by much civility on both sides, the 
 farmer rose. 
 
 "Any time ye're passing Craiglarig, Miss Stanley, I 
 should be proud if ye'd look in."
 
 THE PIRATE'S LAIR 105 
 
 " Indeed I will," said she, going with him to the door, 
 " But I must tell you now how deeply I am indebted to 
 you. And of course what you have said shall be kept in 
 the strictest confidence." 
 
 "I have told ye the truth," said he, "since ye asked 
 for it. But just mind this. Miss Stanley — good factors 
 are no that common ; and friend Purdie understands his 
 business. He drives a hard bargain ; but it's on your 
 behalf." 
 
 "Yes," said she, "and now I am beginning to see why 
 it is the people hate me." 
 
 That same evening the two girls, who had been out for a 
 lonof walk, were coming down the Minard road towards 
 Lochgarra. The twilight was deepening ; the solemn inland 
 hills were growing slowly and slowly darker, and losing 
 their individual features ; the softly lilac skies overhead 
 were waiting for the coming night. Silence had fallen 
 over the woods, where the birches showed their spectral 
 arms in the dusk, and where the russet bracken and 
 withered grey grass were now almost indistinguishable. 
 It was a still and tranquil hour; sleep stealing upon the 
 tired world ; a little while, and the far, wide, mysteriously- 
 moving sea would be alone with the stars. 
 
 But for Mary Stanley there was no sense of soothing 
 quiet, even amidst this all-prevailing repose. On the 
 contrary, her heart was full of turmoil and perplexity ; 
 insomuch that at times her courage was like to give way ; 
 and she was almost ready to abandon the task she had 
 undei'taken, as something beyond her strength. And then 
 again a voice seemed to say to her " Patience — patience — 
 hold on your way — dax^k as the present hour may be, the 
 day w\\\ dawn at last." And in Kiithchen she had an 
 excellent counsellor ; for Kiithchen had an admirable habit 
 of making light of troubles — especially those that did not 
 concern herself ; and she was practical, and matter-of-fact, 
 neither over-sanguine nor liable to fits of black despon- 
 dency. On the present occasion this was what she was 
 saying, in her cool and self-possessed way : 
 
 "You see, Mamie, I understand the Highland character 
 better than you do. All that sullenness and ill-will doesn't 
 arise merely from high rent and Mr. Purdie's tyranny —
 
 io6 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 though that no doubt has something to do with it. There 
 are sentimental influences at work as well. There is the 
 strong attachment towards the old family — very unreason- 
 ing, perhaps, but there it is ; and there is resentment 
 against those who have displaced them. Then there may 
 be anger about your uncle for having destroyed the ancient 
 landmarks ; and injuries of that kind are not easily for- 
 gotten or forgiven. But every hour that I am in this 
 place," continued Kiithchen, as they were making home 
 through the strangely-silent dusk, "I am more and more 
 convinced that what Mr. Purdie said was perfectly correct 
 — that young Donald Ross of Heimra is just everybody 
 and everything to those people. He is all-powerful with 
 them. Very well. I cannot believe that he has stirred up 
 ill-will against you, or even that he wishes it to continue. 
 He may do everything he can to thwart and madden 
 IVIr. Purdie — why not? — I would do that myself, if I 
 were in his place ! — but how can he have any wish to 
 injure you % Then what I say is this : if you really meaia 
 to go and see him, put entirely out of your mind what 
 you may have heard about his private character, and his 
 poaching and smuggling, and remember only that his 
 influence over those people could make everything quite 
 pleasant to you. Don't go to him as you did this morning, 
 as an enemy to be challenged and reproached : no, what 
 you have to do is just to lower your pride a little, and tell 
 him that you have come to beg for a favour. In fact I 
 am convinced that a word from him would entirely change 
 the situation. Mamie, are you going to ask for it % " 
 Maxy Stanley did not answer : she walked on in silence. 
 
 CHAPTER YIII 
 
 FACE TO FACE. 
 
 She was out in the solitude of the woods, and she was 
 alone. It was early morning, clear, and calm, and still ; 
 the sun lay warm on the silver lichened boulders that 
 were dappled with velvet-green moss ; the wandering air 
 that stirred the pendulous branches of the birches brought 
 with it a i-esinous odour, from the innumerable millions
 
 FACE TO FACE 107 
 
 of opening buds. A profound silence prevailed, save for 
 the hushed continuous murmur of an unseen rivulet, and 
 the occasional distant call of a curlew. 
 
 A vague restlessness, and something even akin to despair, 
 had brought her hither. For of course like other young 
 people of the day she had coquetted with the modern 
 doctrine that in times of trouble our great and gentle 
 Mother Nature is the true consoler and comforter ; she 
 had read Wordsworth ; and she had read Matthew Arnold 
 upon Wordsworth : 
 
 "He too upon a wintry clime 
 Had fallen — on this iron time 
 
 Of doubts, disputes, distractions, fears. 
 He found us when the age had bound 
 Our souls in its benumbing round — 
 
 He spoke, and loosed our heart in tears. 
 He laid us as we lay at birth 
 On the cool flowery lap of earth ; 
 Smiles broke from us and we had ease. 
 The hills were round us, and the breeze 
 Went o'er the sun-lit fields again ; 
 Our foreheads felt the wind and rain. 
 Our youth return'd; for there was shed 
 On spirits that had long been dead, 
 Spirits dried up and closely furl'd, 
 The freshness of the early world." 
 
 And now if she wished to forget the untowardness of 
 human nature — if she wished to escape fi'om her bitter dis- 
 appointment on beholding her large and generous schemes 
 met and checked on every hand by a sullen ingratitude — 
 surely here was a seclusion that should have brought balm 
 to her wounded heart. Moreover the morning light was 
 cheerful ; April as it was, a quiet warmth prevailed ; she 
 tried to please herself by recollecting that this fairy 
 paradise actually belonged to her. And if human beings 
 were so hard and unapproachable, why, then, she could 
 interest herself in these harmless living creatures that were 
 all so busy around her, under the quickening influences of 
 the spring. From the dusty pathway in the opener glades 
 the yellow-hammers were picking up bits of withered grass 
 for their nest-building ; black-caps swung back-downward 
 from the sprays, to wrench the buds off with their bills ; 
 she stopped here and there to watch a beautiful beetle —
 
 io8 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 shining bronze, oi' opaque green with a touch of scarlet on 
 its legs ; a tiny grey lizard, with its small eye bright as a 
 diamond, lay _ basking on a shelf of rock, and remained 
 absolutely motionless, hoping to be passed unnoticed. 
 Then she came upon a little tuft of primroses — so shining 
 pale — so full of dim suggestions — and of associations with 
 the poets. Well, she looked at the primroses. They were 
 very pretty. But somehow she could not keep thinking 
 of them, nor of the fine things the poets had said of them. 
 The fact was, in her present straits her heart was craving 
 for human sympathy ; she wanted to be of some use in the 
 world : she wished to see eyes brighten when she appeai'ed 
 at the door, however poor the cottage might be. Primroses 
 were pretty, no doubt — -the firstlings of the year awoke 
 pleasant and tender memories — but^but why were those 
 people so obdurate ? No, there was no solace for her ; 
 the sweet and soothing influences of nature were intruded 
 upon, were obliterated, by the harsh facts and problems of 
 human life. With those men and women almost ojoenly 
 declared her enemies, and with all her grand schemes gone 
 away, what good could she get from primroses'? And 
 so, humiliating herself with the conviction that she was 
 nothing but another Peter Bell, she passed on through the 
 woods, and eventually got down to the sheltered little bay 
 where she had first met Anna Chlannach. 
 
 And on this occasion also she was destined to make a 
 new acquaintance. She was idly walking up and down 
 the lilac and ci^eam-hued beach — and trying to persuade 
 herself that she had found a refuge from the perplexities 
 and mortifications that seemed to surround her in the 
 busier world she had left — when a sound she had distantly 
 heard from time to time now rose in tone until there could 
 be no doubt about its nature : it was a human voice, pro- 
 ceeding from the neighbouring bay. She Avent as close as 
 she could to the intervening promontory ; then curiosity 
 led her stealthily to climb the heathery slope ; she made 
 her way between rocks and under birches ; and at last she 
 paused and listened. It was a man's voice, of an un- 
 naturally high pitch, and curiously plaintive in its mono- 
 tonous sing-song. In the perfect silence she distinctly 
 heard these words —
 
 FACE TO FACE 109 
 
 " Oh, my brethren, I charge you — I charge you by all 
 that you hold dearest — that you keep the little children 
 from the ruby wine ! " 
 
 "What could this mean ? She pushed her way a little 
 further through the thick underwood, and peei-ed over. 
 There was a small boat di'awn up on the shore. Pacing 
 slowly backv/ards and forwards on the shingle was a man 
 of about twenty-eight or thirty, with a long and lugubrious 
 face, a shaggy brown beard, and deep-set eyes. Sometimes 
 his head was bent down, as if in deep thought ; and then 
 again he would raise it, and extend his arm, as if ad- 
 dressing the opposite side of the bay, or perhaps Eilean 
 Heimra out at sea ; while ever and anon the cuiious 
 feminine falsetto came back to the admonition — " Oh, my 
 brethren, keep the little children from the ruby wine ! " 
 
 Mary began to guess. "Was this the Minister 1 Had he 
 returned home ; and had he seized the first opportunity to 
 come away over to this solitary place, to rehearse his sermon 
 for the following Sabbath, with appropriate intonation and 
 gestui'e ? She listened again : 
 
 " ' "Who hath woe ? who hath sorroAV ? who hath con- 
 tentions ? who hath babbling ? who hath wounds without 
 cause 1 who hath redness of eyes ? ' Ah, my friends, now 
 that I have addressed each section of the community, each 
 member of the family circle, now we come to the little babes 
 — those tender flowers — those blossoms along the rouejh 
 roadway of life — smiling upon us like the rainbows of the 
 morning — and bedewing the eai'th with their consecrated 
 tears. When I behold those gems of purest ray serene," 
 continued the Minister, in his elevated chant, "my soul 
 is filled v/ith misgivings and sad prognostications. I observe 
 in my daily walk the example that is set before them ; the 
 fathers in Israel are a stumbling block to their ov/n 
 children ; nay, even of the wisest it has been said, ' The 
 priest and the prophet \\ix\e, en*ed through strong drink, 
 they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way 
 through strong drink ; they err in vision, they stumble in 
 judgment.' My friends, is it not a terrible thing to think 
 of these blessed babes — these innocent tendrils sprouting 
 up into glorious flowers, even as the Rose of Sharon and 
 the lily of the valley — to think of them babbling with red
 
 no DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 mouths curses they eaunot comprehend 1 Hold them back, 
 I say ! Snatch the fatal goblet from them ! Let pleasure 
 wave her ambrosial locks when and where she pleases — 
 let mirth and joy prevail — but when the timbrel sounds 
 and the cymbal is heard in the hall— then, at all events 
 let those innocent ones be restrained from the deadly snare 
 — keep, oh, keep the little children from the ruby wine ! " 
 
 Unluckily this last appeal was addressed to Maiy herself, 
 or at least she thought so in her fright when she found the 
 Minister's eyes turned towards her : instantly she bobbed 
 her head down in the heather, and remained hidden there 
 until the sermon — or pei^haps it was a temperance lecture % 
 — was ended. It did not last much longer. After the 
 sonorous sentences had ceased, there was a moment's 
 silence ; then a grating on the beach ; then a measured 
 sound of oars : she concluded that the JNIinister, his flowery 
 harangue rehearsed, was now making for home again ; and 
 she was free to get up from her concealment and return to 
 Lochgarra House. 
 
 " Kathchen," she said, " the Minister has come back. I 
 have seen him— though I — I didn't speak to him. Now 
 don't you think we ought to go along and make his 
 acquaintance at once % He might help us : you say yourself 
 the Free Church Ministers have an enormous influence in 
 the Highlands." 
 
 Kate Glendinning did not receive this proposal with any 
 gi'eat enthusiasm. 
 
 "There is one thing he might do," said she, "as I told 
 you before, Mamie. It would be much easier for us to go 
 and see Mr. Ross, if the Minister would take us under his 
 escort." 
 
 " Mr. Ross ! " said Mary, impatiently. " It is Mr. Ross, 
 and Mr. Ross, with you from morning till night, Kathchen ! 
 You would think he OAvned the whole place ! " 
 
 " Yes," said Kathchen, demurely, " that is just Avhat he 
 seems to do." 
 
 However, the interview to which both the young ladies 
 had looked forward with so much anxiety came about in 
 the most natural way in the world ; and that without any 
 intervention whatever. IVIary and Kathchen, being down 
 in the village, had gone into the post-ofiice to buy some
 
 FACE TO FACE in 
 
 packets of sweets— bribes for the children, no doubt; and 
 they were coming out again from the Httle general store 
 when, in broad and full daylight, they met young Ross 
 of Heimra face to face. There was no escape possible on 
 either side ; he was going into the post-office ; they were 
 coming out ; and here they were, confronted. Well, it 
 must be admitted that at this crisis Mary Stanley's presence 
 of mind entirely forsook her. Ten hundred thousand things 
 seemed to go through her brain at once ; she could not 
 speak ; confusion burned red in her cheeks and on her 
 forehead. And then he was so pale and calm and collected ; 
 for a second he regarded them both — and with no furtive 
 glance ; he slightly raised his peaked cap, and would have 
 passed them without more ado. It was Kathchen who 
 made bold to detain him. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Ross," said she, breathlessly, " we have never 
 had an opportunity of thanking you — you left the cottage 
 before we knew — and — and it was so kind of you to send 
 the carriage " 
 
 And here for a moment Kathchen also lost her head, 
 for she had a horrible consciousness that when a man has 
 saved your life it is ridiculous to thank him for sending a 
 carriage. And then those coal-black eyes were so calmly 
 observant ; they were not generously sympathetic ; they 
 seemed merely to await what she had to say with a 
 respectful attention. But Kathchen bravely began again : 
 " You — you must not think us ungrateful — you see, you 
 had left the cottage before we knew — and when we went 
 out to Heimra, we did not find you at home " 
 
 " I am Sony I was not there," he said. 
 
 "And — and of course we knew quite well what a 
 dreadful position we were in — I mean that night when we 
 wandered into the morass," continued Kathchen. " But 
 for you we never should have got out again- — we dared not 
 move — and in the darkness what could we have done % " 
 
 " It is a dangerous jDlace," he said. 
 
 " I — I am going to give Mrs. Mac Vean a cow in place 
 of the one that was lost," Mary now ventured to put in ; 
 and here was she — the bold, the dauntless, the proud- 
 spirited one ! — here was she standing timidly there, her 
 face still suffused, her eyes downcast. And thift little
 
 1 15 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 speech of hers was Hke a plea for merciful consideration ! 
 He turned to her. 
 
 " The Mac Veans have had a bad time of it since the 
 shepherd died," the young man said, in a distant sort of 
 way — but he was regarding her curiously. 
 
 Then all of a sudden it occurred to Mary that she ought 
 not to stand there as a suppliant. Some sense of her 
 wronfifs and her recent trials came back to her : and here 
 was the one whom she suspected of being responsible — here 
 was her secret enemy — the antagonist who had hitherto 
 concealed himself in the dark. 
 
 " I hope the widow will condescend to accept it, but 
 who can tell % " said she, with greater spirit. " Really, 
 they are the most extraordinary people ! They seem to 
 resent your trying to do them a kindness. I have been 
 offering them all sorts of things they stand in need of ; I 
 am willing to lower their rents ; I am going to arrange for 
 more pasture ; I propose to give prizes for the best home- 
 spun materials ; and I would pay for getting over some of 
 the Harris people, if instruction were wanted in dyeing or 
 weaving — but they seem to suspect it is all for my own 
 interest. I make them these offers — they will hardly look 
 at them ! " 
 
 "You may teach a dog to love you by feeding it," said 
 young Donald Ross, coldly ; " but the Highlanders are not 
 dogs." 
 
 At this she fired up — and there was no more shamefaced 
 girlish blushing in her cheeks. Her eyes were as proud as 
 his own. 
 
 " They are human beings, I suppose," said she, " and a 
 human being might at least say ' Thank you.' But I do 
 not know that I blame them," she continued — to Kiith- 
 chen's great anxiety. "It seems to me there must be 
 secret influences at work about here. It is not natural 
 for people to be so ungrateful. Self-interest would make 
 them a little more — a little more — amenable — if it were 
 not for some evil instigation at work among them. And 
 what can any one gain by stirring up ill-will ? What can 
 be the motive? At any rate, whatever the motive, and 
 whoever he is, he might consider this — he might consider 
 the mischief he is doing these poor people in making them
 
 FACE TO FACE 113 
 
 bliud to their own welfare. It seems a strange thing that 
 in order to gratify envy, or hatred, or revenge, he should 
 sacrifice the interests of a number of poor people who 
 don't know any better." 
 
 Kiithchen glanced apprehensively from the one to the 
 other ; but there was no flash of anger in those dark eyes, 
 nor any tinge of resentment in the pale, olive-tinted face. 
 The young man maintained a perfectly impassive demeanour 
 — respectful enough, but reserved and distant. 
 
 " I wish them nothing but good," Mary went on, in the 
 same indignant way, " but how can I do anything if they 
 turn away from me? Why do they not come and tell 
 me what they want % " 
 
 " Come and tell you what they want ?^when they 
 daren't call their souls their own ! " he said. 
 
 " Of whom are they afraid, then ? " she demanded. 
 
 " Of your agent. Miss Stanley," said he (and here indeed 
 Kiithchen did notice something strange in his eyes — a 
 gleam of dark fire in spite of all his studied restraint). 
 " What do they care about philanthropic schemes, or how 
 can you expect them to talk about their wants and wishes, 
 when what they actually know is that Purdie has the face 
 of every one of them at the grindstone ? " He altered his 
 tone. "I beg your pardon. I have no right to interfere 
 • — and no wish to interfere. If you should think of coming 
 out again to Heimra, Miss Stanley, to have a look over 
 the island, I hope I may be at home. Good-morning ! " 
 
 He again raised his cap— and passed on into the ofiice. 
 Mary stood undecided for a moment ; then moved slowly 
 away, accompanied by Kiithchen. Before them was the 
 wide sweep of the bay, with Lochgarra House at the point, 
 and its background of larches. The sea was calm ; the 
 skies clear ; it was a peaceful-looking morning. 
 
 Of a sudden Mary Stanley stopped — her eyes full of 
 disappointment and vexation. 
 
 " Everything is at sixes and sevens — and worse than 
 before!" she exclaimed to her companion. "What did I. 
 say, Kiithchen? What did he say? AVasn't he veiy in- 
 solent ? — well, not that, exactly — not exactly insolent — 
 but — well, I am not used to being treated with disdain. 
 Why did he break off like that — with everything unsettled ? 
 
 I
 
 114 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 Wasn't he very insolent % — or, at least, disdainful ? — what 
 did I say that he should treat me like that ? " 
 
 " I know this," said the frivolous Ivathchen, " that he has 
 the most splendid eyes I ever saw in a human creature. 
 I call him just distressingly handsome ! " 
 
 " There is nothing so contemptible as a beauty man," 
 said Mary, impatiently. " "What has that got to do with 
 it ? I want to know why he treated me like that ! " 
 
 " I thought he behaved with very great courtesy and 
 self-respect," Kathchen made answer, "considering that 
 you plainly intimated to him that it was he who stirred up 
 all that ill-feeling against you." 
 
 " Very well : he had nothing to say for himself ! " Mary 
 exclaimed. " He made no defence. And then, you see, 
 I — I wasn't quite prepared — I did not expect to see him — ■ 
 and I forgot about the fishing and shooting, or that might 
 have made him a little ashamed of himself, and a little less 
 arrogant." She turned and looked towards the post-ofiice. 
 " I wonder whether that was a map that he had rolled up 
 in his hand or a chart 1 If he is going on board his yacht 
 again, he must pass this way. I cannot have things left as 
 they are — worse than ever ! " 
 
 " I don't see how you are to mend them at present," 
 said Kathchen. " If you had kept on as you began, in that 
 friendly way, it might have been all very well ; but then 
 you grew indignant, and almost charged him with being 
 the mischief-maker. And I must say I think he behaved 
 with very great consideration and courtesy." 
 
 " Do you really think so 1 " said Mary, quickly — with 
 her eyes still fixed on the post-oftice. And then she 
 hesitated. And then she said : " Come, Kathchen, let us 
 go back. I wish to make an apology to him." 
 
 " Mary ! " her friend protested. " How can you think 
 of such a thing ! " 
 
 " Oh, but you do not know. It is not about anything 
 that has just happened. It is about the lake and the old 
 oastle. I quite forgot. And perhaps it is that that makes 
 him so unforgiving. I must tell him that I am sorry." 
 
 But Kathchen shrank back. 
 
 "Make an apology for that?" said she. "You don't 
 seem to understand, Mary. It is too sei'ious for an apology.
 
 FACE TO FACE 115 
 
 If you murder a man's father or mother, you can't go to 
 him and say, ' I am very sorry.' " 
 
 " Will you go on to the house, then, Kiithchen ? " said 
 IVIary, simply. " I must put myself right with him— and 
 after that he can be as disdainful as he chooses." 
 
 Of coui-se Kiithchen refused to be released ; she went 
 back with her ; and just as they reached the little building, 
 young Ross of Heimra came out. He had neither chart 
 nor map in his hand now ; whichever it had been, he had 
 no doubt sent it away by post. 
 
 He seemed a little surprised ; but was just as attentive 
 and respectful as before. 
 
 " There was something I forgot to say," she began, 
 with obvious embarrassment, " and — and it is difficult to 
 say it It was not till I came here that I knew what 
 my uncle had done — about — about Loch Heimra — and 
 Castle Heimra. Well, there are some injuries, my friend 
 here says, that can never be repaired. I suppose that is 
 so. But at least you will allow me to say that I am sorry 
 — more deeply sorry than you can imagine perhaj)s " 
 
 "And there are some things that are best not spoken 
 of," he said, calmly. 
 
 " Yes, I daresay that is so," she made answer, with a 
 hopeless feeling at her heart that his tone and manner 
 were alike implacable. " No doubt that is so. And yet — 
 yet some little consideration might be shown towards any 
 one who wishes to express regret. It was none of my doing ; 
 it never would have been of my doing. And though you, 
 of course, would rather hear no apology— would rather 
 not have the subject mentioned — still, there is another 
 thing. The people about here — if they have any resentment 
 against me because of the pulling down of Castle Heimra 
 — then that is not fair. And any one having influence 
 with them — well, it would be ill done of him to stir up 
 anger against me on that account. I had nothing to do 
 with it — I am very sorry it ever happened." 
 
 " Miss Stanley," said he — for he plainly did not wish to 
 speak of this thing — " I think you are mistaken in sup- 
 posing that any one is stirring up ill-will against you ; and 
 even the most ignorant of the people must know that you 
 are not responsible for what happened before you came 
 
 I 2
 
 ii6 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 here. As regards myself, I do not wish for any apology or 
 expression of regret ; I wish for only one thing — forgetful- 
 ness. I think in such a case silence is the only amends." 
 
 So they parted for the second time ; and when the two 
 girls had gone some way towards Lochgarra House, Mary 
 said, — 
 
 " Yes ; but all the same I told him I was sorry." 
 
 And then again she turned and looked. Donald Ross 
 had passed through the village, and was now going up to 
 the Pree Church minister's cottage. 
 
 " Kiithchen," said she, rather absently, "there are a good 
 many of them about here who seem to hate me ; but I 
 know there is not one of them who hates me as he does. 
 And what had I to do with the pulling down of Heimra 
 Castle % " 
 
 And that afternoon, as she stood at one of the windows 
 in the tower, looking away out to sea, she saw the little 
 white-winged yawl making for Heimra Island. She knew 
 who was at the tiller — the man before whom she had 
 abased herself, craving, and craving in vain, for some 
 word of consideration and sympathy. 
 
 " Proud and implacable," she said to herself ; and 
 her wounded spirit was sore within her, and perhaps 
 a trifle indignant, too ; but she would make no further 
 utterance. He had asked for silence and forgetfulness ; 
 and he had the right to say what was to be. 
 
 Meanwhile the message that Mary had sent to the Fishery 
 Board in Edinburgh had been duly received and con- 
 sidered ; and when, after two or three days' interval, the 
 answer came back to Lochgarra, it was to the effect that 
 the alien lobster fishermen had either been misinformed 
 or were making wilful mis-statements : the Fishery Board 
 had not given them the right to build huts, and, indeed, 
 had no power to confer any such right. At. once Mary 
 sent for Hector the head-keeper ; and bade him seek out 
 Archie MacNicol, and convey to him this news. 
 
 "And tell him from me," she said, "that all he has to 
 do is to explain to these men that they have no right to 
 come here and build huts and use the fishing-grovmds that 
 naturally belong to the crofters in possession ; and that 
 they must go — and go peaceably."
 
 ^ACE TO FACE try 
 
 "Would Miss Stanley be for having a sheriff's officer 
 over from Dingwall ? " suggested the tall and handsome 
 keeper, in his serious way. 
 
 " No, no, not at all ! " she said. " The men must go, 
 when they learn they have no right to be here. And if 
 they refuse to go, haven't we got our own policemen % " 
 
 " Very well, mem," said Hector, and he left. 
 
 It was towards the dusk of evening, and raining heavily ; 
 but all the same Hector found Big Archie at work in his 
 little bit of a garden. When Archie heard the news, he 
 struck his spade in the ground, and stood upright. 
 
 "Aw, that's the fine news !" he exclaimed, joyfully, in 
 Gaelic. "And we will soon be putting an end to the 
 squatters now. Hector ! Was I not saying it myself that 
 they had no right to come here ? — but now there is the 
 message from the Fishery Boai-d ; and we will soon have 
 the devils away from the lobster-ground. And when there 
 is good news coming, you will be for taking a dram with 
 me. Hector ? " 
 
 Well, it is said that there was once a Highland keeper 
 who refused a glass of whiskey ; but his name and neigh- 
 bourhood are not known now. Hector followed Big 
 Archie into the cottage, and there a black bottle was 
 produced. Thereafter, the two men, having lit their pipes, 
 set out through the dark and wet again, for Hector was 
 returning to his own home, and Archie was going a cei'tain 
 distance with him in search of the Gillie Ciotach. 
 
 The stiff glass of whiskey had warmed Big Archie's 
 heart ; and as he strode along, the huge and heavy- 
 shouldered giant grew garrulous. 
 
 " The young lady that has come here," said he, in his 
 native tongue, " you know as well as I do. Hector, she 
 means very well, but it is not the place for her at all. I 
 say it is not the place for her at all. What can a young 
 lady know about the price of sheep and the price of 
 lobsters 1 It is a foolish thing ! The place for her, now, 
 Hector, that place is London, at the court of the Queen, 
 among the great ladies, in their fine clothes and jewels. 
 You think I do not know about such things ; but I do 
 know ; for I my^self have relations with London ; and it 
 is from London I am hearing every fortnight, from Cor-
 
 ii8 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 storphine. And the other day, when she was in my boat, 
 I was saying to myself ' There is a fine and beautiful lady 
 to be sitting in a coarse lobstei'-boat ; and it is at the 
 courb of the Queen she ought to be ; and not going about 
 asking people to put in better chimneys, and the like 
 of that. A woman — a woman has no right to be at the 
 head of an estate ; and I am not sure that the law allows 
 it ; maybe she is here only through Purdie, and he the 
 master of the estate. Just think of that, Hectoi* — if it 
 is only Purdie that keeps out Young Donald from the 
 estate : would not that be a thing to be considered ? Now 
 you know I am not from this place myself ; I am from 
 much further south ; but I am a Gael ; I have no love 
 for any Albannach or Sassunnach coming into this country 
 against the wishes of the people ; and if it is only Purdie, 
 aw, God, it's myself that would willingly give Purdie a 
 crack on the head. And think of young Donald of Heimra 
 coming into the estates, would it not be a grand day that, 
 Hector % — ay, and many a gun fired off, and the bagpipes, 
 and flags, and taking ' the horses out of the carriage. 
 Sure I am the Gillie Ciotach would go mad that day." 
 
 The mention of the Gillie Ciotach recalled the keejDer 
 to his own immediate affairs. 
 
 " If you see Gillie Ciotach, Archie," said he, " perhaps 
 you will give him a word of caution. The other evening 
 I heard a shot up by the Crom-allt ; and I did not look. 
 But the next time I hear a shot, I will look ; and if I 
 catch Gillie Ciotach, I will break his gun over his head, 
 yes, and I will shoot his thief of a dog, too ; for I am not 
 going to get myself into trouble on account of the Gillie 
 Ciotach. This you know, Archie, that when old Mr. 
 Stanley was here, there was not much goodwill ; and 
 perhaps some of us may have shut our eyes a little ; but 
 things are difierent now ; for here is my sister Barbara 
 telling me again and again that the Baintighearna is the 
 kindest lady she has ever known in the world, and that it 
 is not at all what Purdie wishes to have done that she 
 means to have done. Well, well, that is not my business ; 
 but my business is to look after myself; and I am not 
 going to get into trouble on account of Gillie Ciotach." 
 
 At this point the two parted ; and Big Archie went on
 
 FACE TO FACE I19 
 
 to the inn. But he did not enter by the front door ; he 
 passed round by the stable-yard, and made his way to a 
 small lighted window that was partly open. He peeped 
 in and listened at the same time — with a grin of satisfac- 
 tion on his face, for he had found what he sought. 
 
 There were three men in this little sanded parlour, which 
 was a sort of adjunct to the inn. They were seated round 
 a table on which was an oil-lamp ; and in front of each 
 man stood a small pewter measure and also a glass. Two 
 of the men were middle-aged, and of a sailor-like type ; 
 the third was a young fellow of about four-and-twenty, 
 whose bronzed complexion, regular features, and short- 
 cropped, curly brown hair made him rather good-looking, 
 only that in regarding him one did not notice these things 
 so much as the dare-devil expression of both eye and 
 mouth. He also was dressed in something of a sailor-like 
 attire ; while his broad Balmoral bonnet, pushed far back 
 on his brown curls, revealed the fact that in his earlier 
 youth he must have received a mighty slash along the side 
 of his forehead. This was tlie Oillie Ciotach ; and the 
 Gillie Ciotach was singing — in high and nasal tones, while 
 his two companions listened solemnly. Yet this was not 
 really a melancholy song, this Linn an aigh, for it described 
 the happy state of aftairs that existed long ago, when the 
 heather yielded abundance of honey, and the pastures 
 abundance of milk ; when there was no rent to pay, when 
 any one could fish or shoot wherever he pleased, and when 
 there was neither hatred nor fighting, nor thirst of wealth. 
 Indeed, there was perhaps a touch of sarcasm in the verses ; 
 for the refrain informed whosoever might wish to know 
 at what period of the world's history this golden age 
 existed that it was An 7iair bha Gdilig aig na h-ebm — • 
 that is to say. When all the birds in Gaelic sang. How- 
 ever, whether the song was or was not intended to be 
 merry, the audience received it in precisely the same 
 fashion : when it ended, the one said ' Ay, ay' in a sad 
 tone ; the other sighed deeply ; and then each mechanically 
 proceeded to pour out a glass of whiskey. The Gillie 
 Ciotach did likewise ; by all three the whiskey was drunk 
 in absolute silence ; there was a pause of internal medita- 
 tion — and at this point Big Archie thought fit to open
 
 I20 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 the door and entei', for he had been long enough out in 
 the rain. 
 
 And no sooner had he told his story than the dare-devil 
 leapt to his feet, a wild delight in his eyes. 
 
 " Aw, Dyeea, this is a fine thing ! " he cried, sniffing the 
 battle from afar. "I tell you now we will make short 
 woi-k of it — we will drive the squatters into the Minch, 
 and if the devils can swim across the Minch, let them 
 swim across the Minch, and if they cannot swim across 
 the Minch, they can go to their master below. Come 
 away boys, and make the preparation ; for there will be 
 a gay dance to-morrow ! " 
 
 The big giant caught him by both shoulders, and threw 
 him back into the chair. 
 
 " Did you hear me 1 " said he (but there was an ominous 
 mirth in his eyes too). " Peaceably, peaceably ; the Bain- 
 tighearna says peaceably — they are to go peaceably." 
 
 "Aw, is it peaceably?" the Gillie Ciotach cried, with 
 a loud laugh. " Well, if they will go peaceably, that is 
 very good ; but if they will not go peaceably, then we will 
 make them sing a little song to-morrow — by God, Archie 
 MacISTicol, will make them sing ' Farewell to Fiunary,' and 
 maybe it is on the wrong side of their mouth they will be 
 singing the ' Farewell to Fiunary ! ' " 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE BATTLE OP RU-MINAHD. 
 
 All that night there was marching and counter-marching, 
 and whipping up of recruits, and drinking of whiskey, and 
 singing of Gahliaidh sinn an rathad mor* Big Archie and 
 his peaceful, or pseudo-peaceful, counsels were no longer 
 heeded ; the movement had been taken up by the younger 
 fellows, headed by the mischievous Gillie Ciotach ; and the 
 belief became general that orders had been received from 
 the Fishery Board in Edinburgh to the effect that the 
 Ru-Minard squatters were forthwith to be driven into the 
 sea. And if the aliens should refuse to be so driven— 
 
 • ( 
 
 ' We will take the higliway.'
 
 THE BATTLE OF RU-MINARD 121 
 
 should stand up in defence of their little bits of home- 
 steads — what then % 
 
 " It is a lesson they will want," said the Gillie Ciotach, 
 gaily, to his comrades (they Avere having a friendly glass 
 together, in a barn lit vip by a solitary candle), " not 
 to come thieving on other people's lobster-ground, and 
 building huts wherever they like, and not a penny of rent 
 to the holder of the croft. It is a lesson they will want ; 
 and it is a lesson they will get — to take back home with 
 them, and keep the others from coming here. Well, now, 
 this is my opinion, that tlie best thing for giving a man 
 a rap over the head is a tiller — a tiller with a handle to 
 it — aw, that is a fine convenient thing ! " 
 
 " I am going to take an oar over my shoulder," said a 
 bi'awny young Hercules. 
 
 "And the more fool you, then," said the Gillie Ciotach, 
 who was a blunt-spoken youth. " For I will tell you this, 
 Feargus : if you strike at a man with an oar, and he steps 
 aside so that you miss him, then he has you at his mercy — 
 it does not need a wise man to show you that. Aw, God, 
 a tiller is a fine thing, when the wood is strong — it is a 
 tiller that will be my orra-an-donais * to-morrow." He 
 broke into a loud laugh. "We will teach them to be 
 telling lies about the Fishery Board ! — and it is little they 
 are thinking now that to-morrow they will be singing 
 Farewell, fareivell to Fmnary ! " 
 
 In the morning it was found that the rain had ceased ; 
 but worse than rain was threatening ; for all along the 
 west the skies were of a heavy and thunderous purple — 
 a louring dark wall, as it were — while torn shreds of grey 
 cloud were being blown along in advance, the precursors of 
 a gale. Mary and Kathchen were both at the window, 
 looking out at the angry heavens and the livid sea beneath, 
 when the maid Barbara came quickly into the room. 
 For the moment Barbara had lost her pretty shyness of 
 manner ; she was breathless and excited ; her eyes were 
 full of apprehension. 
 
 " Oh, mem," she said, " do you know what is happening? 
 They have gone aweh up the road, a great many of the 
 
 * Orra-an-donais — an amulet for sending one's enemy io perdition. 
 Donais is Satan.
 
 122 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 young lads, and others ; and they have sticks with them ; 
 and they are singing Gabhaidh sinn an ratiiad mor. Oh, I 
 am sure there is liarm coming of it ! They were saying 
 something of the strange fishermen out at Ru-Minard — 
 and there will be fighting." 
 
 A sudden dismay filled Mary's heart — dismay, and a 
 curious sense of helplessness. To w^iom could she turn for 
 aid in such a crisis — and with every moment a thing of 
 value ? 
 
 " Barbara," she said quickly, " I must have some one 
 to go with me. Is Hector there 1 " 
 
 " No, mem, he went up the hill this morning." 
 
 " Or Hugh ? " 
 
 " No, mem, he was going over to Cruagan, to arrange 
 about the heather-burning, so I was hearing him say." 
 
 Then Mary turned to her friend. 
 
 " Kathchen, who is there % Shall we ask the Minister % " 
 
 " Of course, he is the very person to ask — if you really 
 mean to go, Mamie. But do you think you should ? " 
 Kathchen asked, with serious eyes. " It sounds like an 
 open riot." 
 
 " I don't care — I must try what I can do — for I fear 
 I am responsible," ]\Iary said, in a kind of despei'ation ; 
 and then she turned to the young Highland lass : " Bar- 
 bara, we shall want the carriage at once — as soon as ever 
 the horses can be put to. Tell Sandy we are going over 
 to find Mr. Pettigrew ; he can come along and meet us. 
 Tell him not to lose a second." 
 
 And almost directly afterwards the two girls were 
 out-of-doors, hurrying along to the other side of the village, 
 where was the Minister's cottage. Kathchen was unmis- 
 takeably frightened ; but all the same she ventured to 
 say — 
 
 " Well, Mamie, your friends in London have almost 
 given up asking when you are going to marry your cousin 
 — you have kept him at arm's length so long. But I think 
 if Mr.-Meredyth were here just now, he would have a very 
 good chance." 
 
 "Why?" said Mary, with a cex'tain coldness. 
 
 '* Because you want a man's assistance and advice," said 
 Kathchen. " Isn't it as clear as daylight ? The moment
 
 THE BATTLE OF RU-MINARD 123 
 
 this news comes, you look round for some man to help 
 you. Is the head-keeper there? No. Or the under- 
 keeper % No. Then you think of the Minister — anybody 
 so long as he is a man. All quite natural, of course. Only 
 I think if Mr. Frank Meredyth were here — and you finding 
 yourself in constant trouble and perplexity — well, I think 
 he would soon take up a very important position. He 
 might even persuade you to let him send in to Inverness 
 for a wedding-ring." 
 
 " People don't get married in order to make peace 
 among their tenantry ! " said IMary, a little proudly. 
 
 "Is he coming here in August?" asked the shrewd 
 Kiithchen. 
 
 " Fred wants me to ask him," Maiy said, briefly ; indeed, 
 at such a time she was not thinking of any suitor ; she was 
 thinking of what might even now be going foi'ward on the 
 shores of Minard Bay. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Pettigrew received the intelligence of the 
 rising with a calm and gentle compassion. 
 
 " Dear me, dear me ! " he said, in his high-pitched, un- 
 natural voice, and he thoughtfully stroked his long and 
 straggling beard. " What a sad thing to think of, when 
 brethren might be living together in peace and ahmity ! 
 The heart of man is full of dangerous possibeelities — it is 
 a sad thing to think of — at this season of the year, when 
 all nature seems to know that the verdant spring is around 
 us — when all is harmony and peace — to think that angry 
 passions should arise in the heart of man — " 
 
 " Yes, but won't you come at once, Mr. Pettigrew % " said 
 Mary, with distress in her eyes. " We may be able to do 
 something to prevent bloodshed. The carriage will meet 
 us — we may be able to overtake them." 
 
 But the Minister paused to consider. 
 
 "No doubt," said he, reflectively, "to prevent the 
 shedding of blood is an admirable thing, a commendable 
 thing, and praiseworthy. But there are times and seasons 
 when even the wisest counsel is of no avail — when the 
 heart of man is as a fiery steed, vmtameable, not to be 
 bridled; and in these times and seasons, what is demanded 
 of us is a judeecious sympathy, a constant sympathy, a 
 sympathy that does not take sides, bvit longs for the return
 
 134 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 of peace and goodwill. Strange, indeed, that at this time 
 of the year — " 
 
 " But won't you come with us at once, Mr. Pettigrew % " 
 Mary said, in her despair. " The carriage will meet us. 
 We must try what we can do. You see, I am in a measure 
 responsible. I told them what the Fishery Board had 
 said — that the stranger fishermen had no right to build 
 huts — and — and I hoped they would go away quietly— 
 but if there is to be fighting, then surely it is the Minister 
 who shovild come and try to make peace." 
 
 " Ah, the carriage % " said Mr. Pettigrew, thoughtfully, 
 as he took down his hat from a peg in the lobby. " That 
 is well considered — well considered. Por if in their anger 
 these misguided craytures should take to throwing of stons, 
 the carriage could be closed. Ay, ay, that is very well now ; 
 and if their wrath should be intemperate — for who can 
 gauge the stubl^ornness of man 1 — then the carriage can be 
 driven away at any moment. But what a sad thing to 
 think of — sad thing ! — when all might be dwelling in peace 
 and ahmity — in peace and ahmity." 
 
 However, it was no consideration of personal safety that 
 was uppermost in Mary Stanley's mind at this moment ; 
 indeed, so anxious was she to overtake the rioters that she 
 and her two companions had very nearly got back to 
 Lochgarra House before they met the carriage. Then the 
 horses were turned round ; and on they drove — past the 
 brawling stream — past the larch woods — and up to the 
 height commanding a view of Minard Bay. And here, 
 at the top, they encountered the first human being of 
 whom they could ask the news. It was John the police- 
 man. The plump, roseate, good-natured Iain was calmly 
 seated on a low wall by the roadside ; and he was uncon- 
 cernedly regarding the wide stretch of white sand across 
 which some small black figures were now seen to be in 
 motion. 
 
 "What are you doing here, John?" said Mary, in- 
 dignantly. 
 
 "I was just looking," said Iain, with an amiable smile — 
 and he glanced in the direction of the people crossing the 
 white sands. 
 
 " Yes, but why are you waiting here ? " said she, " Don't
 
 THE BATTLE OF RU-MINARD 125 
 
 you know that there is likely to be fighting? And it is 
 your duty to prevent that ! " 
 
 "They will be telling me," said Iain, slowly and com- 
 fortably, "that the strange fishermen have no right to be 
 in the place. Very well, then. And if they are to be put 
 out of the place, it's not for me to interfere. If they are 
 wrong, let them go aweh ; and if they will not go aweh, 
 they will have to be put aweh." 
 
 This seemed a sound argument^to John, 
 "But what did the Lochgarra people say to you as 
 they went by?" Mary demanded. "Didn't you see they 
 were armed with sticks 1 Don't you know there will be 
 fighting and bloodshed 1 " 
 
 " Aw, there may be a brokken head or two," said John, 
 with a demure smile. 
 
 " Well, it is your duty to prevent that ! These men 
 have no right to take the law into their own hand. If 
 the strangers will not go peaceably, they must be removed 
 by the law — not by beating them with sticks. And you 
 are standing back hex^e — and letting them do what they 
 like ! " 
 
 "And if they tek to fighting," said John, "it's not me 
 that can stop them." 
 
 This also seemed painfully true. 
 
 " But you can do something," she insisted, " You can 
 v/arn them. You can take their names. You can threaten 
 them with a prosecution. You can tell them that — that 
 — Mr, Pettigrew, who is it that prosecutes here? — the 
 Sherifi" at Dingwall ? " 
 
 " ISTay, but I am considering that there is much of reason 
 in what John says," observed the Minister, in his lofty 
 sing-song ; " and perhaps we should do well to folloAV his 
 example, and remain as spectators and witnesses, I per- 
 ceive that this cai^riage cannot be closed ; and therefore I 
 do not think it would be prudent — rather would it be 
 rashness and culpable rashness — to go forward amid a storm 
 of angry passions. Surely it would be more prudent for 
 us to remain here, with the constituted representative of 
 law and order ? " 
 
 "But I am not going to remain here, John," she 
 said, peremptorily, to the young policeman, "get up in
 
 126 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 front. Sandy, drive on quickly ; we may get between those 
 people yet, before the mischief has begun." 
 
 And so the horses went forward again — rattling away 
 down the stony hill until they reached the soft and sandy 
 road skirting the bay. The little township of Minard was 
 quite deserted, save for the women, who stood in small 
 groups in the fields, or at the cottage-doors, watching what 
 was going forward out there towards the long headland. 
 Not that they could see veiy much, once the black figures 
 had crossed the white breadth of sand ; for the morning 
 was dull and sombre ; and the rocks of Ru-Minard, along 
 which the crofters and fishermen were now making their 
 way, were dark. But this much was obvious, that at a 
 certain point the crowd stopped ; while two of their number 
 went forward — one of these being of gigantic size. 
 
 "This is Big Ai-ehie," said Mary, almost to herself, "and 
 I warned him that he must get them to go away peaceably." 
 
 And no doubt it was as a deputation carrying peaceful 
 proposals that Big Archie and his comj)anion were now 
 going forward to certain huts scattered just above the rocks, 
 where also a number of dark figures could be dimly descried. 
 Peaceful or not peaceful, the negotiations at all events in- 
 volved delay ; and this delay enabled the party in the 
 carriage to drive along the road as far as was practicable ; 
 then the horses were stopped, and Mary got down to follow 
 the rioters on foot. It was in vain that the Minister 
 sought to dissuade her with plaintive remonstrances ; she 
 intimated to him that he could remain in the carriage if 
 he chose. Kiithchen, on the other hand, though she was 
 thoroughly frightened, had but the one and sole idea — to 
 remain by Mary Stanley's side, whithersoever she went. 
 As for the easy-going Iain, he was distinctly inclined to 
 hang back. 
 
 " What can I do ? " said he, with occult amusement 
 in his eyes. " If they will brek one another's heads, 
 how can I prevent it ? If it is right that these men 
 should go aweh, and if they will not go aweh, they cannot 
 complain if they get their heads brokken for not going 
 aweh." 
 
 But Iain's humorous indifference did not last very 
 long. Mary, hurrying forward, and with eyes anxiously
 
 THE BATTLE OF RU-MINARD 127 
 
 straining, could make out that the two men were now 
 returning to their friends ; presently the blustering wind 
 blowing in from the sea brought a sound of confused and 
 prolonged cheering ; and she now perceived that the scat- 
 tered assemblage was moving on. At the same moment 
 there was the sharp report of a gun ; and then it was that 
 the policeman's face grew grave. 
 
 " Is there going to be murder % " said he. 
 
 She did not answer him j she was running now — 
 and Kathchen by her side. 
 
 "We must — go right into the middle of it," she said, 
 panting for breath, " and then— perhaps they will stop." 
 
 At first the Lochgarra and Minard fishermen advanced 
 but slowly and cautiously upon the huts, not knowing 
 where the enemy might mass himself. The fact is the 
 aliens had been taken unawares ; for while they were as 
 determined as men could be to defend their homesteads, 
 they had no time to seek for arms, supposing they could 
 have obtained any, while up here on the rocky knolls there 
 were no stones. They were running hither and thither 
 about the huts, picking up any bit of wood or any broken 
 oar they could find ; but when they made a sort of group 
 of themselves, to await the onset of their antagonists, it 
 was clear that timber had failed them, and other weapons 
 they seemed to have none. But there they stood, daunt- 
 less, sullen, silent — the sea behind them — their outnumber- 
 ing foes in front. 
 
 And now the invaders knew what was expected of them. 
 It was a shrill cry from the Gillie Ciotach that led the 
 great hoarse volume of their cheers ; and then, with all 
 kinds of minatory exclamations, they rushed forward on 
 the devoted band. Who could resist this whirling, tem- 
 pestuous, compacted shock ? For two or three wild seconds 
 there was inextricable confusion ; and snap here, snap 
 there, cudgel met cudgel, or descended on solid crown ; 
 but it was all over directly ; and the next phase of the 
 battle was that the aliens, as if Ijy one common imjDulf e, 
 had turned and fled — fled pell-mell down the rocks and 
 towards the shore, their foes pursuing with fierce and 
 joyous cries. And here it was that Mary Stanley made her 
 appearance — breathless, dishevelled- — trying to throw her-
 
 128 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 self ill the way of Big Archie, who was leading the pursuit 
 " Archie ! " she called to him. " How dare you ! Let those 
 men alone ! I command you ! " 
 
 But very little indeed did Big Archie care for her com- 
 mands ; it was another consideration altogether that at 
 this moment caused himself and his companions to pause. 
 For the fugitives, as soon as they gained the beach, had 
 taken refuge behind two boats di^awn up there ; and as 
 the boats, with their spars and sails astern, and their 
 lobster-creels and barrels at the bow, offered excellent 
 shelter, while the beach afforded unlimited ammunition, 
 the battle was not yet over. In truth, the stones that 
 v/ere now flying through the air decidedly checked the 
 ardour of the pursuers ; and it was at this moment that 
 Mary again got up to Gilleasbuig Mor. 
 
 "Archie ! " she said, indignantly. 
 
 An accidental stone struck her on the shoulder. She did 
 not mind. But another and a sharper one struck her on 
 the wrist ; and inadvertently she drew up her hand with 
 a piteous little cry. She had been cut over the bone ; 
 blood was flowing profusely ; and at sight of that, Big 
 Archie — his eyes blazing with wrath — seemed to go mad 
 altogether. 
 
 " Aw, Dyeea I " he cried ; and he ran forward and leapt 
 into the boat, on to the middle thwart ; he sprang out on 
 the other side ; and began to lay about him with his cudgel 
 as with the hammer of Thor, smiting and scattei-ing his 
 enemies in all directions. But she was after him in a 
 moment — nimbly getting round the stern of the boat — and 
 before he had wholly wreaked his vengeance, she had him 
 by the arm. And here her interposition did save blood- 
 shed ; for the men, finding her between Big Archie and 
 themselves, refused to tlirow the stones they had hastily 
 picked up ; quietude was secured at least in this corner of 
 the battlefield. 
 
 But indeed the general interest had already been at- 
 tracted elsewhere. When Mary turned to see what was 
 going on landwards, she hajopened to notice certain small 
 wavering shreds of pink. It was a very pale pink ; on 
 a clear day, it would hardly have been visible ; but against 
 the lurid sky it was distinct enough.
 
 TtiE BATTLE OF RU-MINARD 1^9 
 
 " What is that ? " she said, with a sudden, conscious fear, 
 to Big Archie. 
 
 The huge, heavy-shouldered fisherman (who was keeping 
 an eye on his discomfited foes as he led the way round the 
 stern of the boats) glanced towards the rocky knolls that 
 had been the scene of the first onslaught, and said grimly — 
 
 "It wass the Gillie Ciotach he wass bringing a can of 
 petroleum with him this morning, and lobster-creels will be 
 easy to set on fire." 
 
 " Do you mean to say they are burning down those poor 
 men's huts?" she demanded, in a perfect agony of help- 
 lessness. "Archie, what is to be done? Why does not 
 the policeman interfere % " 
 
 "Aw, it is no use now," said Big Archie, with much 
 composure. " They are ahl on fire already — and a good job 
 too ! — for we won the fight, and that is a proper end to it." 
 
 " And this is how you have kept your promise to me ! " 
 Mary said, in accents of bitter reproach. 
 
 "As sure as death, mem," said the big good-natured 
 giant, "I wass doing everything Miss Stanley said — peace- 
 ably, peaceably. When I went to them this morning; I 
 wass saying to them ' You hef no right here.' They said, 
 ' We hef the right here.' I said * It's no use telling lies ; 
 for Miss Stanley she has written to the Fishery Board; 
 and they hef given you no right whatever.' An'd then I 
 says ' It is a fine thing for you to come here and tek what 
 piece of land you want, and build your houses on it, and 
 you not paying a penny of rent to the man that has the 
 croft.' Then they said ' The land is not worth anything ; 
 it is only rock ' Then I says ' That is not your business, 
 as you know very well ; and other people have to pay 
 rent for it, whether it is rock or good land ; and it is 
 impudent men you are to come and tek things for nothing. 
 I am from Tarbert on Loch Fyne,' says I, ' and it's stealing 
 they would be calling that down there.' Well, mem, they 
 were not liking that — " 
 
 " I should think not ! " said Mary. " Is that what you 
 call asking them to go away civilly and quietly % " 
 
 " But they would not go aweh at ahl, mem ! " Archie 
 protested, still looking towards those pink shreds of flame 
 (and alas ! for the poor discomfited aliens — they had 
 
 K
 
 I30 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 emerged from their shelter, and gone a few yards up the 
 beach, and were also regarding, hopelessly enough, the 
 distant crowd and the work of destruction). " They were 
 growing more and more impudent, mem ; and they said 
 they would not go aweh ; and I said we would drive them 
 aweh J and they said we could not do it. And then says I 
 to them ' Do you see the carriage yonder ? — for if you can 
 mek out the people, it is the proprietor herself, and the 
 Minister, and the policeman, and they are come down to 
 see that you go aweh from this place altogether, and, by 
 God, if you do not go aweh, we will drive you into the sea, 
 and set fire to your houses.' 'You cannot do it,' says 
 they—" 
 
 " But how dared you tell them that we had come down 
 for any such purpose," said Mary, indignantly, "when we 
 only came to prevent violence % " 
 
 "And how wass I knowing that, mem?" said he cun- 
 ningly. " But I am sure there wass only the one end to 
 it in any case, when they began to pick up the sticks. And 
 we were not going to hef the land stolen, and the lobster- 
 ground tekken up, and be beaten as well ; for a man cannot 
 stand everything, and we had sticks as well as they had 
 sticks — " 
 
 "And so you began to fight in spite of all I told you ! " 
 she said. *' And I do not know what harm has been done 
 or how many have been hurt. You yourself, you would 
 have been murdered if I had not come round by the boats 
 and dragged you away." 
 
 "Is it murdering, mem % " said Big Archie, with a grin. 
 "Aw, Cosh, there would hef been some murdering going 
 before they murdered me ! " 
 
 And now they came upon Kathchen, who was standing 
 as one paralyzed, gazing upon the excited crowd who were 
 collected round the burning huts, and listening to their 
 shouts and laughter. The moment she turned, she caught 
 sight of Mary's hand, and uttered a quick cry of alarm. 
 
 " It is nothing, Kathchen," her friend said, " only I wish 
 you'd tie this handkerchief round my wrist — and pull it 
 tight ; it will hurt less then." 
 
 "What made you go away down there, Mamie?" said 
 Kathchen, in her distress. " I — wanted to stay by your
 
 THE BATTLE OF RU-MINARD 131 
 
 side — but — but I could not face the stones. It was 
 madness — " 
 
 " They did not intend to strike me," said Mary (whose 
 shoulder was aching ci'uelly, as well as her wrist). " These 
 poor men, they have nothing left now but their boats." 
 And then she demanded : " But where was that booby of 
 a policeman? — why did he not prevent them setting fire to 
 the huts ? And where is the Minister % " 
 
 Kathchen did not know \ nor did she care much ; all her 
 interests were engrossed by the strange scene being enacted 
 up there among the rocky knolls. For, despite the petro- 
 leum, and the heaping-on of lobster-creels and float-barrels, 
 the huts did not burn well ; the rain of the previous night 
 had soddened the thatch, and perhaps the interiors were 
 none too dry at the best of times ; so that the incendiaries 
 had to keep opening up draught-holes, or flinging on more 
 petroleum, in order to encourage the flames. And then 
 again that proved too slow work for their impatience. 
 They got poles and broken oars to use as battering-rams ; 
 they charged the ineffectual doors, and tore down the 
 smouldering roofs ; and when the demolition of this or 
 that rude dwelling was complete, there were loud and 
 triumphant cheers. Mary did not seek to interpose. It 
 was too late now. She looked on sadly, wondering what 
 the poor wretches down by the boats were thinking, and 
 not without some half-terrified consciotisness that she was 
 answerable for all this wreck and ruin. 
 
 " It is shameful ! — it is shameful ! " she said — almost to 
 herself. 
 
 "Well, mem," said Big Archie, who still remained with the 
 two young ladies, " I will ask you this — when you will find a 
 wasps' nest in your garden, what will you do ? You will not 
 be for going forward and telling them they were right in 
 tekkin' up the place, and that you will not disturb them ; avv', 
 no ! — I think it is a bunch of straw you will be carrying to 
 the place, and setting a light to it, and putting the nest on 
 fire. Aw, Cosh, that is the sure weh to get rid of them — " 
 
 " But these were not wasps — these were men like your- 
 selves," said she, sharply. "They have as much right to 
 live as you — " 
 
 " Ay," said Big Archie, scratching his head in assumed 
 
 K 2
 
 131 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 perplexity, "mebbe they hef as much right to live as we 
 hef — but not there. For it wass Miss Stanley herself that 
 would be saying that." 
 Mary's face flushed. 
 
 " I told you they were wrong in thinking they had any 
 right to be there ; but I did not tell you to go and break 
 out into lawlessness and set houses on fire with petroleum. 
 Do you think that can be allowed ? Do you think there 
 is no government in this country ? Do you think you can 
 do just as you please % I tell you, the Sheriff" from Dingwall 
 will have to inquire into this matter." 
 
 Gilleasbuig Mor did not like the mention of Dingwall. 
 " If it was brekkin the law," said he, rather gloomily, 
 " it wass not us that wass brekkin it first. It was them 
 fishermen. And now they can go aweh horn ; and if they 
 ever think of coming back here, they will remember the 
 day they sah their houses on fire at Ru-Minard." 
 
 The work of demolition was now complete. Smouldering 
 thatch and blackened rafters strewed the ground ; nothing 
 remained erect but the rude stone walls ; the alien colony 
 had lost its habitation. And then the invaders formed 
 once more into a sort of irregular procession; they 
 shouldered their staves and clubs; three ringing cheers 
 were given — as a significant message to their vanquished 
 opponents, who still remained down by the boats ; and then 
 the victors set out on their homeward march, the Gillie 
 Ciotach's shrill voice leading off with " Gabhaidh sinn 
 an rathad mor" * while a rough and ready chorus was 
 volunteered by the straggling ranks. Mary Stanley and 
 Kathchen, accompanied by Big Archie, slowly followed, 
 some distance intervening. In truth, Mary's heart was as 
 lead : all things seemed to be going so ill — in spite of her 
 most patient and unselfish endeavours. 
 
 * The cliorus of this gay ditty has been thus Englished : 
 
 • We -will take the good old way, 
 "NVe will take the good old way, 
 We will take the good old way, 
 The way that lies before us , 
 Climbing stiff the heathery ben. 
 Winding swiftly down the glen, 
 Should we meet with strangers then, 
 Their gear will serve to store us:"
 
 THE BATTLE OF RU-MINARD 133 
 
 And now they came upon Iain the policeman — bland, 
 benign, complacent as usual. Iain had remained some 
 little way apart, to let the rioters go by ; his share in the 
 day's proceedings had been limited to a discreet and not 
 unamiable observation. 
 
 " What are you doing here % " said Mary. " "Why did 
 you not interfere before they had set the huts on fire? 
 Don't you see the mischief that has been done ? " 
 
 There was a whimsical, demure smile in Iain's eyes. 
 
 " I could not be tekkin up all them men, ' said he. 
 
 " Then what are you put here for at all ? " she demanded. 
 " Why did they send, you to Lochgarra if you have no 
 authority '2 What use are you in the place % " 
 
 Iain was far too smooth-tempered to take any umbrage. 
 He did not even claim to be of any use. 
 
 "Aw, well," said he — and he lifted up a bit of dry 
 seaweed and slowly pulled it to pieces, " the people about 
 Lochgarra, there is not much harm in them." 
 
 " Do you call that no harm — setting fire to houses ? " 
 
 Iain hesitated — for he wished to be very respectful. 
 
 " But if the fishermen had no right to build the houses % " 
 he ventured to say, with downcast eyes, and in the most 
 propitiating tones. " And it was Miss Stanley herself who 
 was telling them that." 
 
 " Did I tell them to set the houses on fire ? Did I tell 
 them to go and fight with sticks and stones % I told them 
 to go and try to get those people away peaceably ; and 
 instead of that, here they break out into open riot, and 
 work all the mischief they can, and you stand by and 
 look on ! " 
 
 " Aw, well," said Iain, pulling away at the seaweed, 
 " there is not much harm done. There is not more than 
 one or two has got a knock." 
 
 The hoarse, triumphant chorus — 
 
 " Gahhaidh sinn an ratliad mbr 
 Gahhaidh sinn an ratliad mbr 
 Gahhaidh sinn an rathad mbr 
 Olc air mhath le each e!" 
 
 was growing more distant now ; the men were ascending 
 the hill, towards their own homes — or still more likely 
 they were going on to the village, to have a good, solid
 
 134 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 dram after this great exploit. And here was the wag- 
 gonette, and Mr. Pettigrew therein, apparently conlining 
 his attention to certain sKps of paper. When the two 
 young ladies appeared and got into the carriage, the 
 Minister put away his MS. ; and when the horses had 
 started for home, he lifted up his high and feminine voice, 
 and said — 
 
 "It is a sad sight we have seen to-day — a sad sight — 
 angry passions sui'mounting what should be the calm of 
 the Christian soul — and among those who might well be 
 living in peace and ahmity. And it is well for us who 
 can keep apart, and view these things as a passing vision, 
 and comfort ourselves with pious thoats. ' For they that 
 sleep sleep in the night ; and they that be drunken are 
 drunken in the night. But let us, who ar-e of the day, be 
 sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love ; and 
 for an helmet, the hope of salvation.' As for those poor 
 men out at Ru-Minard, I fear they will be as the beasts 
 of the field and the birds of the air in the matter of 
 habitation ; but they must seek for higher things ; they 
 must say to themselves ' For here have we no continuing 
 city, but we seek one to come ' ! " 
 
 " You might have gone and tried to save their houses 
 for them ! " Mary exclaimed, bitterly. 
 
 But she would say no more. Indeed, she was silent all 
 the way home. A sense of helplessness, of failure, of 
 despair weighed upon her ; all her fine courage and heroic 
 spirit seemed to have fled. When they got to the top of 
 the hill at Minard, she turned and looked towards the long 
 promontory beyond the bay ; and there was still a little 
 smoke showing here and there amongst the smouldering 
 ruins. In spite of herself tears rose to her eyes. This 
 was the climax of all her splendid schemes. This was 
 what she had been able to do for the neighbourhood that 
 had been entrusted to her. Might it not be said of her — 
 
 " The children born of thee are sword and fire, 
 Ked min, and the breaking up of laws?" 
 
 How long was it since she had come to Lochgarra ? — and 
 this was the end, 
 
 But as they drove on, they came in sight of Lochgarra
 
 A VISITOR 135 
 
 Bay ; and out there was Eilean Heimra. And no sooner 
 had Mary Stanley's eyes lit on the distant island than 
 something seemed to stir her heart with a proud indig- 
 nation , and if she had spoken, as she dared not speak, 
 she would have said — 
 
 " Ah, it is you, it is you out there who are responsible. 
 It is not I. It is you alone who have control over these 
 people ; and yet you go and shut yourself up in selfish 
 isolation ; and leave me, a woman, to contend, and strive, 
 — and break down ! " 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A VISITOR. 
 
 Black night lay over sea and land ; there was a low con- 
 tinuous murmur round the rocks and shores ; and out 
 here, at the end of the little wooden quay, two men were 
 slowly pacing up and down in the dark. They were the 
 serious-visaged Coinneach Breac and his taller and younger 
 companion Calum-a-Bhata. The whereabouts of the village, 
 across the bay, was revealed by a solitary light in one of 
 the windows : no doubt the man who looked after the pier 
 was enjoying the comfort of his own home as long as was 
 possible, before coming down to make ready for the ex- 
 pected steamer. 
 
 The influence of the hour was upon Coinneach. 
 
 " I will tell you this, Calum," he was saying, in his 
 native tongue — and speaking in rather a low tone, as if he 
 did not wish to be overheard — " that there are many 
 strange things happen to them that have to watch through 
 the night ; and they are never' mentioned ; for it is not 
 safe to mention them. You do not know who may hear — 
 perhaps some one at the back of your shoulder. And the 
 speaking of such things is harmful. When I was telling 
 you, Calum, about the Woman and her overtaking me as I 
 was on the way home from Ru Gobhar, well, it all came 
 over me again, and it was as if someone had me by the 
 throat again, and I could not move, no, nor say some good 
 words to get free from her and escape. But I will tell 
 you of another strange thing now, that did not happen
 
 136 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 to me, so that I can talk of it, and without danger to 
 anyone. It happened to my uncle, Angus Roy, that used 
 to be out at Ardavore Lighthouse. Ah, well, now, if they 
 would only speak, it is the lighthouse-men that could be 
 telling you of strange things — ay, like the ringing of the 
 fogbell on clear nights, and the men looking at each other. 
 Well, now, about my uncle, Calum ; you know the men at 
 the lighthouse have little occupation or amusement when 
 they are not attending to the lamps ; and sometimes, 
 when it was getting dark, my uncle would go away down 
 the iron ladder on to the rocks, and he would have a rod 
 and a stout line and a big white fly, and he would go to 
 where the water was deep, and maybe he would get a 
 lythe or two for his supper. Well, one night, he came 
 up the ladder, and when he came in he was nearly falling 
 down on the floor, and he was all trembling, and his face 
 was white. ' Duncan,' says he, ' I have been bitten by a 
 dog.' ' You are dreaming, Angus,' said the other, ' for 
 how could there be a dog on the Ardavore rocks ? ' ' See 
 that,' says my uncle, and he was holding out his hand. 
 And there, sure enough, was the mark of the dog's teeth. 
 * It was trying to pull me into the water,' says he, ' and 
 when I escaped from it, it followed me, and when I got 
 up the ladder, I looked down, and there it was, with its 
 fore-paws on the first rung, and its eyes glaring on me. 
 God help us all this night, Duncan,' — that is what my 
 uncle was saying, ' if there is a dog on the island.' Now 
 you know, Calum, there is no whiskey or brandy allowed 
 in the lighthouses, except for medicme ; and Duncan 
 MacEachran, he was the captain of the lighthouse, and 
 he went to the chest and got a glass of brandy for my 
 uncle, and says he, ' Drink that, Angus, and do not think 
 any more of the dog, and in the morning we will search 
 for the dog ' — and so that was all for that night. Then 
 tlie next day they searched and searched, and there was 
 not any sign of a dog ; for how could a dog get out to 
 Ardavore, that is fourteen miles from the mainland ? And 
 another thing I must tell you, Calum, is that the marks 
 of the dog's teeth on my uncle's hand they were almost 
 away the next morning, and white. Very well, Duncan 
 would think no more of it : and my uncle would think no
 
 A VISITOR 137 
 
 more of it ; and the marks would go away altogether. 
 But now I will tell you what happened, and you will see 
 whether it would not make a strong man afraid. As the 
 evening came on, my uncle he was getting more and more 
 uneasy ; and he was looking at his hand ; and the marks 
 were becoming red now, instead of white. My uncle he 
 could not sit still ; and he could not do his work ; what 
 he said was, ' Duncan, it is the dog coming for me, to drag 
 me into the water.' Then says Duncan, ' How can he 
 come for you ? How can he climb up the ladder 1 But 
 when it is the same hour that you were down on the 
 rocks last night, then I will look out and see what I can 
 see.' And he did that. He opened the door, and looked 
 down ; and there was the dog, with its fore-paws on the 
 first rung of the ladder, and its eyes glaring up. I can 
 tell you, Calum, he did not wait long ; he was himself like 
 to fall down with fright ; and when he got the door closed 
 again, he put in all the iron stanchions as quickly as he 
 could. And then he went and sate down. My uncle he 
 was a little better by this time. ' The dog has gone away 
 now,' says he. ' I know it. But to-morrow night it will 
 be back — and the next night — and the next night — until it 
 drags me into the water. What is the use of fighting 
 against it, Duncan? I might as well go down, and be 
 drowned now ; for the dog is coming back for me.' But 
 Duncan would not say that. He said ' I will contrive 
 something. Perhaps it is not only drowning that is meant. 
 And a man must not give up his life.' And Duncan 
 MacEachran was right there, Calum," continued Coinneach, 
 in an absent kind of way, " for you know what the pro- 
 verb says — ' There may he hopes of a person at sea, but 
 none of one in the grave? Very well, then, the next day 
 he went into the store-room and he searched about until 
 he found a trap they had brought out to see if they could 
 get an otter ; and during the afternoon he took down the 
 trap to the rocks, and he was placing it at the foot of the 
 ladder, and concealing the most of it with seaweed. But 
 do you know what he put into the trap, Calum % ISTo, 
 you do not know ; and if you were guessing for a hundred 
 years, you would not guess. He put a New Testament — 
 ay, that is what he was putting into the trap — a New
 
 138 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Testament with a dark cover, in among the seaweed, 
 ' Because,' says he, ' if he sets his foot in the trap, then 
 he will be caught, and we will see what kind of a dog he 
 is ; but if he is a kiad of dog that cannot be caught in a 
 trap, then the New Testament will burn his foot for him, 
 and we will hear of him no more.' That is what he was 
 saying to my vmcle. Then the evening came, and my uncle 
 he got worse. He could not sit still ; and he could not 
 do his work. The marks on his hand were red again ; 
 and he knew that the dog was coming. Duncan MacEach- 
 ran, perhaps he was frightened ; but he would not say he 
 was frightened ; all that day, my uncle was telling me, 
 Duncan was hardly sjaeaking a word. My uncle he was 
 sitting in the chair, and looking at his hand, and moaning ; 
 and the redder and redder grew the marks ; and at last he 
 got up, and says he, 'Duncan,' says he, 'something has 
 come over me ; something is drawing me ; will you open 
 the door, for I have no strength to open the door ? ' His 
 teeth were chattering, as he was telling me long after, and 
 himself shaking, and sweat on his forehead. ' No, by God, 
 Angus,' says Duncan, ' I will not open the door this night 
 — nor you either — and if you come near the door, it will 
 be a fight between you and me,' ' I am not -wishing for 
 any light,' says my uncle, ' but there is something in my 
 head — and I would like to look down the ladder — to see 
 what is at the foot of the ladder.' ' Be still, for a fooHsh 
 man ! ' says Duncan. ' Would you fall and smash yourself 
 on the rocks % ' Well, the time was come. My uncle's 
 teeth were chattering ; but he did not speak now ; he 
 was sitting and moaning, for he knew the beast had put 
 something over him, and was coming now to claim him. 
 And then they were listening ; and as they were listening 
 there was a terrible clap of thunder, and another, and 
 another — three there were — and then silence. My uncle 
 was telling me he did not speak ; and Duncan looked at 
 him. They waited a while. And then my uncle rose, and 
 says he, ' Duncan, the beast has gone away. Do you see 
 the marks'? — they are white now.' And perhaps, Calum, 
 you would have opened the door and gone down the iron 
 ladder to see what had happened at the foot of the ladder 
 — although it was dark — and the dog might still be there ;
 
 A VISITOR 139 
 
 but let me tell you this, that if you had been living in a 
 lighthouse, you would not have gone down ; for the men 
 who live in the lighthouses they think of many thuags. 
 It was not till the next morning that they went down 
 the ladder ; and do you know what was there 1 — the otter- 
 trap was closed together, and yet there was nothing in it. 
 Do you see that, now — that the trap had closed together 
 and caught nothing ; but I am thinking that the beast, 
 whatever kind of beast it was, had got a fine burn on 
 his foot when he touched the New Testament. I am 
 thinking that. And the marks on my uncle's hand, 
 they went away almost directly ; and the dog was never 
 heard of again : I tell you, Calum, I tell you it was a 
 clever thing of Duncan MacEachran to put the otter- 
 trap and the New Testament at the foot of the ladder. 
 But those men at the lighthouses, they come upon strange 
 things, and they will not always speak of them, because 
 it is safer not to speak of them." 
 
 " I am glad I am not at a lighthouse," said Calum, slowly ; 
 and thereafter for some little time the two men walked up 
 and down in silence. 
 
 The dim red light in the distant cottage went out ; 
 and presently another and stronger appeared — moving 
 along by the side of the shore. They watched its course as 
 it drew nearer and nearer ; then in the silence of the 
 night they could make out footsteps ; finally, with a slow 
 tramp along the wooden structure, the pier-keeper came up 
 — and greatly surprised was he to find the two men there. 
 "Well, it was this weh, Thomas," said Coinneach, in 
 English, " Calum and me we were thinking it was as 
 easy waiting here for the steamer as on boai-d the yat, and 
 less trouble in pulling ashore in a hurry. And the steamer, 
 will she be late now, do you think 1 " 
 
 " Oh, yes, indeed," said the pier-keeper, as he proceeded 
 to sling up the big lantern he carried, " for there has been 
 heavy weather in the south. And you might have been 
 sleeping in your beds for some while to come." 
 Coinneach did not like this reproach. 
 " Then perhaps you are not knowing what it is to have a 
 good master," said he, " or perhaps you are your own master, 
 which is better. But listen to what I am telling you now :
 
 I40 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 if my master wishes to have things put on board, or brought 
 ashore from the steamer, then it's me that is willing to 
 wait up half the night, or ahl the night, to be sure to 
 catch the steamer ; for I know he will seh when I go out 
 to the yat again, ' Coi.tneach, go below now, and have a 
 sleep.' That is when you have a good master ; but if you 
 had a bad master, would you be for walking up and down 
 a dark pier through the night? It's me that would see 
 him going to the tuffle first ! " 
 
 " Can you give me a fill of a pipe, Coinneach % " asked 
 the pier-keeper ; and then he added facetiously : "for they 
 say there's always plenty of tobacco at Eilean Heimra." 
 
 "Ay, are they sehing that?" answered Coinneach, as he 
 drew out a piece of tobacco from his waistcoat pocket. 
 "And mebbe they'd better not be sehing that to me, or 
 they'll have to swallow their words — and the bulk of my fist 
 as well ! " 
 
 The three men sate and talked together, and smoked ; 
 and as the time went by, a faint, half-bluish light began 
 to appear over the low-lying hills in the east ; the cottages 
 across the water became visible; there were gulls flying 
 about. The dawn broadened up and declared itself ; some- 
 thing of a warmer hue prevailed ; a solitary thin thread of 
 smoke began to ascend from one of the chimneys. The 
 pier-master lowered his lantern and extinguished it. And 
 yet there was no sign of the coming steamer — no far-off 
 hoarse signal startling the silence of the newborn day. 
 
 Then, as the morning wore m, and the sleeping village 
 awoke to life, Coinneach said : — 
 
 "I think we will pull out to the yat, Calum, to see 
 if the master will be for coming ashore ; and if we should 
 hear the steamer we can turn back." 
 
 ■'Yery well, then, Coinneach," said the younger man, 
 "for sure I am the master will be wanting to come ashore 
 to meet the steamer." 
 
 And away they went to the boat. But indeed all 
 Lochgarra was astir this morning ; for it was not often the 
 villagers had a chance of seeing the steamer come in by 
 daylight; and in any case it was a rare visitor — once in 
 three weeks at this time of the year. So that the long- 
 protracted booming of the steam-pipe brought even the old
 
 A VISITOR I4I 
 
 ■^omen out to the doors ; and by the time the two red 
 funnels were sighted coming round the distant headland, 
 quite a small crowd of people had come down to the quay. 
 
 And here were the two ladies from Lochgarra House, 
 hastening along to be in time : why should they not also 
 join in the general excitement % But just as they arrived 
 at the pier Mary Stanley suddenly stopped short : the 
 very first person she had caught sight of — among that 
 straggling assemblage — was the young laird of Heimra 
 Island. 
 
 " Mary, you are not afraid of him ! " said Kathchen. 
 
 It was but a momentary iri-esolution, of which she 
 was instantly ashamed ; she continued on her way ; nay, 
 she went boldly up to him, and past him, and said " Good 
 morning ! " as she went by. 
 
 " Good morning ! " said he — and he raised his cap ; that 
 was all. 
 
 Then, after a second of vacillation and embarrassment, 
 Mary turned — he was barely a couple of yards distant. 
 
 " Mr. Ross," said she, " I suppose you — you heard of 
 what happened at Ru-Minard." 
 
 " Yes, I am sorry you should have been troubled," he 
 said, in a formal kind of way. 
 
 " But they have built up the huts again ! " she ex- 
 claimed. "And I suppose the people here will go back 
 and burn them down, and there will be riot after riot 
 — never ending ! " 
 
 He did not answer her : indeed, there was no question 
 to answer. And Kathchen, standing a little bit apart, was 
 watching these two with the keenest interest, and she 
 was saying to herself — " Well, she has met her match at 
 last. She has been all-conquering hitherto ; every man 
 who has come near her has been all complaisance and 
 humility and gratitude for a smile or a friendly look ; but 
 this one — this one is as proud as herself ! And what 
 ,will she do? — become angry and indignant, and astonish 
 my young Lord Arrogance % Or become humbly submis- 
 sive, and beg for a little favour and consideration ? — and 
 Mary Stanley, of all people ! " 
 
 Mary regarded the young man, and seeing that he did 
 not speak, she said —
 
 142 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 " A never-ending series of riots, is that what it is coming 
 to % And if not, what is to be done % What am I to do ? " 
 
 He answered her very respectfully — and very coldly : 
 
 " I thiixk you should hardly ask me, Miss Stanley. If 
 you consider, you will see that I could not well interfere — 
 even so far as to offer ad\'ice. You Avill find Mr. Purdie 
 will know how to deal with such a case." 
 
 "Mr. Purdie!" she said. "I cannot have Mr. Purdie 
 here the whole year round. Surely I can do something 
 myself ? Cannot you tell me what to do % " 
 
 He hesitated. But here was a very beautiful young 
 woman, ajDpealing to him, and apparently in distress. 
 
 " Well," said he, at length, " I am not quite sure, but I 
 fancy if you wish to have those men removed, you would 
 have to take proceedings under the Vagrant Act. I am 
 not quite sure ; I fancy that is so. But then, if you do 
 that, you will be denounced by the Highland Land League, 
 and by plenty of the newspapers — natural enough on the 
 part of the newspapers, for they would know nothing of 
 the circumstances." 
 
 Kathchen thought that the outlaw and savage (as he 
 had been described to her), talked very reasonably and 
 intelligently; but Mary Stanley was quite as much per- 
 plexed as before. 
 
 " I don't want to bring the law to bear on anybody," 
 she said. " I don't want to injure anybody. Surely thei-e 
 are other ways. If I go to those men, and show them 
 they have no right to be there, and pay them for the 
 lobster-traps that were burned, and give them each a sum 
 of money, surely they would go away home to their own 
 island?" And then she added (for she wasn't a fool), 
 " Or might not that merely induce a lot more to come in 
 their place ? " 
 
 " I am afraid it would," said he. 
 
 But by this time the big steamer was slowing in to the 
 pier. 
 
 "Miss Stanley," said young Ross, "would you mind 
 coming this way a little — to be out of the reach of the 
 rope % " 
 
 She politely thanked him, and moved her position ; then 
 he left her, making his way through the people j and the
 
 A VISITOR 143 
 
 next she saw of him was that he was on the bridge, 
 talking to the captain. 
 
 There was a good deal of cargo — ^barrels, bales, and what 
 not — to be landed ; but only one passenger came ashore, 
 a white-haired little woman, whose luggage consisted of 
 an American-looking trunk and also the head and enormous 
 horns of a Wapiti deer, the head swathed in canvas. The 
 little dame was of a most pleasant appearance, with her 
 silvery hair, her blight eyes, and a complexion unusually 
 fresh and clear for one of her age ; and she was smartly 
 and neatly dressed, too ; but when once she had come 
 along the gangway, and passed through the crowd, hardly 
 any further notice was taken of her, all attention being 
 concentrated on what was going forward on board the 
 steamer. The poor old woman seemed bewildered' — and 
 agitated ; her hands were trembling ; she was staring back 
 in a curious way at the vessel she had just left. Mary 
 (of course) went up to her. 
 
 " Can I be of any assistance to you ? " she said, in her 
 gentle way. 
 
 And then pei'haps she would rather have drawn back ; 
 for she found that the old dame's eyes were overflowing 
 with tears. 
 
 "That — is the young master?" the old woman asked, in 
 tones of eager and yet subdued excitement — and slie was 
 still staring at the two figures on the bridge. 
 
 "That is Mr. Ross of Heimra," Mary said, "who is 
 talking to the captain." 
 
 The silver-haired old dame clasped her trembling hands 
 together. 
 
 " Dear, dear me ! " she said — and there were tears trick- 
 ling down her face — "the fine gentleman he has grown ! 
 And we were all saying that long ago — we were all saying 
 that — but who could have told 1 — so fine and handsome he 
 has grown up as a man ! — Ay, ay, I made sure it was 
 young Donald himself, when he came on board, but he was 
 not looking my way " 
 
 "Would you like to speak to Mr. Ross?" said Mary, 
 in the same gentle fashion. 
 
 Then the little white-haired old woman turned to this 
 tall and beautiful young creature who was addressing her
 
 144 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 and a curiousj wondermg, and glad light shone through 
 her tears. 
 
 "You, mem," said she, timidly — "perhaps you are his 
 good lady, mem % " 
 
 Mary's face flushed. 
 
 " I hardly know Mr. Ross," said she coldly. " But if 
 you wish to see him, I will fetch him — or send for him — " 
 
 " Mem," said the old dame, piteously, and the tears were 
 now running freely down her face, "I have come all the 
 way fx'om Canada, just — just to have one look at young 
 Donald — that— that was the lamb of my heart ! My two 
 boys, mem, they were thinking I should go and pay a visit 
 to their uncle, who is in Sacramento ; and they are very 
 good boys ; one of them — one of them would have gone as 
 far with me as Detroit, and put me safe there on the line ; 
 but — but I said to them, if there is so much money to be 
 spent, and if your old mother can go travelling anywhere, 
 well, then, it is just away back to Lochgarra I am going, 
 to see the young master once again before I die. But no, 
 mem," she said, somewhat anxiously, "I do not wish to 
 speak to him, in case he is not remembering me. I will 
 wait a little. Maybe he will be remembering me, and 
 maybe not — it is sixteen years since I left this place — and 
 he was just ten, then — but such a young gentleman as you 
 never saw, mem ! — and the love of every one ! And I will 
 just wait and see, mem — perhaps he is not remembering 
 me at all — but that is no matter — I will go back to my 
 boys and tell them I saw the young master, and him 
 grown to be such a fine gentleman — it is all I was coming 
 here for — ay, and I knew it was young Donald the moment 
 I saw him — but — but maybe he is not remembering 
 me 
 
 " Oh, but indeed you must speak to him ! " said Mary. 
 " I will go and fetch him myself." 
 
 For at this moment the steamer was making prepara- 
 tions to be off again — there being little traffic at Lochgarra. 
 The bell was rung, but merely as a matter of form , there 
 was no passenger going on board. Donald Ross bade good- 
 bye to the captain, and stepped ashore. The gangway was 
 withdrawn. Then the captain signalled down to the engine- 
 room ; the blades of the screw began to churn up the clear
 
 A VISITOR I4S 
 
 green water into seetliing foam ; and the great steamer was 
 slowly moving out to sea again. 
 
 "Mr. Ross," said Mary (and lie turned round in quick 
 surprise) " there is someone here who wishes to speak to 
 
 you." 
 
 He looked towards the old dame who was standing there 
 in piteous expectancy — went up to her — and, after a 
 moment of scrutiny and hesitation, said — 
 
 " Why, surely you are Ann ! " 
 
 The sudden shock of joy was almost too much for her ; 
 she could not speak ; she clung to the hand he had frankly 
 offered her, and held it between her trembling palms ; she 
 was laughing and crying at the same time — great tears 
 rolling down her cheeks, 
 
 " Well, well," said he, with a very friendly and pleasant 
 smile lighting up his face, "you have come a long way. 
 And are you going to live in the old place now — and leave 
 the farm to your sons % They must be great big fellows 
 by this time, I suppose. And that — what is that you have 
 brought -wdth you % You don't have beasts like that coming 
 about the house at night, do you % " 
 
 She tried to speak ; but it was only in detached and in- 
 coherent sentences — and there was a bewildei'ment of glad- 
 ness in the shining eyes with which she gazed on him. 
 
 " I was feared, sir, you might not be I'emembering me — 
 and — and you have not forgotten Ann, after all these years 
 — oh, yes, yes, a long way — and every night I was saying 
 ' Will the young inaster be remembering Ann ? ' And the 
 deer's head, sir % — oh, no, there are no deer at all in our 
 part of the country — but — but it was my boy Andrew, he 
 had to go down to Toronto, and he saw the head, and he 
 brought it back, and says he 'Mother, if you are going 
 away back to Lochgarra, take this head with you, and tell 
 the young master it is a present from the whole of us, and 
 maybe he will hang it up in the hall.' " 
 
 " We have no hall to hang it up in now," said he, but 
 quite good-naturedly — for Mary Stanley was standing by, 
 not unnaturally interested. " However, you must come 
 out and see where I am living now — at Heimra Island. 
 You remember Martha ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, yes," said the old dame, who had dried her
 
 146 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 tears now, and was looking most delighted and proud and 
 happy. 
 
 '■^ But you have not told me yet what has brought you 
 all the way back to Lochgarra," said he. 
 
 She seemed astonished — and even disappointed. 
 
 "You cannot tell that, sir? Well, it was just to see 
 yourself — nothing else but that — it was just to see young 
 Donald, that I used to call the lamb of my heart. But 
 that was when you were very young, sir." 
 
 Donald Ross laughed. 
 
 "Come away, Ann," said he, and he put his hand affec- 
 tionately on the old dame's shoulder. " You must come 
 out to Heimra Island, and Martha will look after you, 
 after all your travelling. Now let me see; we shan't be 
 getting up anchor for an hour or an hour and a half ; but 
 I shall have your things put on board, and in the mean- 
 while you can go round to the inn and wait for me there. 
 Tell them to give you a room with a good fire in it. And, 
 by the way, you don't want me to call you by your 
 married name, do you ? — for to tell you the truth, I don't 
 remember it ! " 
 
 "Oh, no, no, no, sir!" said the trim little old lady, who 
 could not take her glad, and wondering, and admiring eyes 
 off 'the young master.' "I m just Ann, if you please, 
 sir — just Ann, as I used to be." 
 
 Young Ross turned to call up Coinneach and Calum, 
 who were waiting at the end of the quay, in order to 
 give them instructions about the luggage ; and it was at 
 this moment that Mary stepped up to the stranger. 
 
 " Instead of going to wait at the inn," said she, " wouldn't 
 you rather come with me ? Lochgarra House is quite as 
 near — and you would not be sitting alone." 
 
 It was a gentle face that was regarding her, and a gentle 
 voice that spoke. 
 
 " Oh, yes, mem, if you will be so kind," was the answer. 
 
 " Then tell Mr. Ross you have gone on with me ; and he 
 can send one of the men for you when he is ready," Mary 
 said ; and by this Uttle arrangement she was saved the 
 necessity of having any further conversation with young 
 Ross of Heimra, if such was her intention. 
 
 They moved away.
 
 VISITOR 147 
 
 " Do you think you will know many of the people about 
 here, aftei' so long a time?" asked Mary of her new 
 acquaintance, as they left the quay — the silent, but not 
 unobservant, nor yet unamused, Kathchen accompanying. 
 
 " Oh, no, mem," was the answer (but, as she talked, the 
 old woman tui^ned from time to time to see if she could not 
 get some brief further glimpse of her heart's idol) "my 
 people they were all about Dingwall ; and it was from 
 Diagwall I came over here to serve with Mrs. Ross. Ah, 
 she was the noble lady, that ! " continued the faithful Ann, 
 looking back over many years. " When we heard of her 
 death, it was then, more than ever, that I thought I must 
 go away to Lochgari'a, to see the young master. For she 
 was so careful of his upbringing ; and they were just 
 constant companions ; and he was always the little gentle- 
 man, and polite to every one — except when ]\Irs. Ross had 
 a headache — and then he would come downstairs, ay, into 
 the servants' hall, or even to the door of the kitchen — and 
 proud and fierce, as if he would kill some one, and he would 
 say ' What is this noise % I order you to be quiet, when my 
 mamma is asleep ! ' And you would have heard a pin drop 
 after that, mem. Rather too fond of books he was 
 continued the silver-haired old dame, whose newly-found 
 happiness had made her excitedly talkative, " and rather 
 delicate in health; and then Mrs. Ross would be talking 
 to him in different languages, neither the GaeHc nor the 
 English, and he would be answering her as well as he 
 could — the little gentleman ! — when they were sitting at 
 the table. Indeed, now, that was making the old Admiral 
 — that was Mrs. Ross's uncle, very angry \ and he was 
 swearing, and saying there was no use for any language 
 but the English language ; and many's and many's the time 
 he was taking young Donald away with him in his yacht, 
 and saying he would make a sailor and a man of him. 
 Well, well, now, who would think the young master had 
 ever been delicate like that, and fond of books — so fine and 
 handsome he has grown — and the laugh he has — ay, a 
 laugh that carries a good story of health and happiness 
 with it ! " 
 
 "ISTo, he does not look as if he had ever been very 
 delicate," said Mary, absently. "Perhaps the rough life 
 
 L 2 
 
 »
 
 148 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 out there on that island was the very best thing for 
 him." 
 
 When they got to the house, Mary escorted her guest 
 up to the drawing-room in the tower, and was most 
 assiduous in her pretty little attentions, and had wine 
 and biscuits brought in, for Mrs. Armour (as the old 
 woman's name turned out to be) had breakfasted early on 
 board the steamer. And Mrs. Armour repaid these kind- 
 nesses by eagerly talking about young Donald and nothing 
 else ; she seemed to think that the two young ladies were 
 as interested as herself in that wonderful subject ; and here 
 was the very house in which she had lived, to suggest 
 innumerable reminiscences. She did not say anything 
 about Miss Stanley's occupation of the house ; nor did she 
 ask how it came about that Donald Ross was now living 
 on the island they could see from this room : no doubt 
 she had heard something, in her remote Canadian home, 
 of the misfortunes that had befallen the old family. But 
 even while she talked her eyes would go wandering to the 
 window that commanded a view of the village ; it was like 
 a girl of eighteen watching for her first sweetheart : she 
 was talking to these very kind ladies — but it was young 
 Donald of Heimra that her heart was thinking of all the 
 time. 
 
 Then the welcome summons came, and away she went 
 with Coinneach Breac. The two girls watched them go 
 along to the boat in which " the young master " was 
 waiting ; then the men took to the oars, and made for the 
 yacht. The mainsail and jib of the Sirene had already 
 been hoisted ; very soon the anchor was got up ; and with 
 a light southerly bi'eeze favouring them they had set out 
 for the solitary island that was now Donald Ross's home. 
 
 "Well, Mamie," said Kathchen, who was still standing 
 at the window and looking at the gradually receding 
 yacht, " that is a very strange young man. I have been a 
 spectator this morning; and I have been interested. I 
 have seen a young man approached by a beautiful young 
 woman — a damsel in distress, you might almost say — who 
 condescends to appeal to him ; and in return he is barely 
 civil — oh, yes, let us say civil — and even polite, but in 
 a curiously stand-off manner. And then an old Highland
 
 A DEFORCEMENT 149 
 
 servant appears ; and behold ! his face lights up with 
 pleasure ; and he is as kind as kind can be, and affec- 
 tionate ; he puts his hand on her shoulder as if she were 
 some old schoolmate, and nothing will do but that she 
 must go away out to see his home. To tell you the truth, 
 I did not think he had so much human nature in him. I 
 thought living in that lonely island would have made him 
 a misanthrope. But I shall never forget the expression of 
 his face when he recognised the old woman that had been 
 his mother's servant." 
 
 Mary Stanley was silent for a little while ; then she 
 said — 
 
 "It is a wonderful thing, the affection and devotion 
 that could bring an old woman like that all the way 
 across the Atlantic for a glimpse of one she had known 
 only as a child. And it seems to be a thing you cannot 
 purchase with money, nor yet with good intentions, nor by 
 anything you can do, however hard you may try." She 
 turned away from the window. "But — but I haven't 
 given up yet, Kathchen." 
 
 "You never will give up, Mamie," said her fi'iend ; and 
 then she added complacently : " For you don't know how." 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 A DEFORCEMENT. 
 
 But wonders will never cease. It was a couple of days 
 after these occurrences, and Mary Stanley and Kate Glen- 
 dinning were just about to sit down to lunch, when the 
 Highland maid Barbara came into the room, with a curious 
 expression on her face. And it was in almost awe-stricken 
 tones that she spoke : 
 
 " It's Mr. Ross, mem," said she — her pretty, soft, shy 
 eyes now full of a vague astonishment. 
 
 "Mr. Ross? — Mr. Ross of Heimra? Well, what about 
 him % " Mary demanded, little guessing at the true state 
 of affairs. 
 
 " He's in the hall, mem," said the startled Barbara. 
 " He says would Miss Stanley speak with him for a moment, 
 and he would not keep you more than a moment, mem."
 
 I50 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 The blood rushed to Mary's forehead, and for a second 
 she was embarrassed and speechless ; then, with a certain 
 impatience of her own confusion, she said — 
 
 "Well, ask Mr. Ross to go into the drawing-room, 
 Barbara— and tell him I will be there directly." 
 
 She turned quickly to her friend. " Kathchen, would 
 you mind going and speaking to him ? — I shall be down in 
 a minute.'^' 
 
 Possibly Kathchen did not quite like this commission ; 
 but then she was in the habit of reflecting that as a 
 salaried companion she had duties to perform; and so 
 with much good nature she went away into the drawing- 
 room, to receive this unexpected visitor. It was some 
 minutes before Mary reappeared. The male eye could not 
 have detected any difference between the Mary Stanley of 
 the dining-room and the Mary Stanley of the drawing- 
 room ; but Kathchen instantly perceived the minute altera- 
 tions. Mary had whipped off to her room to exchange 
 the stiff linen collar that she wore for a piece of soft 
 frilling — a more feminine adornment. Moreover, she came 
 into the room, not radiant in her beauty and self-possessed 
 as was her wont, but with a kind of timid, modest, almost 
 shamefaced gratitude for this act of neighbourliness, and 
 in her clear eyes a manifest pleasure shone. Kathchen, 
 now relieved of her duties, and become a mere onlooker, 
 said to herself : " I don't know what Mamie means ; but 
 that young man had better take care." 
 
 He, on his side, certainly showed no lack of self-posses- 
 sion — though he still remained standing, his yachting cap 
 in his hand. 
 
 "I hope I am not inconveniencing you," said he to 
 Miss Stanley. " The fact is, we got becalmed just outside 
 
 the bay " 
 
 "But won't you be seated?" said she, and she herself 
 took a chair. Kathchen retired to one of the windows — 
 not to look out, however. 
 
 "First of all, I wish to thank you for your kindness 
 to Mrs. Armour," said he. " She is very grateful to you ; 
 for of course it was pleasant to the old dame to have a 
 friendly hand held out to her, when she was rather 
 frio-htened she might be coming back among strangers."
 
 A DEFORCEMENT 151 
 
 " Oh, that is nothing," said Mary ; and then she was 
 emboldened to add, "Tiie wonderful thizig was to find any 
 one connected with this place who would accept of any 
 civility. But then she has been away a long time." 
 
 If this was a taunt, unintentional or otherwise, he took 
 no heed of it. 
 
 " What I really wished to see you about, however, was 
 this," he went on. " It was only last night that I heard 
 of the sheriff's judgment in the case of James Macdonald — 
 James Macdonald, the crofter, at Cruagan " 
 
 "I know him," said Mary. "But what case % I never 
 heard of it ! " 
 
 "An action brought by Mr. Purdie on your behalf," he 
 answered briefly. 
 
 " Why was I not told of this % " she said. 
 
 " The proceedings began some little time ago," he said. 
 " And indeed. Miss Stanley, I must apologise to you for 
 seeming to interfere. I do not wish to interfere in any 
 way whatever ; it woiild be most impertinent on my part ; 
 and besides — besides, I have no desire to interfere. But 
 in this particular case I think you should know what is 
 going on, for Macdonald is a determined man ; and if the 
 sheriffs ofiicer and his concurrents come out this afternoon 
 by the mail-car, as they are likely to do, I'm afraid there 
 will be trouble. The sheriff has granted a decree of 
 removal ; but I don't think Macdonald will go ; while it 
 is just possible the other crofters may back him up. I 
 thought if you would go along and ask the sheriff's officer 
 to stay proceedings until Macdonald could be talked to by 
 his own friends " 
 
 •'' Well, of course I will ! " said she, instantly. " But I 
 want to know what this action is all about 1 It seems to 
 me that I ought to be consulted before Mr. Purdie takes 
 to evicting any of the tenants." 
 
 There was a curious, covert gleam of satisfaction in the 
 young lustrous black eyes ; but he went on to say very 
 quietly — 
 
 " I am afraid Macdonald has put himself entirely in the 
 wrong. Por one thing, he is over two years in arrear 
 with his rent 3 and that of itself, according to the Crofters 
 Holding Act, forfeits his tenancy. And then, again, he
 
 152 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 refuses to pay because of reasons that won't hold water 
 He claims compensation for improvements " 
 
 " Why not % " said she — promptly taking the side of the 
 tenant, and talking to young Ross as if he were advocat- 
 ing the landlord's interest. 
 
 "Well," said Young Donald, "he has cut a few drains 
 and covered them in ; but the sheriff found that this was 
 counterbalanced by his neglect of other parts of the croft, 
 and that there was no just claim. His other reason for 
 refusal was that he wanted an allowance made to him for 
 Mr. Watson's sheep being permitted to graze over the 
 Cruagan crofts after the crops were reaped." 
 
 " And why not ? " said Mary again. " Why should Mr. 
 Watson's sheep graze over the crofts ? That seems to me 
 a great injustice — unless compensation is given." 
 
 " Well, it is a practice of long standing," said the young 
 man (and Kiithchen, who cared very little about rents and 
 holdings and drains, nevertheless thought he had so agree- 
 able a voice that it was quite a pleasure to listen to him). 
 "The crofters took the crofts knowing of this condition, 
 and the rents were fixed accordingly. However, this is 
 the present state of affairs, that the sheriff-substitute has 
 decided against Macdonald — as he was bound to do, I 
 admit. He has found him liable for arrears of rent, with 
 interest and costs ; and he has granted a warrant to turn 
 him out. Now Macdonald is a stiff-necked man, a difficult 
 man to deal with ; and he doesn't know much English ; 
 it will be no use for the sheriff's officer to argue, and say 
 he is only doing his duty " 
 
 "I disappi'ove of the whole proceedings," said Mary, 
 with decision. "Mr. Purdie had no right to go to such 
 extremes without consulting me^and I will take care that 
 it does not happen again. By the mail-car, did you say ? 
 Well, that won't be coming by Cruagan before half-past 
 two ; and I can be there by then. The sheriff's officer and 
 his — his what did you call them % " 
 
 " His concurrents — assistants." 
 
 " They must wait for further instructions j and I will 
 inquire into the matter myself." 
 
 He rose. 
 
 " I hope you will forgive me. Miss Stanley," said he, as
 
 A DEFORCEMENT 153 
 
 he had said before, " for seeming to interfere. I have no 
 wish to do anything of the kind. But I thought you ought 
 to know in case there might be any trouble — which you 
 could prevent." 
 
 " Mr. Ross," said she, " I am very much obliged to you. 
 I — I don't get very much help — and — and I want to do 
 what little I can for the people." 
 
 " Good morning ! " said he ; and he bowed to Kate Glen- 
 dinning : he was going away without so much as shaking 
 hands with either of them, so distant and respectful was 
 his manner. But Mary, in a confused kind of fashion, 
 did not seem to think this was right. She accompanied 
 him to the door ; and that she left open ; then she went 
 out with him into the hall. 
 
 " I cannot beheve that James Macdonald should have 
 any serious grudge against me," she said, " for I told 
 Mr. Purdie to tell him that the tax for the dyke was 
 abolished, and also that fifteen years' of it was to be 
 given back. And, besides that, I said to Macdonald 
 myself that thirty shillings an acre was too much for 
 that land ; and I propose to have it reduced to a pound 
 an acre when I have all the rents of the estate looked 
 into." 
 
 " Do you think Purdie did tell him ? " young Donald 
 Ross asked coldly. 
 
 " If he has not ! " said Mary. . . " But I am almost 
 sure he did — I spoke to Macdonald myself almost imme- 
 diately afterwards. And — and I wished to tell you, Mr. 
 Ross," she continued (as if she were rather pleading for 
 favour, or at least expecting approval), " that I have been 
 down to the stranger fishermen at Ru-Minard, and I think 
 it is all settled, and that they are going away peaceably. 
 I am paying them for the lobster-traps that were burned 
 — and perhaps a little more ; and they understand that 
 the Vagrant Act can be brought to bear on any others 
 who may think of coming." 
 
 " Oh, they are going away ? " said he. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Mr. Purdie will be sorry for that." 
 
 « Why ? " 
 
 " He could have had them removed, if he had wanted ;
 
 154 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 but so long as they were an annoyance and vexation to the 
 people hei'e, he allowed them to remain — naturally." 
 
 These accents of contemptuous scorn : she was sorry to 
 hear them somehow : and yet perhaps they were justified 
 — she did not know. 
 
 " Good-bye," said she, at the hall door, and she held out 
 her hand. " I am so much obliged to you." 
 
 And then of course he did shake hands with her in 
 bidding her farewell — and raised his cap — and was gone. 
 
 Mary returned to the dining-room. 
 
 "Well Mamie," said Kathchen, with a demure smile, 
 "that is about the most extraordinary interview I ever 
 heard of. A most handsome young gentleman calls upon 
 a young lady — his first visit — and there is nothing talked 
 of on either side but sheriff officers and summonses, rent, 
 compensation, drains, crofts, grazing, and Acts of Parlia- 
 ment. Of course he was quite as bad as you ; but aU the 
 same, you might at least have asked the poor man to stay 
 to lunch." 
 
 " Oh, Kathchen ! " Mary exclaimed, starting to her feet, 
 her face on fire. " Shall I send Barbara after him 1 I 
 never thought of it ! How frightfully rude of me — and 
 he has come all the way over from Heimra to tell me 
 about this eviction. What shaU I do ? Shall I send after 
 him?" 
 
 "I don't think you can,* said Kathchen; "it would 
 make the little oversight all the more marked. You'd 
 better ask him the next time you see him — if you have 
 forgotten certain warnings." 
 
 " What warnings ? " 
 
 "Why, about his general character and his occupations," 
 said Kate Glendinning, regarding her friend. 
 
 Mary was silent for a moment or two ; then she said — 
 
 " We need not believe the worst of any one ; and when 
 you think of that old woman coming all the way from 
 Canada to see him, that of itself is a testimonial to 
 character that not many could biing forward — " 
 
 "But you must remember," said Kathchen, "the young- 
 master was a little boy of ten when Mrs. Armour left; 
 and little boys of ten haven't had time to develop into 
 dangerous criminals."
 
 to 
 
 A DEFORCEMENT 155 
 
 " Dangerous criminal % " said Mary, rather sharply ; 
 "that is hardly the — the proper phrase to use — with re- 
 gard to — to a stran^rer. However, it is not of much con- 
 sequence. Kathchen, are you going to drive with me to 
 Cruagan to get that sheriff's officer and his men sent 
 back % " 
 
 " Yes, certainly," said Kathchen, in her usual business- 
 like fashion, "as soon as we have had lunch. And 
 remember, Maroie, it wasn't / who forgot to ask him to 
 stay." 
 
 Luncheon did not detain them long, and immediately 
 thereafter they got into the waggonette that was waiting 
 for them, and drove off. But it was not of the eviction 
 and the possibility of another riot that Mary was mostly 
 thinking; something very different was weighing, and 
 weighing heavily, on her mind. They drove through the 
 village in silence ; they crossed the bridge ; and they had 
 begun the ascent of the steep hill before she spoke. 
 
 " The more I consider it," she said, " the more ashamed 
 I am." 
 
 " Consider what?" said Kathchen. 
 
 " Why, neglecting to ask him to stay to lunch," she 
 made answer — for this was what she had been brooding 
 over. 
 
 " Why should you worry about such a trifle ! " Kath- 
 chen protested. 
 
 " It isn't a trifle — in a Highlander's estimation, as you 
 know well enough. They jDride themselves on their hos- 
 pitality ; and they judge others by their own standards ; 
 so that I cannot but keep wondering what he must be 
 thinking of me at this moment. Remember, Kathchen, 
 when we went over to Heimra, even the old housekeeper 
 entertained us, and did her best for us, in that out-of-the- 
 world place ; and here he comes to Lochgarra House — 
 his first visit — he comes to do me a kindness — he comes 
 to prevent mischief — and comes into the house that once 
 was his own — and I don't offer him even a biscuit and 
 a glass of sherry " 
 
 "Really, Mary, you needn't worry about such a mere 
 trifle ! " Kathchen protested again. 
 
 " But I do worry ! " she said. " I can imagine what
 
 156 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 he thought of me as he went away. For you must not 
 forget this, Kiithchen : it was a very awkward position he 
 put himself into in order to do me a good turn. Think 
 of his coming to the house, that ought to be his own — 
 asking the servants if he might be admitted — sending up 
 his name as a stranger — then he remains standing in the 
 drawing-room — and he is for going away without shaking 
 hands — as if he were hardly to be considered one's fellow- 
 creature." She was silent for a second or two ; then she 
 said, with a sudden touch of asperity : " At the same time 
 there is this to be remembered, that the pride that apes 
 humility is the very worst kind of pride. Often it simply 
 means that the person is inordinately vain." 
 
 " Poor young man ! " said Kathchen, with a sigh. " He 
 is always in the wrong. But I'm sure I did not object 
 to his manner when he showed us the way out of the 
 Meall-na-Fearn bog." 
 
 About a couple of hundred yards on the Lochgarra side 
 of Cruagan they met the mail-car ; and when, a minute 
 or two thereafter they came in sight of the scattered 
 crofts, it was obvious from the prevailing commotion that 
 the sheriff's officer and his assistants had arrived. Indeed, 
 when Mary and Kathchen descended from the wag- 
 gonette and walked up to James Macdonald's cottage, 
 the business of getting out the few poor sticks of furniture 
 had already begun — the only on-looker being an old white- 
 haired man, Macdonald's father, who was standing there 
 dazed and bewildered, as if he did not understand what was 
 going forward. Just as Mary got up, one of the con- 
 currents brought out a spinning-wheel and put it on the 
 ground. 
 
 " Here — what are you doing % " she said, angrily, to the 
 man who appeared to be the chief officer. " Leave that 
 spinning-wheel alone; that is the very thing I want to 
 see in every cottage ! " 
 
 " I've got the sheriff's warrant, ma'am," said the man, 
 civilly enough. " And we must get everything out and take 
 possession." 
 
 " Oh, no, you mustn't ! " she said. " This man Mac- 
 donald claims compensation — the case must be inquired 
 into."
 
 A DEFORCEMENT 157 
 
 " I have nothing to do wi' that, ma'am," said the officer, 
 who seemed a respectable, quiet-spoken, quiet-mannered 
 kind of a person. " I'm bound to carry out the warrant 
 —that's all I've to heed." 
 
 " But surely I can say whether I want the man turned 
 out or not 1 " she protested. " He is my tenant. It is to 
 me he owes the money. Surely, if I am satisfied, you can 
 leave the man alone. But where is he ? Where is Mac- 
 donald?" 
 
 " As for that, ma'am," said the officer, " he is away down 
 the road, and he says he is going to fetch a gun. Very 
 well. If he presents a gun at either me or my concur- 
 rents I will declare myself deforced, and he will have to 
 answer for it before the sheriff." 
 
 " A gun ? " said Mary, rather faintly. ' " Do you mean to 
 drive the poor man to desperation ? " 
 
 But there was a more immediate danger to be considered. 
 As the two girls had driven up they had heard a good deal 
 of shrill calHng from croft to croft and from house to house ; 
 and now there had assembled a crowd of women — a crowd 
 hostile and menacing — that came swarming up, uttering 
 all sorts of angry and reproachful cries. Each time that 
 the sheriff's officer's assistants appeared at the door of the 
 cottage there was another outburst of hooting and groaning ; 
 while here and there a bare-armed virago had furnished 
 herself with an apron-full of rubbish — potato-peelings, 
 cabbage-stalks, stale fish, and the like — and these un- 
 savouiy missiles began to hurtle through the air, though 
 for the most part they were badly aimed. The sheriffs 
 officer affected to pay no heed. He calmly watched the 
 proceedings of his men ; the rubbish flew past him un- 
 regarded ; and the women had not yet taken to stones. 
 
 But Kathchen beheld this advancing crowd with undis- 
 guised alarm. 
 
 " Mary," she said, hurriedly, " don't you think we should 
 go back to the waggonette ? Those people think it is you 
 who are setting the sheriffs officers on — they are hooting 
 at us as well." 
 
 There could be no doubt of the fact ; and the infuriated 
 women were drawing nearer and nearer ; while, if their 
 taunts and epithets were to her unintelligible, their
 
 158 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 wrathful glances and threatening gestures were unmistake- 
 able. Mary Stanley found herself helpless. She could not 
 explain to them. She had not the self-possession with which 
 to address this exasperated mob, even if she knew the 
 language in which alone it was possible to appeal to them. 
 Nor dared she retreat, for would not that be simply in- 
 viting a general attack ? So she was standing, irresolute 
 and bewildered, when there was a new diversion of interest : 
 the man Macdonald made his appearance. She looked at 
 him ; she hardly recognised him — so ashen-grey had his 
 cheeks become with excitement and wrath. One trembling 
 hand held a gun 3 the other he clenched and shook in the 
 face of the officer as he went up to him. 
 
 « I — not owing any money ! " said the Russian-looking 
 crofter, and his features were working with passion, and 
 his eyes were filled with a baleful light under his shaggy 
 eyebrows. " No — no — God's curse to me if I pay money 
 when I not owing any money ! Go away, now — go away 
 back to Dingwall — or it is murder there will be ! " 
 
 Mary was very pale ; but she went forward to him all 
 the same. 
 
 " Put away that gun," she said, and she spoke with firm- 
 ness, though her lips had lost their natural colour. " Put 
 away that gun ! These men are doing their duty — you 
 have brought it on yourself." 
 
 He turned upon her savagely. 
 
 " You— it's not you — my laird — Boss of Heimra, he my 
 laird — you come here, ay, to steal the land — and — and put 
 me from my croft — ay — will you be putting me from my 
 croft?" 
 
 In his fury he could find no more English ; but he 
 advanced towards her, his clenched fist raised; and here 
 it was that Kathchen (though her heart was beating wUdly) 
 thrust herself forward between them. 
 
 " How dare you ! " she said, indignantly. " Stand back ! 
 How dare you ! " 
 
 For an instant the man's eyes glared at her — as if in 
 his indescribable rage he knew neither what to do or say \ 
 but just at this moment his attention was drawn else- 
 whither ; a volley of groans and yells from the crowd had 
 greeted the reappearance of the assistants. At sight of
 
 A DEFORCEMENT 159 
 
 these enemies bringing out his poor bits of things, Mac- 
 donald's wrath was turned in a new direction ; he made a 
 dash for the cottage — managed to get inside — and the next 
 second the two men were flung headlong out, while the door 
 was instantly slammed to behind them. A great shout 
 of triumph and laughter arose from the crowd, while the 
 discomfited officers picked themselves up and gazed blankly 
 at the barred way. 
 
 " I call you to witness," said their chief to Miss Stanley 
 — and he spoke in the calmest manner, as if this Avere 
 quite an every-day occurrence — " that I have been deforced 
 in the execution of my duty. This man will have to 
 answer for it at Dingwall." 
 
 But his assistants were not so imperturbable. Smarting 
 under the jeers of the crowd, they proceeded to cast about 
 for some implement with which to efiect an entrance ; and 
 presently they found an axe. With this one of them set 
 to work : and crash ! crash ! went the weight of iron on 
 to the trembling door. The wood began to yield. Splinters 
 showed — then a narrow breach was made — the hole grew 
 wider — and just as it became evident that the demolition 
 of the door was but a matter of a few minutes, a heavier 
 stroke than usual snapped the shaft of the axe in twain, 
 the iron head falling inside the cottage. By this time the 
 attitude of the crowd had again altered — from derision to 
 fierce resentment ; there were groans renewed again and 
 again; missiles flew freely. And then again, and quite 
 suddenly, an apparently trivial incident entirely changed 
 the aspect of affairs. At that ragged opening that had 
 been made in the door there appeared two small black 
 circles, close together ; and these were pushed outward a 
 few inches. The concurrents fell back — and the crowd 
 was silent ; well they perceived what this was ; those two 
 small circles were the muzzle of a gun ; at any moment, 
 a violent death — a shattered corpse — might be the next 
 feature of the scene. 
 
 "What does that madman mean to do?" Mary ex- 
 claimed, in a paralysis of terror — for it appeared to her 
 that she was responsible for all that was happening or 
 might happen. 
 
 Mary," said Kathchen, under her breath — and she 

 
 i6o DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 was all trembling with excitement, " you must come away 
 at once — now — while they are watching the gun. Perhaps 
 they won't interfere with us — we may get down to the 
 waggonette — we may have to run for it, too, if those women 
 should turn on us." 
 
 " I cannot go and leave these poor men here," Mary 
 said, in her desperation. " They will be murdered. That 
 man in there is a madman — a downright madman." 
 
 Kathchen lowered her voice still further, 
 
 " There is Mr. Ross coming — and oh ! I wish he would 
 be quick ! " 
 
 Indeed it was no other than Donald Ross, who, im- 
 mediately after leaving Lochgarra House, had struck off 
 across the hills, hoping by a short cut to reach Cruagan 
 not long after Miss Stanley's arrival. And now that he 
 appeared, all eyes were turned towards him ; there was no 
 further groaning, or hooting, or hurling of missiles. He 
 seemed to take in the situation at a glance. He asked a 
 question of the sherifi's officer. 
 
 " I'll just have to come back, sir," said the man, " with 
 an inspector and a dozen police; but in the meantime I 
 declare that I have been deforced, and this man Macdonald 
 must answer for it. I hope ye'll give evidence, sir, if the 
 leddies would rather not come over to Dingwall. You 
 were not here when my assistants were thrown out of the 
 house ; but at least you can see a gun pointed at us — 
 there it is — through that door." 
 
 Young Ross did not go directly forward to the muzzle 
 of the gun — which would have been the act of a lunatic, 
 for the man inside the cottage might make a mistake ; but 
 he went towards the front of the house, then approached 
 the door, and struck up the gun with his fist. One barrel 
 went off" — hai'mlessly enough. 
 
 "Hamish!" 
 
 He called again ; and added something in Gaelic. The 
 door was opened. There was some further speech in the 
 same tongue ; the shaggy-browed crofter laid aside the gun, 
 and came out into the open air, looking about him like a 
 wild-beast at bay, but following the young master sub- 
 missively enough. Donald Ross went up to Miss Stanley. 
 
 " I was afraid there might be a little trouble," said he.
 
 A DEFORCEMENT i6i 
 
 " Well, I can answer for this man — if you will get the 
 sheriff's oflScer and his assistants to go away." 
 
 " I want them to go away ! " she said. " I have no wish 
 at all to put James Macdonald out of his croft — not in the 
 least — and I will give him time to pay up arrears, especially 
 as there is to be a re-valuation. I wish you would tell 
 him that. I wish you would tell him that I had nothing 
 to do with these proceedings. Tell him I want to deal 
 fairly with everybody. You can talk to him — I cannot — 
 I cannot explain to him." 
 
 But Macdonald had been listening all the same. 
 
 "That woman," said he, sullenly, "she — no business 
 here. The land — Ross of Heimra's " 
 
 Young Ross turned to him with a muttered exclamation 
 in Gaelic, and with a flash of flame in the coal-black eyes 
 that did not escape Kathchen's notice. The stubborn crofter 
 was silent after that — standing aside in sombre indifference. 
 
 " The officer can bring his action for deforcement, if he 
 likes," Ross said, "and I suppose Macdonald will be fined 
 forty shillings. But no one has been hurt ; and it seems 
 a pity there should be any further proceedings, if, as you 
 say, you are going to have a re- valuation of the crofts " — 
 and then he suddenly checked himself. " I hope you will 
 forgive me for interfering," he said, quite humbly; "I did 
 not intend to say anything ; it is Mr. Purdie's business — 
 and I do not wish even to offer you advice." 
 
 " I wish I could tell you how much I am obliged to 
 you," she said, warmly. " If you had not let me know 
 about those men coming, and if you had not appeared 
 yourself, I believe there would have been murder done 
 here this day. And now, Mr. Ross, would you get them 
 to go on at once to Lochgarra, so as to be out of harm's 
 way — and to-morrow they can go back by the mail-car 1 I 
 will write to Mr. Purdie. There must be no further pro- 
 ceedings ; and James Macdonald will not be put out of his 
 croft — not if I have any say in the matter." 
 
 So the three officials were started off for the village ; 
 the morose crofter proceeded to pick up his bits of furniture 
 and get them into the house again ; and the crowd of 
 women began to disperse — not silently, however, but with 
 much shrill and eager decision — towards their own homes.
 
 1 63 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 > 
 
 Young Ross of Heimra went down with the two young 
 ladies to the waggonette, which was waiting for them 
 below in the road. 
 
 He saw them into the carriage. 
 
 " But won't you drive back with us ? " said Mary. 
 
 " Oh, thank you — if I may," he said, rather diffidently ; 
 and therewith he went forward to get up beside the coach- 
 man, just as Mr. Purdie would have done. 
 
 The colour rushed to Mary's forehead. 
 
 " Mr. Ross," she said, " not there ! " — and she herself 
 opened the door of the waggonette for him, so that perforce 
 he had to take his place beside them. And was this again 
 (she may have asked herself) the pride that apes humility 
 or was it only part of his apparent desire to keep a 
 marked distance between himself and her 1 She was vexed 
 with him for causing her this embarrassment. He had no 
 right to do such things. He might be a little more friendly. 
 She, on her part, had been frank enough in expressing her 
 obligations to him ; nay, she had gone out of her way to 
 ask, in a kind of fashion, for his approval. Were all the 
 advances to come from her side ? 
 
 But Kate Glendinning noticed this — that as they drew 
 near to the dried-up waste that had once been Loch Heimra, 
 and as they were passing the tumbled-down rums of the 
 ancient stronghold, he pretended that he did not see 
 anything. He rather turned away his face. He talked of 
 indiflerent matters. Mary had forgotten that they would 
 have to pass by Loch and Castle Heimra, or perhaps she 
 might have thought twice about inviting him to drive with 
 them. But quite simply and resolutely he turned away 
 from those things that all too eloquently spoke of the 
 irreparable wrong that had been done to him and his, and 
 affected not to see them or remember them ; and Kathchen 
 — a not uninterested observer — said proudly to herself : 
 " If that is not Highland courtesy, I do not know what is." 
 
 Wonders will never cease, ti'uly. That evening the 
 astounding rumour had found its way through the length 
 and breadth of the township : there were eye-witnesses 
 who could testify : Young Donald of Heimra had been 
 seen in the same carriage with the two ladies from Loch- 
 garra House.
 
 A CROFTERS' COMMISSION 163 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A crofters' commission. 
 
 One morning Maiy Stanley and her companion had been 
 away on some distant errand, and when on their return 
 they came to the summit of the hill overlooking the bay, 
 Mary paused for a moment to take in the prospect — the 
 wide, grey, wind-swept plain of the sea, the long headlands, 
 and the lonely Heimra Island out in the west. But 
 Kathchen did not cease her discourse — in which she was 
 endeavouring to account for the comparative failure, so far, 
 of her friend's fine philanthropic schemes. 
 
 "The truth is, Mamie," said she, " what has disappointed 
 you here has been the prevalence of hard facts — very hard 
 facts — facts as hard as the rocks on which the poor people 
 try to live. You wanted to play the part of Lady Bounti- 
 ful ; and you yourself are just full of enthusiasm, and 
 generous emotion, and ideals of duty and self sacrifice, and 
 — and — romanticism generally, if I may say so. Aiid for 
 all these qualities you find no exercise, no outlet. I can 
 imagine you in very difierent circumstances — in London, 
 perhaps, or in some English village : I can imagine your 
 going into a squalid room where there is a poor widow by 
 the bedside of her dying boy ; and the Lady Bountiful 
 brings little comforts for the sick child, and words of 
 kindness and consolation for the mother ; and the poor 
 woman looks on you as an angel, and would kiss the hem 
 of your gown ; and it's all very pretty and touching. But, 
 you see," continued the practical Kathchen, "how you are 
 baffled and thwai'ted in this obdurate place ; for there isn't 
 a single case of illness in the whole district — not one — 
 which is no doubt owing to the valuable antiseptic properties 
 of peat smoke ! " 
 
 "Oh, well," said Mary, cheerfully, as they went on again, 
 "I can put up with being disappointed on that score — 
 and the longer the better. But, Kathchen, when you said 
 there was nothing but hard facts about here — no pretty 
 sentiment) and sympathy — you weren't keeping your eyes 
 open. Look down there at the bridge ; what is that if not 
 
 M 2
 
 i64 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 pretty sentiment % — two lovers talking — why, it is quite a 
 charming picture % — and isn't there some rustic custom of 
 pledging troth over a running stream ? " 
 
 Her face suddenly grew grave; and Kathchen, also 
 regarding those two figures, was struck by the same 
 surmise. 
 
 " It is Mr. Ross, Mamie ! " she exclaimed, in an under- 
 tone — though they were still a long way off. 
 
 Mary said nothing. She walked on calmly and in- 
 differently, sometimes looking up to the hills, sometimes 
 looking out to Heimra Island and the sea. It was 
 Kathchen, keeping her eyes covertly on those two figures 
 by the bridge, who observed that the girl suddenly 
 separated herself from her companion, and disappeared 
 into the woods by the side of the Garra. As for Donald 
 Ross, he made no sign of going away : on the contrary, 
 he remained idling by the rude stone parapet, occasionally 
 looking into the water underneath. And he must have 
 known that he was intercej)ting the two ladies from Loch- 
 garra House — there was no escape for them. 
 
 Mary maintained a perfect self-possession ; and when 
 they came up to him she was for passing with a little bow 
 of recognition ; but he spoke. 
 
 " I have a small petition to put before you," said he, 
 with a smile (Kathchen thought that, though he looked 
 extremely handsome, this pleasant and familiar smile was 
 in the circumstances something of an impertinence). 
 
 " Indeed," said Mary — and she waited. 
 
 " From a very humble petitioner," he continued (and 
 Kathchen began to consider him a most unabashed young 
 man — so easily and lightly he spoke), "one who has no 
 English, and she has asked me to interfere and tell you 
 all about her case. She was talking to me just now \ but 
 when she caught sight of you she fled off into the woods, 
 like a hare." 
 
 " Why % " said Mary, coldly. 
 
 " Because she is afraid of you," said he. " She thinks 
 you are a friend of the Troich Bheag Dhearg — the Little 
 Red Dwarf — as they call Mr. Purdie about here. And 
 that is quite enough to frighten Anna " 
 
 "Anna?" said Mary. "Do you mean Anna Chlannach
 
 A CROFTERS' COMMISSION t65 
 
 ■ — tlie half-witted girl 1 " — and as she guessed the simple 
 and harmless truth an indescribable confusion appeared on 
 her forehead and in the self-consciousness of her eyes. 
 
 "Yes," said he, apparently not noticing. "Anna says 
 that you spoke to her once ; but she has no English, and 
 could not tell you anything ; and she saw Purdie with you, 
 and ran away. So much I made out, though she talks 
 rather wildly, and mysteriously as well." 
 
 "Oh, but Mr. Ross," said Mary, with some eagerness, 
 " I wish you would tell Anna Chlannach that she has no 
 reason to be afraid of me — surely not ! Why, she was the 
 first creature in the place who seemed a little friendly. 
 Will you tell her I will do everything for her I can ; and 
 that she must come and see me ; and there will be no fear 
 of her meeting Mr. Purdie ; and Barbara can be the 
 interpreter between us ? Will you tell her that 1 Could 
 you find her now ? " 
 
 " There's no one in this neighbourhood who could find 
 Anna Chlannach if she wants to be hidden," he said, with 
 a bit of a laugh that showed beautiful teeth — as Kathchen 
 remarked. " But I shall come across her some other time, 
 and of course, if you grant her petition, she must go to you 
 and thank you." 
 
 " What is her petition 1 " said Mary, who had recovered 
 from her momentary confusion, and was now prepared to 
 be entirely bland and magnanimous — which, indeed, was 
 her natural mood. 
 
 " Well," said he, " Purdie — Mr. Purdie — has been 
 threatening to have her shut up in some asylum for im- 
 beciles — so they say — and Anna is in a great state about 
 the possibility of her being taken away from among the 
 people she knows. I don't think it is true, myself ; indeed 
 I doubt whether he could do anything of the kind, without 
 the consent of her relatives, and she has got none now ; 
 but I am not quite sure what the law is ; anyhow, what 
 I imagine to be the case is simply that Mr. Purdie has been 
 making use of these threats to spite the people with whom 
 Anna Chlannach is a favourite. Por she is a general 
 favourite — there is no harm in the girl " 
 
 "Why, so Barbara said ! " Mary exclaimed. 
 
 " It is quite true that she is rather useless about the
 
 i66 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 place," Donald Ross went on. " Sometimes they have 
 tried her with a bit of herding ; but then, if she saw a 
 boat out at sea, she would imagine her mother was coming 
 back, and she would go away down to the shore to meet 
 her, and spend her time in gathering white shells, that she 
 thinks is money, to give to her mother. Well, you see, 
 that is awkward. You couldn't leave sheep or cows under 
 Anna's care without asking somebody to keep an eye on 
 Anna herself. The truth is, she is useless. But there's no 
 harm in the lass ; and the people are fond of her ; there's 
 always a bit of food, or a corner for her to sleep in ; so that 
 she's not a cost to anyone except to those that are willing 
 to pay it— a mere trifle — and in any case it does not come 
 out of Mr. Purdie's pocket " 
 
 " She shall not be shut up in any asylum, if I have 
 any say in the matter ! " Mary interposed, with a touch of 
 indignation. 
 
 " I asked her to stay and appeal to yourself," he con- 
 tinued. " But she was frightened of you " 
 
 " Yes," said Mary, " everyone is frightened of me — 
 or set against me — in this place ! " 
 
 " There is another thing I should mention," he pro- 
 ceeded — ignoring this taunt, if it was meant as a taunt ; 
 "the young girls and lads about here are not very con- 
 siderate if there's any fun going on ; and they've heard of 
 this proposal of Purdie's ; and so they amuse themselves by 
 telling Anna Chlannach that she is going to be taken away 
 and shut up in an asylum, and the poor girl is dreadfully 
 frightened. But if you can assure her that you will not 
 allow Purdie to do any such thing " 
 
 "Well, of course I will, if you will only bring her 
 to me!" said Mary, impetuously. "Why haven't you 
 brought her to me before % " 
 
 He hesitated. Then he said — 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you, I will tell Anna 
 Chlannach the first time I see her. Good morning. Miss 
 Stanley ! " 
 
 But Mary would not have that ; she said boldly — 
 
 " Are you not going down to the village ? — won't you 
 walk with us ? " 
 
 He could hardly refuse the invitation ; and as they went
 
 A CROFTERS' COMMISSION 167 
 
 on towards the little township, what she was saying in hex- 
 heart was this — ' ' Here, you people, all of you, if you are at 
 your cottage doors or working on your crofts, don't you see 
 this now, that Mr. Ross of Heimra is walking with me, 
 with all the world to witness 1 Do you understand what 
 that means ? It is true my uncle drained Loch Heimra 
 and tore down Castle Heimra into a heap of ruins ; and 
 the Rosses of Heimra, and you also, may have had reason 
 to hate the name of Stanley ; But look at this — look at 
 Young Donald walking with me — in a kind of a way 
 proclaiming himself my friend — and consider what that 
 means. A feud 1 There is no feud if he and I say there 
 shall be none. I cannot i-estore Castle Heimra, but it is 
 within his power to forgive and to forget." 
 
 That is what she was somewhat proudly saying to herself 
 as they walked into the village — past the smithy — past 
 the weaver's cottage — past the school-house — past the post- 
 office — past the inn and its dependencies ; and she hoped 
 that every one would see, and reflect. But of course she 
 could not speak in that fashion to Donald Ross. 
 
 " You might have told me about Anna Chlannach before," 
 she said. 
 
 " I did not like to interfere," he made answer. 
 
 " You seem very sensitive on that point ! " she retorted. 
 
 " Well, it is natural," he said, with something of reserve ; 
 and instinctively she felt that she could go no further 
 in that direction. 
 
 " Are you remaining long on the mainland at present ? " 
 she asked, in an ordinary kind of way. 
 
 " Until this afternoon only : I shall go back to Heimra 
 after the mail-cart has come in." 
 
 " It must be very lonely out there," she said — glancing 
 towards the remote island among the grey and driven seas. 
 
 " It is lonely — now," he said. 
 
 And then she hesitated. For he had never spoken 
 to her of his circumstances in any way whatever ; he had 
 always been so distant and respectful ; and she hardly 
 knew whether she might venture to betray any interest. 
 But at length she said — 
 
 "I can very well understand that there must be a charm 
 in living all by one's self in a lonely island like that — for a
 
 i68 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 time, at least — and yet — ^yet — it does seem like throwing 
 away one's opportunities. I think I should want some 
 definite occupation — among my fellow creatures." 
 
 "Oh, yes, no doubt," said he, in no wise taking her 
 timorous suggestion as a reproach. "In my own case, I 
 could not leave the island so long as my mother was aHve ; 
 I never even thought of such a thing ; so that being shut 
 up in Eilean Heimra was not in the least irksome to me. 
 Not in the least. She and I were sufficient companions 
 for each other anywhere. But now it is different. Now 
 I am free to look about. And T am reading up for the 
 Bar as a preliminary step." 
 
 "Oh, indeed?" said she. "Do you mean to practise 
 as a lawyer ? " 
 
 "No, I think not," he made reply; and now Kathchen 
 was indeed listening with interest — more interest than 
 she usually displayed over rents and drains and sheriffs 
 decrees. "But being a barrister is a necessary qualifica- 
 tion for a good many appointments ; and if I were once 
 called to the Bar I might perhaps get some sort of post 
 in one of the colonies." 
 
 " In one of the colonies ? " Mary repeated ; " and leave 
 Eilean Heimra for ever % " 
 
 "Well, I don't know about that," said he, absently. 
 " At all events, I should not like to part with the island 
 — I mean, I should not like to sell it. It is the last little 
 bit of a foothold ; and the name has been in our family for 
 a long while ; and — and there are other associations. No ; 
 rather than sell the bit of an island, I think I should be 
 content to remain a prisoner there for the rest of my life. 
 However, all that is in the air at present," he continued 
 more lightly. "The main thing is that I am not quite so 
 lonely out at Eilean Heimra as you might imagine — I 
 have my books for companions any way." 
 
 "Then you are very busy ?" she said, thoughtfully. " I must 
 not say I am sorry ; and yet I was going to ask you " 
 
 "I should be very busy indeed," said he, "if I could 
 not find time to do anything for you that you wished me 
 to do." (And here Kathchen said proudly to herself : 
 ' Well, Mamie, and what do you think of that as a speech 
 for a Highlander 1 ')
 
 A CROFTERS' COMMISSION I69 
 
 "Ah, but this is something rather serious," said she. 
 " The fact is, I want to form a little private commission — 
 a commission among ourselves — for the resettlement of the 
 whole estate. I want every crofter's case fully investi- 
 gated ; every grievance, if he has any, inquired into ; all 
 the rents overhauled and reduced to what is quite easy and 
 practicable and just; and a percentage of the arrears — 
 perhaps all the arrears — cut off, if it is found desirable. 
 I want to be able to say : ' There, now, I have done what 
 is fair on my side : are you going to do what is fair on 
 yours 1 ' And I have got Mr. "Watson to consent to give 
 up the pasturage of Meall-na-Cruagan ; and that must be 
 valued and taken off his rent ; and then when the pas- 
 turage is divided among the Cruagan crofters — oh, well, 
 perhaps I shan't ask them for anything ! " 
 
 " You seem to wish to act very generously by them," 
 said he with a grave simplicity. 
 
 " Oh, I tell you I have plenty of schemes ! " she said, 
 half laughing at her own enthusiasm. "But I get no 
 sympathy — no encouragement. There is Miss Glendinning, 
 who simply sits and mocks " 
 
 " Mamie, how can you say such things ! " Kathchen 
 protested — for what would this handsome young gentleman 
 from Heimra think of her ? 
 
 "I have two new hand-looms coming next week," 
 Mary continued; "and I am going to send to the Inver- 
 ness Exhibition, and to Dudley House, if there is another 
 bazaar held there ; and I am going to give local prizes, 
 too ; and I may get over some of the Harris people to 
 show them the best dyes, and so forth. But all that will 
 take time ; and in the meanwhile I am chiefly anxious 
 to put myself right with the tenants by means of this 
 commission and a complete revision of the rents. A com- 
 mission they can trust — formed of people they know " 
 
 " They will be ill to please if they don't meet you half 
 way — and gladly," said young Ross, 
 
 Mary Stanley's eyes shone with pleasure at these hopeful 
 words : she had not met with much encouragement hitherto. 
 " Does Mr. Watson know Gaelic ? " was her next ques- 
 tion. 
 
 " In a kind of a way, I should imagine," he said. " He
 
 170 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 is a south country man ; but I should think he knew as 
 much Gaelic as was necessary for his business." 
 
 " And to talk to the people about general things — about 
 their crops — and their rents ?" she asked again. 
 
 " In a kind of a way he might." 
 
 "But you — you know Gaelic very well?" she said. 
 
 "I think I may fairly say that I do," he confessed 
 frankly enough. 
 
 "Then," said she, "if you could find the time, would 
 not that be sufficient to form a commission — Mr. Watson, 
 and you, and I ? There would be no kind of conflicting 
 interests ; and we should all want to do what was equit- 
 able and right by the people." 
 
 " Oh," said he, in a wondering sort of way, "there would 
 be only these three — Mr. Watson, yourself, and I ? " 
 
 "Mr. Purdie," said she, "would simply be a kind 
 of clerk " 
 
 And instantly his face changed. 
 
 "Mr. Purdie," said he, "is he coming to take part in it?" 
 
 " Only as a kind of clerk," she said quickly. " He 
 would merely register our decisions. And of course he 
 knows the people and all the circumstances ; he could give 
 us what information we wanted, and we could form our own 
 judgment." 
 
 But there was no return to his face of that sympa- 
 thetic interest that she had read there for a brief moment 
 or two. His manner had entirely altered ; and as they 
 were now close to Lochgarra House, he had to take his 
 leave. 
 
 "As far as I am concerned. Miss Stanley," said he, "I 
 would rather leave this resettlement in Mr. Purdie's hands. 
 Intermeddlers only make mischief, and get little thanks 
 for their pains." 
 
 She was disappointed and hurt; and yet too proud to 
 appeal further. He bade them good-bye — a little coldly, 
 as Kathchen thought — and left ; and Mary Stanley and 
 her friend went into the house. All that Mary said was — 
 
 " Well, we must do the best we can, Mr. Watson, Mr. 
 Purdie, and myself. I don't suppose Mr. Watson has any 
 reason to be stiff-necked, and malevolent, and revengeful." 
 
 A couple of days thereafter Mr. Purdie arrived ; and
 
 A CROFTERS' COMMISSION 171 
 
 the Little Red Dwarf a^Dpeared to bear with much 
 equanimity the rating that Miss Stanley administered to 
 him over his action in the James Macdonald case. 
 
 " Oh, ay," said he, " Macdonald will find out now who 
 is master — the law, or himself. He is the most ill-con- 
 deetioned man in the whole district — an ill-condeetioned, 
 thrawn, contentious rascal, and the worst example possible 
 for his neighbours ; but he'll find out now ; he'll find out 
 
 that the law is not to be defied with impunity " 
 
 "What do you mean?" said she. "I told you to stop 
 all proceedmgs." 
 
 "I cannot stop the Procurator-Fiscal," said the Troich 
 Blieag Dhearg, grimly, "when he institutes a prosecution 
 for deforcement of the sheriff's officer." 
 
 " But I got the sherifi''s officer to go away peaceably," 
 said she ; " and I told him that the case would be inquired 
 into." 
 
 "Just that," replied Mr. Purdie, with a certain self- 
 assurance. " But it was not the business of the sherifl^'s 
 officer to inquire into the case at all. He had merely 
 to execute the sheriff's warrant ; and in doing that, as he 
 now declares, he was deforced. Macdonald will find out 
 whether he can set the law at defiance — even with that 
 mischief-making ne'er-do-weel Donald Ross at his elbow 
 egging him on." 
 
 " Mr. Ross did not egg him on ! " said Mary Stanley 
 indignantly ; " for I was there, and saw the whole trans- 
 action. Mr. Ross interfered for the sake of peace, or there 
 would have been murder done." 
 
 " Ay 1 and I wonder what right has Mr. Ross to interfere 
 wi' the Lochgarra tenants ! " said Mr. Purdie, rather scorn- 
 fully — ^but with an angry light twinkling in his small blue 
 eyes. 
 
 " Because I asked him," said Mary, drawing herself up. 
 " And I will ask him again, when it suits me." 
 
 Mr, Purdie said nothing. His heavily down-drawn 
 mouth was more than usually dogged in expression ; and 
 it was with difficulty Mary extracted from him the in- 
 formation that the punishment the sherifi" would most likely 
 inflict on Macdonald was a fine of forty shillings, with the 
 alternative of three weeks' imprisonment.
 
 172 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " I will pay the fine," said she, promptly. " I did not 
 authorise you to have that man. turned out of his croft ; 
 and I won't have any one turned out until I have a thorough 
 investigation made, and the rents revised, and the arrears 
 cancelled." 
 
 But when she proceeded to place before him the compre- 
 hensive project she had formed — to carry out which he had 
 been summoned from Inverness — the factor abandoned his 
 obstinate attitude, and became almost plaintive. 
 
 " Ye'U ruin the estate, Miss Stanley ; and ye'll not make 
 these people one whit more contented. Have I not had 
 experience of them, years and years before you ever came 
 to the place 1 And now that the Land League is their god, 
 nothing will satisfy them but getting crofts and farms, 
 arable land and pasture, all rent free, and the landlords 
 taking the first train for the South. The poor, deluded 
 craytures — if it was not for their spite and ill-will one could 
 almost peety them ; for what would be the advantage to 
 them of a lot of useless land, with no stock to put on it % 
 But maybe they expect to have the stock bought and given 
 to them as well ? I would not wonder % There's they 
 scoundrels in the newspapers, that do not know the differ- 
 ence between a barn-door and a peat-stack, they've filled 
 the heads o' the ignorant craytures with all kinds of 
 nonsense, and they would have the deer-forests divided up 
 — the deer-forests ! — they might as well try to plough, sow, 
 and reap the Atlantic — " 
 
 "All that does not concern me," she said, interrupting 
 him without scruple. " What does concern me is to have 
 myself put right, in the first place. That is to say, I wish 
 to have rents fixed that the people can pay without getting 
 into arrears — just rents, so that they can have no right to 
 complain." 
 
 " Ay, and ye'll go on remitting this and remitting that," 
 said the factor ; " and if ye remitted everything they would 
 still grumble ! I tell ye. Miss Stanley, I've had experience ! 
 and it's not the way to treat these people. The more ye 
 give them, the more they'll ask. What you consider justice, 
 they will consider weakness ; they will expect more and 
 more ; and complain if they do not get it. I'm telling ye 
 the truth. Miss Stanley, about these idle, and ill-willed, and
 
 A CROFTERS' COMMISSION 173 
 
 ill-thrawn craytures : what you propose is no the way to 
 
 deal wi' them at all " 
 
 "But I propose to take that way none the less," said 
 Mary. And Kathchen, sitting there, and listening, and 
 regarding the Troich Bheag Dhearg, said to herself : ' My 
 good friend, you have tremendous shoulders and a powerful 
 mouth, and suspicious and vindictive eyes ; but you don't 
 in the least know with whom you have to do. Your 
 obstinacy won't answer ; and if you are discreet you wil] 
 allow it to subside.' 
 
 " I have done my best for the estate," he said, with 
 some stiffness. 
 
 " Yes," said Mary, " no doubt. But then the result that 
 has been arrived at is not quite satisfactory — according to 
 modern notions. Perhaps the old way was the best ; but 
 I am going to try the new — and I suppose I can do what 
 I like with my own, as the saying is. And so, Mr. Purdie, 
 I wish you to go out to-morrow morning and call on Mr. 
 Watson, and give him my compliments — oh, no," she said, 
 interrupting herself : " on second thoughts, I will drive out 
 to Craiglarig myself — for it is a great favour I have to ask. 
 Will you dine with us this evening, Mr. Purdie 1 " 
 
 " I thank ye, but I hope ye'll excuse me," said the factor. 
 " I have some various things to look into, and I'll just 
 give the evening to them at the inn." 
 
 "Then we shall see you in the morning" — and there- 
 withal the Little Red Dwarf took his departure. 
 
 Now to tell the truth, when the sheep-farmer of Craig- 
 larig was asked to assist in this scheme, he did not express 
 himself very hopefully as to the issue ; but he was a good- 
 natured man ; and he said he would place as much of his 
 time at Miss Stanley's disposal as he reasonably could. 
 And so they set to work to revalue the crofts. No doubt 
 the composition of this amateur court might have been 
 impugned, for it consisted of the o\<^ner of the estate, her 
 factor, and her chief tenant ; but then again Mary con- 
 stituted herself, from the very outset, the champion of the 
 occupants of the smaller holdings, Mr. Purdie took the side 
 of the landlords, while Mr. Watson, apart from his services 
 as interpreter, maintained a benevolent neutrality. It was 
 slow and not inspiriting work ; for the crofters did not
 
 174 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 seem to believe that auy amelioration of their condition was 
 really meant ; they were too afraid to speak, or too sullen 
 to speak ; and when they did speak, in many cases their 
 demands were preposterous. But Mary stuck to her task. 
 
 " I must put myself right, to begin with," she said, as she 
 had said all along. " Thereafter we will see." 
 
 And sometimes she would look out towards Heimra 
 Island; and there was a kind of reproach in her heart. 
 How much easier would all this have been for them, if 
 only young Ross had consented to put aside for the moment 
 that fierce internecine feud between hun and the factor ! 
 Was Mr. Purdie, she asked herself, the sort of man that 
 Donald Ross of Heimra should raise to the rank of being 
 his enemy ? However, the days passed, and there was no 
 sign — no glimmer of the white sails of the Sirene coming 
 away from the distant shores — no mention of the young 
 master having been seen anywhere on the mainland. 
 
 " I warrant," said Mr. Purdie, when some remark chanced 
 to be made, " I warrant I can tell where that cheat-the- 
 gallows is off to — away to France for more o' that smuggled 
 brandy so that he can spend his days and nights in drunken- 
 ness and debauchery 1 " 
 
 "You forget, Mr. Purdie," said Kathchen, with some- 
 thing very nearly approaching disdain, " that we have made 
 the acquaintance of Mr. Ross, and know something of 
 himself and his habits." 
 
 " Do ye 1 " he said, turning upon her. " I tell ye, ye 
 do not ! And a good thing ye do not ! A smooth-tongued 
 hypocrite — specious — sly — it is well for ye that ye are 
 ignorant of what that poaching, mischief-making dare-devil 
 really is ; but ye'll find out in time — ye'll find out in time." 
 
 And indeed it was not until the self-appointed commission 
 had done its work, and Mr. Purdie liad gone away to the 
 south again, that young Ross of Heimra reappeared, he 
 said he had heard of what had been arranged; and he 
 thought Miss Stanley had been most generous. This casual 
 encounter took place just as Mary and Kate Glendinning 
 were nearing Lochgarra House ; and when they had gone 
 inside, Kathchen said — 
 
 " Well, I don't know what has come over you, Mamie. 
 You used always to be so self-possessed — to seem as if you
 
 HER GUEST 175 
 
 were conferring a favour by merely looking at any one. 
 And now, when you stand for a few minutes talking to 
 Mr. Ross, you are quite nervous and shamefaced — and 
 apparently anxious for the smallest sign of approval " 
 
 " You have far too much imagination, Kathchen," said 
 Mary, as she went off to her own room. 
 
 And then again, that same night, Kathchen was at one 
 of the windows, looking out. She could not distinguish 
 anything, for it was quite dark ; she could only hear the 
 wind howling in from the sea. 
 
 " Do you know where you should be at this moment, 
 Mamie % " she said. "You ought to be going up the grand 
 staircase of some great opera-house — your cloak of crimson 
 velvet, white -furred— the diamonds in your hair shining 
 through your lace hood — and you should have at least 
 three gentlemen to escort you to your box, carrying opera- 
 glasses, and flowers. That's more like you. And yet here 
 you banish yourself away to this out-of-the-world place — 
 you seek for no amusement — you busy yourself all day 
 about peats, and drains, and seed-potatoes — and the highest 
 reward you set before yourself is to get a half-hearted 
 ' Thank you ' from a sulky crofter " 
 
 "Kathchen," said Mary, "I would advise you to read 
 the third chapter of the General Epistle of James." 
 
 "Ah, well," said Kathchen — and she was not deeply 
 offended by that hint about the bridling of the tongue — 
 " wait till your brother and Mr. Frank Meredyth come up 
 — and you'll find them saying the same thing. Philanthropy 
 is all very well ; but you need not make yourself a white 
 slave." And then she turned to the black window again, 
 and to her visions. "There's one thing, Mamie: I wish 
 Mr. Ross could see you going up that grand stair-case." 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HER GUEST. 
 
 "It will be all different now," said Kathchen, one evening, 
 when they were come to within a week of the arrival of 
 Mary's brother and his friend Prank Meredyth. "And 
 you deserve some little rest, Mamie, and some little amuse-
 
 176 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 ment, after all your hard work. And I want you to be 
 considerate — towards Mr. Meredyth, I mean. It isn't 
 merely grouse and grilse that are bringing him here. You 
 know what your brother says — that there is no one in 
 such request for shooting parties ; he could just have his 
 pick of invitations, all over Scotland, every autumn; so 
 you may be sure it isn't merely for the grouse and the 
 salmon-fishing he is coming to a little plnce like Lochgarra. 
 Oh, you need not pretend to deny it, Mamie ! And all I 
 want is that you should be a little considerate. He may be 
 very anxious to have you, and yet not quite so anxious to 
 take over your hobby as well. He may not even be 
 interested in the price of home-knitted stockings." 
 
 Mary Stanley did not answer just at once. The two 
 girls were slowly walking up and down the stone terrace 
 outside the house. It was ten o'clock at night ; but it was 
 not yet dark, nor anything approaching to dark. All the 
 world was of a pale, clear, wan lilac colour ; and in this 
 coldly luminous twihght any white object — the front of a 
 cottage, for example, or the little Free Church building 
 across the bay — appeared starthngly distinct. There was 
 an absolute silence ; the sea was still ; two hours ago the 
 sun had gone down behind what seemed a vast and motion- 
 less lake of molten copper ; and now there was a far- 
 reaching expanse of pearly grey, with the long headlands 
 and Eilean Heimra gathering shadows around them. The 
 heavens were cloudless and serene ; over the sombre hills 
 in the east a star throbbed here and there, but it had to be 
 sought for. There appeared to be neither lamp nor candle 
 down in the village — there was no need of them on these 
 magical summer nights. 
 
 "I do not see that it will be so difierent," said Mary, 
 presently. " Fred will have to look after Mr. Meredyth. 
 No doubt there will be something of a commotion in so 
 quiet a place — the dogs, and keepers, and ponies ; by the 
 way, there will be gillies wanted for the fishing as well as 
 for the shooting later on " 
 
 Kathchen began to snigger a little. 
 
 " I do believe, Mamie," she said, " that that is all the 
 interest you have in the shooting — it will provide so much 
 more employment for your beloved crofters."
 
 HER GUEST I77 
 
 ''Oh, yes, I suppose the place will be a little more brisk 
 and Kvely," Mary continued, " though that won't improve 
 it much in my estimation. I wonder what made Fred hire 
 that wretched little steam-launch." She looked towards 
 the tiny vessel that was lying close to the quay : the small 
 white funnel and the decks forward were visible in the 
 mystic twilight ; the hvdl was less clearly defined. " Fancy 
 that thing coming sputtering and crackling into the bay 
 on a beautiful night like this ! " 
 
 " It would be very handy to take a message out to 
 Heimra Island," said Kathchen, demurely. 
 
 Mary glanced at her, and laughed. 
 
 " My dear Kathchen, curiosity is a humiliating weak- 
 ness ; but I will tell you what is in the letter that is 
 lying on the hall table — and that is likely to lie there, 
 unless a wind springs up from some quarter to-morrow. 
 It is an invitation to Mr. Ross to come and dine with us 
 on Monday next." 
 
 " Monday ? " said Kate Glendinning, looking surprised. 
 "The very day your brother and Mr. Meredyth come 
 here?" 
 
 "For that very reason," said Mary. "I wish Mr. Ross 
 to understand why we have never asked him to dine with 
 us — well, of course he would understand for himself — two 
 girls, living by themselves — and — and knowing him only 
 for so short a time. But now, you see, I ask him for the 
 very first evening that my brother is in the house — and 
 that's all right and correct — if there's any Mrs. Grundy in 
 Lochgarra." 
 
 " The Free Church Minister ! " said Kathchen, spitefully 
 — for she had never forgiven the good man for his having 
 kept aloof from the fray at Ru-]Minard. 
 
 " Mr. Ross has been very kind to me — in his reserved 
 and distant way," Mary said, " and I should not like him 
 to think me ungrateful " 
 
 " He cannot do that," said Kathchen, " if he hasn't been 
 blind to what your eyes have said to him again and again." 
 
 " What do you mean, Kathchen ? " Mary demanded — at 
 once alarmed and resentful. 
 
 Kathchen retreated quickly : it had been a careless 
 remark. 
 
 N
 
 178 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Oh, I don't mean anything. I mean your eyes have 
 said ' Thank you,' again and again ; and it is but right they 
 should. He has indeed been very thoughtful and kind — 
 and always so respectful — keeping himself in the back- 
 ground. Oh, you need not be afraid, Mamie : you won't 
 find me suggesting that you shouldn't have the most frank 
 and friendly relations with Mr. Eoss. At the same 
 time- " 
 
 " Yes, at the same time ? " 
 
 "I was wondering," said Kiithchen, with a little hesita- 
 tion, "how he might get on with your brother and 
 Mr. Meredyth — or rather, how they might get on with 
 him " 
 
 " My brother and Mr. Meredyth," said Mary, a little 
 proudly, " will remember that Mr. Ross is my guest : that 
 will be enough." 
 
 But Kate Glendinning's uneasy forecast was not without 
 some justification — as Mary was soon to discover. The 
 two visitors from the South arrived on the Monday after- 
 noon, and there were many curious eyes covertly following 
 the waggonette as it drove through the village. Of the 
 two strangers, the taller, who was Mary Stanley's brother, 
 vv^as a young fellow of about four or five-and-twenty, good 
 looking rather, of the fair English type, with an aquiline 
 nose, a pretty little yellow-wliite moustache, and calm grey 
 eyes. His companion, some eight or ten years older, was 
 of middle height, or perhaps a trifle under, active and wiry- 
 looking, with a sun-tanned face, a firm mouth, and shrewd 
 eyes, that on the whole were also good-natured. Both of 
 the travellers were in high spirits — and no wonder : they 
 had heard good accounts of the grouse ; they had just 
 caught a glimpse of the Garra, which had plenty of water 
 after the recent rains ; over there was the little steam 
 launch that could amuse them nov/ and again for an idle 
 hour ; and beyond the bay, the big, odd-looking house, 
 against its background of fir and larch, seemed to oflfer 
 them a hospitable welcome. 
 
 Mary was at the top of the semicircular flight of stairs 
 to greet them ; but even as she accompanied them into the 
 great oak hall she instinctively felt that there was some- 
 thing unusual in her brother's manner towards her. And
 
 HER GUEST 179 
 
 wlien, presently, IMr. Mei-edyth had been taken away to be 
 sliown his own room, Fred Stanley remained behind ; 
 Iviithchen had not yet put in an appearance, for some 
 reason or another. 
 
 " Well, what's the matter, Fred ? " Mary said at once. 
 
 He had been kicking about the drawing-room in a 
 discontented fashion, staring out of the windows or 
 glancing at the engravings while his friend was there ; 
 but now these two were alone. 
 
 " The matter % " said he. " Plenty the matter ! I don't 
 like to find that you have been making a fool of yourself, 
 and that you are still bent on making a fool of yourself." 
 
 " But we can't help it if we are born that way," she 
 said, sweetly. 
 
 " Oh, you knov/ quite well what I mean," said this tall 
 young gentleman with the boyish moustache. " I had 
 heard something of it before ; but I thought we might as 
 well stop the night at Inverness on the way north ; and I 
 saw Mr. Purdie. Now, mind you, Mamie, don't you take 
 it into your head that Purdie said anything against you 
 — he did not. He's a shrewd-headed fellow, and knows 
 which side his bread is buttered. But he answered my 
 questions. And I find you have just been ruining this 
 place — turning the whole neighbourhood into a pauper 
 asylum — and — and flinging the thing away, as you might 
 call it." 
 
 "But it wasn't left to you, Fred," she reminded him, 
 gently. " And I have been doing my best — after inquiry." 
 
 "Oh, I know," he said impatiently; "you've been got 
 at by a lot of sentimentalists in London — faddists — 
 slummers — popularity hunters ; and now, here in the 
 Highlands, you have been working into the hands of those 
 a.gitator fellows who are trying to stir up anarchy and 
 rebellion everywhere : and you let yourself be imposed 
 upon by a parcel of scheming and cunning crofters, who 
 don't thank you, to begin with, and who would pull doAvn 
 this house to the ground and burn it the moment your 
 back was turned if they dared." 
 
 " You haven't been very long in Lochgarra," said she, 
 with much good humour, " but you seem to have used 
 
 your time industriously. You know all about it " 
 
 N 2
 
 i8o DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "Oh, it isn't only this place!" he said. "Every one 
 who reads the papers — who knows anything of the High- 
 lands — is aware of what is going on. And you have 
 allowed yourself to be taken in ! For the credit of the 
 family — for the sake of your own common sense — ^you 
 might have waited a Kttle. Here was Mr. Purdie, who 
 knew the place, who knew the people ; but you must needs 
 take the whole matter in your own hands, and begin to 
 throw away your money right and left, as if you had come 
 into a dukedom ? What do you suppose is the rental now 
 — after all your abatements ? " 
 
 " Well, I don't exactly know," said she. " But isn't it 
 better to take what the people can really give you than 
 nothing at all ? You can't live on arrears % And, my dear 
 Fred, what cause have you to grumble ? The amount of 
 rent affects me only ; whereas I offer you the shooting and 
 fishing, which has nothing to do with these matters. 
 Why can't you amuse yourself and let me alone ? What 
 I have done I have considered. I have inquired into the 
 condition of these people. To make rents practicable is 
 not to throw away money. Indeed — but I am not going 
 to discuss the question with you at all. Go away and get 
 out your flybook, and take Mr. Meredyth down to the 
 Garra, and see if you can pick up a grilse before dinner." 
 
 But he was not to be put off by her bland amiability. 
 
 " Of course," said he, " it is very kind of you to offer 
 me the fishing and the shooting ; but I should have been 
 better pleased to have had them without encumbrances." 
 
 "What do you mean?" said she. 
 
 "Why, who has the fishing and shooting here?" said he. 
 "This poaching scoundrel. Boss. I am told the whole 
 place is in league with him. He can do what he likes." 
 
 " And what further information did you gather at Inver- 
 ness ? " she asked, rather comtemptuously. 
 
 " Well, but look here, Mamie," he remonstrated, with a 
 sense of his wrongs gaining upon him. " Consider the 
 position you have put me in. You know how Frank is in 
 request at this time of the year — a thundering good shot 
 — and used to managing things about country-houses " 
 
 "As well as leading cotillons in London," she interposed, 
 with smiling eyes.
 
 HER GUEST i8i 
 
 " And why not % " said he, boldly. " Oh, I suppose you 
 consider that effeminate : you would rather have him living 
 among rocks and caves, like this smuggling fellow, and 
 shooting seagulls for his dinner ? However, look at my 
 position. I ask him to come down with me, at your 
 suggestion. I tell him it isn't a grand shooting — and that 
 he'll get more sea-trout than salmon in the river — but he 
 comes all the same ; and then we discover that the whole 
 place is at the mercy of this idling blackguard of a fellow 
 — if we get a few birds or find a pool undisturbed, it is 
 with his sufferance " 
 
 " So you have acquired all this information at Inver- 
 ness ? " said she. " But I wouldn't entirely trust it if I 
 were you. I am afraid Mr. Purdie is rather prejudiced. 
 He may have been exaggerating. However, if there is 
 any truth in what he says, I'll tell you what you ought 
 to do : ask Mr. Ross to join your shooting and fishing 
 parties. You'll meet him. to-night at dinner." 
 
 " Here — in this house ? " he exclaimed, jumping to his 
 feet. " Mamie, are you mad % " 
 
 "I hope not," she said quietly. "But Mr. Ross has been 
 very kind to me of late, in helping me in various little 
 ways ; and as I couldn't well ask him to dinner when only 
 Kate and I were in the house, I took the first opportunity 
 after your arrival " 
 
 "And so Frank and I, after being warned that the 
 great annoyance and vexation we should find in the place is 
 this fellow Ross, are coolly informed that we are to meet 
 him at dinner, and I suppose we are expected to be civil to 
 him!" 
 
 "I certainly do expect you to be civil to him," said 
 Mary. 
 
 " Oh, but it's too bad ! " he said, impatiently, and he 
 went to the window and turned his back on her. And 
 then he faced round again. " I wonder what Franlc will 
 think ! I was almost ashamed to ask him to come here, 
 even as it was — a small shooting, not much fishing, and 
 the stalking merely a chance ; but, all the same, he accepts ; 
 then the first thing we hear of on reaching Inverness is all 
 about this vexation and underhand going on ; and the next 
 thing is that we are asked to meet at dinner the very
 
 1 82 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 person who causes all the trouble ! Now, Maraie, I appeal 
 to yourself, don't you think it is a little too hard ? " 
 
 She hesitated. She began to fear she had been thought 
 less — indiscreet — too much taken up with her own plans 
 and projects. 
 
 "At all events, Fred," she pleaded, "your meeting Mr. 
 Ross at dinner can't matter one way or the other — and 
 you will be able to judge for yourself. To me he does not 
 seem the kiad of young man you would suspect of spending 
 his time in poaching ; in fact, as I understand it, he is 
 looking forward to being called to the Bar, and I should 
 think he was busier with books than with cartridges or 
 salmon flies." 
 
 "You are sure he said he would come to-night % " asked 
 this young Fred Stanley, looking at his sister. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Definitely promised ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "Well, I don't thinlc he will." 
 
 " Why % " 
 
 "Because," said the young man, as he went leisurely 
 towards the door, " there might be a question of evening 
 dress. You haven't a Court tailor at Lochgarra, have 
 you?" 
 
 Mary flushed slightly. 
 
 "I don't care whether he appears in evening dress or 
 not," said she. "Most likely he will come along from his 
 yacht ; and a yachting suit is as good as any — in my 
 eyes." 
 
 That evening, when the young hostess came downstairs, 
 the large drawing-room was all suffused with a soft warmth 
 of colour, for the sun was just sinking behiad the violet- 
 grey Atlantic, and the glory of the western skies streamed 
 in through the several windows. Kathchen was here ; and 
 Kathchen's eyes lighted up with pleasure when she saw 
 how Mary was attired. And yet could any costume have 
 been simpler than this dress of cream-coloured China sUk, 
 its only ornamentation being a bunch of deep crimson 
 fuchsias at the opening of the bodice, with another cluster 
 of the same flowers at her belt ? She wore no jewellery of 
 any kind whatsoever.
 
 HER GUEST 183 
 
 " That is more like you, Mamie," said Katlichen, coming 
 forward with a proud and admiring scrutiny. " I want 
 Mr. Ross to see you in something different from your 
 ordinary workaday things. And you look taller, too, 
 somehow. And fairer- — or is that the light from the 
 windows % " 
 
 At this very moment the door was opened, and Mr. Ross 
 was announced. Mary turned — with some little self- 
 conscious expectation. And here was Young Donald of 
 Heimra, in faultless evening dress ; and there was a quiet 
 look of friendliness in his eyes as he came forward and took 
 the hand that was offered him. Kathchen said to herself : 
 "Why is it that the full shirt-front and white tie suit 
 dark men so well 1 And why doesn't he dress like that 
 every evening'?" For Kathchen did not know that that 
 was precisely what Donald Ross had been in the habit of 
 doing all the years that his mother and he had lived out in 
 that remote island ; it was a little compliment he paid her ; 
 and she liked that bit of make-believe of ceremony in the 
 monotony of their isolated life. 
 
 The new-comers who had arrived that afternoon were 
 somewhat late; for they had gone down to the river to 
 have a cast or two — a futile proceeduig in the blazing 
 sunlight ; but presently they made their appearance, and 
 were in due course introduced to Donald Ross. Kathchen, 
 who was as usual a keen and interested observer, and who 
 had heard of Fred Stanley's indignant protest, could not 
 but admire the perfect good breeding he displayed on being 
 thus brought face to face with his enemy. But indeed 
 the ordinary every-day manner of a well-educated young 
 Englishman — its curious impassivity, its lack of self- 
 assertion — is a standing puzzle for foreigners and for 
 Americans. What is the origin of it 1 Blank stupidity ? 
 Or a serene contempt for the opuiion of others? Or a 
 determination not to commit one's self ? Or an affectation 
 of having already seen and done everything worth seeing 
 and doing? Anyhow, Fred Stanley's demeanour towards 
 this stranger and intruder was perfect in its negative way ; 
 and so was that of his friend, though Franli Meredyth, by 
 virtue of his superior years, allowed himself to be a little 
 more careless and off-hand. However, there was not much
 
 1 84 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 time for forming surmises or jumping to conclusions j fol 
 presently dinner was announced. 
 
 "Mr. Meredyth, will you take in IMiss Glendinning ? " 
 Mary said. "Fred, I'm sorry we've nobody for you." And 
 therewithal she turned to Donald Ross, and took his arm, 
 and these two followed the first couple into the dining- 
 room. Young Ross sate at her right hand, of course ; he 
 was her chief guest ; the others belonged to the house. 
 
 It was rather an animated little party ; for if the Twelfth 
 was as yet some way off, there were plenty of speculations 
 as to what the Garra was likely to yield in the way of 
 grilse and sea-trout. Kathchen noticed that Donald Ross 
 spoke but little, and that they seldom appealed to him ; 
 indeed, Mr. Meredyth, professing to have met with un- 
 varying ill-luck on every stream he had ever fished, Avas 
 devising an ideal salmon-river on which the sportsman 
 would not be continually exposed to the evil strokes of 
 fate. 
 
 " What you want first of all," said he, " is to regulate the 
 water-supply. At present when I go to a salmon-river, one 
 of two things is certain to happen : either it's in roaring 
 flood, and quite unfishable, or else — and this is the more 
 common — it has dwindled away all to nothing, and you 
 might as well begin and throw a fly over a pavement in 
 Piccadilly. Very well; what you want is to turn the 
 mountain-lochs into reservoirs ; you bank up the surplus 
 water in the hills ; and then, in times of drought, when the 
 river has got low, and would be otherwise unfishable, you 
 send up the keepers to the sluices, turn on a supply, and 
 freshen the pools, so that the fish wake up, and wonder what's 
 going to happen. That is one thing. Then there's another. 
 You know that even when the water is in capital order, 
 you may go down day by day, and find it impossible to get 
 a single cast because of the blazing sunlight. That is a 
 terrible misfortune •, for you are all the time aware, as 
 you sit on the bank, and hopelessly watch for clouds, that 
 the fine weather is drying up the hills, and that very soon 
 the stream will have dwindled away again. Very well; 
 what you want for that is an enormous awning, that can 
 be moved from pool to pool, and high enough not to inter- 
 fere with the casting. By that means, you see, you could
 
 HER GUEST 185 
 
 transfer any portion of a Highland stream into the land 
 where it is always afternoon ; and the fish, thinking the 
 cool of the evening had already come, would begin to 
 disport themselves and play with the pretty little coloured 
 things that the current brought down. Look at the saving 
 of time ! Generally, in the middle of the day, there is a 
 horrible long interval when nothing will move in a river. 
 Whether it is the heat, or the sunlight, or the general 
 drowsiness of nature, there's hardly ever anything stirring 
 between twelve o'clock and four; and you lie on the 
 bank, and consume a frightful amount of tobacco; and 
 you may even fall asleep, if you have been doing a good 
 deal of night- work in London. But if you have this great 
 canvas screen, that can be stretched from the trees on one 
 side to the poles on the other — very gradually and slowly, 
 like the coming over of the evening — then the little fishes 
 will begin to say to themselves, ' Here, boys, it's time to 
 go out and have some fun,' and you can have fine sport, 
 in spite of all the sunlight that ever blazed. However, 
 I'm afraid you'd want the revenue of some half-a-dozen 
 dukes before you could secure the ideal salmon-river." 
 
 " They're doing so many things with electricity now : 
 couldn't you bring that in ? " said Kathchen. " Couldn't 
 you have an electric shock running out from the butt of 
 the rod the moment the salmon touched the fly ? " 
 
 But this was sheer frivolity. Frank Meredyth suddenly 
 turned to young Ross and said — 
 
 " Oh, you can tell me, Mr. Ross — is the Garra a difficult 
 river to fish % " 
 
 Now this was a perfectly innocent question — not meant 
 as a trap at all ; but Fred Stanley, whose mind had been 
 brooding over the fact that the poacher was actually sitting 
 at table with them, looked startled, and even frightened. 
 Young Ross, on the other hand, appeared in no wise dis- 
 concerted. 
 
 "Really, I can hardly tell you," he said, " I am not 
 much of a fisherman myself — there is no fishing at all on 
 Heimra Island, But I should say it was not a very difii- 
 cult river. Perhaps some of the pools under the woods 
 — just above the bridge, I mean, where the banks are 
 steep — might be a little awkward; but further up it is
 
 1 86 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 much opener ; and further up still you come to long 
 stretches where there isn't a bush' on either side." 
 
 "Then, perhaps, you can't tell me what are the best sea- 
 trout flies for this v/ater?" was the next question — with 
 no evil intent in it. 
 
 " I'm afraid you would imd me an untrustworthy guide," 
 said Donald Ross. " If I were you I would take Hector's 
 advice." 
 
 So there was an end of this matter — and Fred Stanley 
 was much relieved. What he said to himself was this : 
 " If that Spaniard-looking fellow is lying, he has a splendid 
 nerve and can do it well. A magnificent piece of cheek — 
 if it is so ! " 
 
 On the whole, at this unpretentious Httle banquet, 
 Frank Meredyth did most of the talking ; and naturally 
 it was addressed in the first place to Miss Stanley as being 
 at the head of the table. He had had a considerable 
 experience of country houses ; he was gifted with a certain 
 sense of humour ; and he told his stories fairly well — 
 Kathchen rewarding him now and again with a covert 
 little giggle. As for Donald Ross, he sate silent, and 
 reserved, and attentive. He was distinctly the stranger. 
 Not that he betrayed any embairassment, or was ill at 
 ease ; but he seemed to prefer to listen, especially when 
 Mary Stanley happened to be speaking. For, indeed, more 
 than once she let the others go their own way, and turned 
 to him, and engaged him in conversation with herself 
 alone. She found herself timid in doing so. If his manner 
 was always most respectful — and even submissive — his eyes 
 looked uncompromisingly straight at her, and they had a 
 strange, subdued fire in them. When she happened to 
 find his gaze thus fixed on her, she would suddenly grow 
 nervous — stammer — perhaps even forget what she had been 
 saying ; while the joyous chatter of the other three at table 
 went gaily on, fortunately for her. Sometimes she would 
 think it was hardly fair of those others to leave her alone 
 in this way : then again she would remind herself that it 
 was she who was responsible for her guest. It was not 
 that he confused her by an awkward or obstinate silence ; 
 on the contrary, he answered her freely enough, in a 
 gravely courteous way; but he seemed to attach too
 
 HER GUEST 1S7 
 
 much importance to what she said — he seemed to be too 
 grateful for this special attention she was bestowing upon 
 him. And then again she dared hardly look up ; for those 
 black eyes burned so — in a timid, startled way — regarding 
 her as if they would read something behind the mere 
 prettiness of her face and complexion and hair, and ap- 
 parently quite unconscious of their own power. 
 
 At last the ladies rose from the table ; and Mary said — 
 
 "I suppose you gentlemen will be going out on the 
 terrace to smoke ? I wish you would let us come with 
 you. I have not smelt a cigar for months — and it is so 
 deHcious in the evening air." 
 
 There was not very much objection. Chairs were brought 
 out from the hall ; Frank Meredyth perched himself on the 
 stone parapet ; the evening air became odorous, for there 
 was hardly a breath of wind coming up from the bay. 
 And as they sate and looked at the wide expanse of water 
 — with only a chance remark breaking the silence from 
 time to time — it may have occurred to one or other of 
 them that the summer twilight that lay over land and sea 
 was grooving somewhat warmer in tone. It was Mary who 
 discovered the cause : the golden moon was behind them 
 — just over the low, birch-crowned hill ; and the pale 
 radiance lay on the still water in front of them, and on the 
 long spur of land on the other side of the bay, where there 
 were one or two crofters' cottages and fishermen's huts just 
 above the shore. And while they were thus looking abroad 
 over the mystic and sleeping world, a still stranger thing 
 appeared — a more unusual thing for Lochgarra, that is to 
 say — certain moving lights out beyond the point of the 
 headland. 
 
 "Look, Mary!" Kathchen cried. "But that can't be 
 the steamer — she is not due till next Thursday ! " 
 
 Whatever the vessel was, she was obviously making in 
 for the harbour ; for presently they could see both port and 
 starboard lights — a red star and a green star, coming slowly 
 into the still, moonlit bay. 
 
 " It is the Gonsuelo" Donald Ross said to Mary. " It 
 is Lord Mount-Grattan's yacht : she has come down from 
 Loch Laxford." 
 
 They watched her slow progress — this big dark thing
 
 1 88 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 stealing almost noiselessly into the spectral grey world ; 
 they saw her gradually rounding ; the green light dis- 
 appeared ; there was a sudden noise of the reversal of the 
 screw ; then a space of quiet again ; and at last the roar 
 of the anchor. The rare visitor had chosen her position 
 for the night. 
 
 Almost directly thereafter young Ross of Heimra rose 
 and took leave of his hostess— saying a few words of thanks 
 for so pleasant an evening. The others did not go indoors, 
 however ; the still, balmy, moonlight night was too great 
 a temptation. They remained on the terrace, looking at 
 the big black steam-yacht that now lay motionless on the 
 silver-grey water, and listening for the occasional distant 
 sounds that came from it. 
 
 But presently they saw a small boat put off from the 
 shore, rowed by two men, with a third figure in the stern. 
 
 " That is Mr. Ross ! " Kathchen exclaimed. " I know 
 it is — that is his light overcoat." 
 
 " Can he be going away in the yacht ? " Mary said 
 suddenly. 
 
 " Not likely ! " her brother struck in. "When you start 
 off on a yachting cruise you don't go on board in evening 
 dress." And then the young man turned to his male 
 companion. " I say, Frank, don't you think that fellow 
 was lying when he pretended not to know anything about 
 the fishing in the Garra % " 
 
 It was an idle and careless question — perhaps not even 
 meant to be impertinent ; but Mary Stanley flamed up 
 instantly — into white heat. 
 
 " Mr. Ross is — is a gentleman," she said, quite breath- 
 lessly. "And — he was my guest this evening — though 
 you — you did not seem to treat him as such ! " 
 
 Kathchen put her hand gently on her friend's arm. 
 
 " Mamie ! " she said. 
 
 And Frank Meredyth never answered the question : this 
 little incident — and a swift and covert glance he had 
 directed towards the young lady herself — had given him 
 something to think about
 
 ON GARRA'S BANKS 189 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 On garra's banks. 
 
 It soon became sufficiently evident that it was not solely 
 for fishing and shooting that Mr, Frank Meredyth had 
 come to Lochgarra ; keepers, gillies, dogs, guns, fly-books 
 occupied but little of his attention, while Mary Stanley 
 occupied much ; moreover, the zeal with which he pro- 
 secuted his sviit was favoured by an abundance of oppor- 
 tunities. Indeed it must often have occurred to our 
 country cousins — to those of them, at least, who have 
 ventured to speculate on such dark mysteries — that court- 
 ship in a big and busy town like London must be a very 
 difficult thing, demanding all kinds of subterfuges, plans, 
 and lyings-in-wait. Or is it possible at all 1 they may ask, 
 looking around at their own happy chances. The after- 
 service stroU home on a Simday morning, along a honey- 
 suckle lane — the little groups of twos and threes getting 
 widely scattered — is a much more secret and subtle thing 
 than the crowded church-parade of Hyde Park, where every 
 young maiden's features are being watched by a thousand 
 amateur detectives. To sit out a dance is all very well — 
 to take up a position on the staircase and affect to ignore 
 the never-ending procession of ascending and descending 
 guests ; but it is surely inferior to the idle exploration of 
 an old-fashioned rustic garden, with its red-brick walls and 
 courts, its unintentional mazes, its leafy screens — while the 
 tennis-lawn and the shade of trees, and ices and straw- 
 berries, hold the dowagers remote. And if these be the 
 opportunities of the country, look at those of a distant 
 sea-side solitude — the lonely little bays, the intervening 
 headlands, the moonhght wanderings along the magic 
 shores. Even in the day-time, when all this small world 
 of Lochgarra was busy, there were many chances of com- 
 panionship, of which he was not slow to avail himself. The 
 Twelfth was not yet ; the water in the Garra was far too 
 low for fishing ; what better could this young man do than 
 go about with Mary Stanley, admiring her bland, good- 
 natured ways, sympathising in her beneficent labour, and
 
 190 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 participating in it by the only method known to him— = 
 that is to say, by the simple process of purchase? One 
 consequence of all which was that he gradually became the 
 owner of a vast and quite useless collection of home-shapen 
 sticks, home-knitted stockings, homespun plaids, and what 
 not ; although, being only the younger son of a not very 
 wealthy Welsh baronet, Frank Meredyth was not usually 
 supposed to be overburdened witll cash. But he said he 
 would have a sale of these articles when he went south ; 
 and if there were any profit he would return it to Miss 
 Stanley, to be expended as she might think fit. 
 
 The truth is, however, that Maiy was far from encourag- 
 ing him to accompany her on her expeditions ; and would 
 rather have had him go and talk to the keepers about the 
 dogs. For one thing, she did not wish him to know how 
 remote this little community still was from the Golden 
 Age which she hoped in time to establish. For another, 
 she was half afraid that those people whose obduracy she 
 was patiently trying to overcome might suddenly say among 
 themselves, " Oh, here are more strangers come to spy 
 and inquire. And these are the fine gentlemen who have 
 taken away the shooting and the fishing that by rights 
 should belong to Young Donald. We do not want them 
 here ; no, nor the Baintighearna either ; let her keep to 
 her own friends. We do not wish to be interfered with ; 
 we ai-e not slaves ; when her uncle bought Lochgarra, he 
 did not buy us." And thus it was that she did not at all 
 approve of those two young men coming with her to the 
 door of this or that cottage, standing about smoking 
 cigarettes, and scanning everything with a cold and critical 
 Saxon eye : she wished that the Twelfth were here, and 
 that she could have them packed oflf up the hill out of 
 everybody's way. 
 
 Meanwhile, what had become of Donald Ross of Heimra ? 
 Nothing had been heard or seen of him since the moonlight 
 night on which they had watched him go out to the 
 Consuelo; and next day the big steam-yacht left the 
 harbour. Mary, though not saying much, became more 
 and more concerned ; his silence and absence made her 
 think over things ; sometimes Kathchen caught her friend 
 looking out towards Heimra Island, in a curiously wistful
 
 ON GARRA'S BANKS 191 
 
 way. And at Lxst there came confession— one evening 
 that Fred Stanley and Frank Meredyth had gone oft" ou 
 a stenlock-fishing expedition. 
 
 " I hope I am not distressing myself about nothing, 
 Kilthchen," Mary said, " but the more I think of it the 
 more I fear " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "That sometliing happened to ofiend Mr. Ross the even- 
 ing he dined here. Oh, I don't mean anything very serious 
 — any actual insult " 
 
 " I should think not ! " said Kathchen. " I thoue;ht 
 he was treated with the greatest consideration. He took 
 you in to dinner, to begin with. Then you simply devoted 
 yourself to him all the evening " 
 
 " But don't you think, Kathchen," ]\Tary said — and she 
 rose and went to the window, evidently in considerable 
 trouble — " don't you think that Fred and Mr. Meredyth — 
 yes, and you, too — that you kept yourselves just a little 
 too openly to yourselves — it was hardly fair, was it 1 " 
 
 " Hardly fair ! " Kathchen exclaimed. " To leave you 
 entirely to him ? I wonder what young man would com- 
 plain of that ! I think he ought to be very grateful to 
 us. If he had wished, he could have listened to Mr. 
 Meredyth — who was most amusing, really ; but as you 
 two seemed to have plenty to say to each other — we 
 could not dream of interfermg " 
 
 " But you never know how any little arrangement of that 
 kind may be taken," Mary said, absently. " The intention 
 may entirely be misunderstood. And then, brooding over 
 some such thing in that lonely island may make it serious. 
 I would not for worlds have him imagine that — that — he 
 had not been well-treated. If you consider the peculiar 
 circumstances — asked to a house that used to be his own — 
 knowing he was to meet a nephew of my uncle— indeed 
 I was not at all sure that he would come." 
 
 " Neither was I ! " said Kathchen, with a bit of a laugh. 
 "It was very generous of him, in my opinion: he must 
 have had to make up his mind." 
 
 " Well, I will admit this," said Mary, with some colour 
 mounting to her face, " that I put the invitation so that 
 it would have been rather difficult for him to refuse — I —
 
 193 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 I asked him to come as a favour to myself. But that 
 makes it all the worse if he has gone away with any con- 
 sciousness of afFi'ont — and — and, as I say, brooding over 
 it in that island would only deepen his sense of injury." 
 She hesitated for a second or two, and then went on again, 
 in a desperate kind of a way : " Why, for myself, the 
 thinking over the mere possibility of such a thing has 
 made me perfectly miserable. I don't know what to do, 
 Kathchen, and that is the truth. If Fred and his friend 
 weren't here I would go away out to Heimra — I mean 
 you and I could go — so that I might see for myself why 
 he has never sent me a line, or called. There must be 
 something the matter. And as you say, it was a great 
 concession to me — his coming to the house; and I can't 
 bear the idea of anything having happened to give him 
 offence." 
 
 " If you want to know," said the practical Kathchen, 
 "why don't you get Fred to write and ask him over for a 
 day's shooting ? " 
 
 Mary was walking up and down : she stopped. 
 
 " Yes," she said, thoughtfully. " That might do— if Fred 
 were a little reasonable. It would show Mr. Ross, at all 
 events, that there was no wish to make a stranger of him." 
 
 Her two guests came home late ; they had got into a 
 good shoal of stenlock, and had been loth to give up. 
 "When they made their appearance they found supper 
 awaiting them ; and not only that, but the young ladies 
 had let their dinner go by in order to give them their com- 
 pany ; so they ought to have been in an amiable mood. 
 
 " Where did you go, Fred ? " Mary asked, as they took 
 their places at table. 
 
 " Oh, a long way," said he. " We got Big Archie's boat, 
 and then we had her towed by the steam-launch : we made 
 first of all for the headlands south of Minard Bay." 
 
 "Then you would be in sight of Eilean Heimra most 
 of the time % " she said, timidly. 
 
 " Oh, yes." 
 
 " You did not see any one coming or going from the 
 island ? " she continued, with eyes cast down. 
 
 "No; but we were not paying much heed. I can tell 
 you, those big stenlock gave us plenty of occupation."
 
 ON G A ERA'S BANKS 193 
 
 " It is rather odd we should have heard nothmg of Mr. 
 Ross," she ventured to say. 
 
 " He may have gone up to London," Mr. Meredyth put 
 in, in a casual kind of fashion. " Didn't you say he is 
 studying for the Bar 1 Then he must go up from time to 
 time to keep his terms and eat his dinners." 
 
 "No, no — not just now," Fred Stanley interposed, and 
 he spoke as one having authority, for he was himself 
 looking forward to being called. " There's nothing of that 
 sort going on at this time of year : the next term is 
 Michaelmas — - in November. My dear Frank, do you 
 imagine that that fellow Ross would go away from Loch- 
 garra at the beginning of August 1 — -why, it's the very 
 cream of the shooting ! — a few days m advance of the 
 legal time — the very pick of the year ! — especially if you 
 have a convenient little arrangement with a game dealer in 
 Inverness." Then he corrected himself. "No, I don't 
 suppose he carries on this kind of thing for money ; I will 
 do him that justice ; he doesn't look that kind of a 
 chap. More likely malice : revenge for my uncle having 
 come in and robbed him of what he had been brought up 
 to consider his own : perhaps, too, the natural instinct of 
 the chase, which is strong in some people, even when the 
 law frowns on them." 
 
 " I will confess this," Frank Meredyth struck in (for he 
 noticed that Mary was lookmg deeply vexed, and yet was 
 too proud to speak), "that if I had been born the son 
 of a horny-handed peasant — or more particularly still, 
 the son of the village publican — I should have been an 
 inveterate poacher. I can't imagine anything more excit- 
 ing and interesting; the skill and cunning you have to 
 exercise ; the spice of danger that comes in ; the local fame 
 you acquire, when late hours and deep draughts lead to a 
 little bragging. A poacher ?— of course I should have been 
 a poacher ! — it is the only thing for one who has the 
 instincts of a gentleman, and no money. And in the case 
 of that young Ross, what could be more natural, with all 
 the people round about recognismg that that is the inalien- 
 able part of your inheritance 1 The land may have gone, 
 and crops and sheep, and what not : but the wild animals 
 ■ — the game — tlie birds of the air — the salmon in the 
 

 
 194 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 stream — they still belong to the old family — they were 
 never sold." 
 
 "I beg your pardon — they were sold," said Fred Stanley, 
 bluntly, " and whoever takes them in defiance of the law, 
 steals : that's all about it." 
 
 " I dare say the lawyers could say somethuig on behalf of 
 that form of stealmg," Frank Meredyth answered, good- 
 naturedly, " only that they're all busy justifying the big 
 stealings — the stealings of emperors, and statesmen, and 
 financial magnates. However, I will admit this is also : 
 it is uncommonly awkward when you have poachmg going 
 on. It is an annoyance that worries. And you suspect 
 everybody ; and go on suspecting, until you can trust 
 nobody ; and you get disgusted with the whole place. 
 Your abstract sympathy with the life of a poacher won't 
 comfort you when you imagine that the moor has been shot 
 over before you are out in the morning, and when you 
 suspect the keepers of connivance. It isn't pleasant, I must 
 say ; indeed, it is a condition of affairs that can but rarely 
 exist anywhere, for naturally the keepers are risking a 
 good deal — risking their place in fact " 
 
 "I quite agree with you, Mr. Meredyth," Mary said 
 at this point, with some emphasis. " Indeed, it is a con- 
 dition of affairs that looks to me absurdly improbable. 
 I should like to have some sort of definite proof of it 
 before believing it. No doubt, there may be some such 
 feeling as you suggest among the people — that Mr. Ross 
 should still have the fishing and shooting : it is easy enough 
 to believe that, when you find you cannot convince them 
 that the land does not belong to him too ; but it is quite 
 another thing to assume that he takes advantage of this 
 prevailing sentiment. However, in any case, isn't the 
 remedy quite simple ? Why shouldn't Fred ask him to go 
 shooting with you ? Surely there is room for three guns ? " 
 
 "Oh," said Fred Stanley, with some stiftness, "if you 
 wish to invite him- to shoot on the Twelfth, very well. It 
 is your shooting ; it is for you to say. Of course, I did not 
 understand when I left London that there was any stranger 
 going to join the party, or I should have explained as much 
 to Frank " 
 
 " I am sure I shall be only too delighted. Miss Stanley,"
 
 ON G A ERA'S BANKS 193 
 
 Frank Meredyth put in, quickly, " if any friend of yours 
 should join us — quite delighted — naturally — another gun 
 will be all the bettei*. And when I spoke of the joys of 
 poaching, I assure you it was without any particular refer- 
 ence to anybody ; I was telling you what would be my own 
 ambition in other circumstances. Fred will write to Mr. 
 Ross " 
 
 " I beg your pardon," said the young gentleman, with 
 something of coldness. " Mamie, you'd better write your 
 self." 
 
 " Not if there is going to be any disinclination on your 
 part," she said. 
 
 "Disinclination?" he repeated. "Well, the way I look 
 at it is simply this : you suspect that poachmg is 'going 
 on, and you ask the poacher to go shooting — why 1 Because 
 you are afraid of him. It is a confession of weakness. 
 What I would do, if the place were mme, is this : I'd 
 send the keepers packing — and every man-jack of the gil- 
 lies, too — until I knew I was master. It is perfectly pre- 
 posterous that your own servants should connive at your 
 being: cheated " 
 
 ^& 
 
 " Doesn't that sometimes happen in other spheres of 
 life ? " Frank Meredyth asked — he was evidently bent 
 on being pacificator. 
 
 " I don't know — I don't care," said young Stanley, stub- 
 bornly. "What I do know is, that if Ross is to come 
 shooting with us on the Twelfth, well, then, Mamie had 
 better send him the invitation : I'm not hypocrite enough 
 to do it." 
 
 So matters remained there for the present ; but the very 
 next evening a singular incident occurred which caused a 
 renewal of this discussion — with its conllict of prejudices 
 and prepossessions. All night there had been heavy and 
 steady rain ; in the morning the Garra had risen consider- 
 ably ; towards the afternoon it was discovered that the 
 river was fining down again ; whereupon Fred Stanley 
 proposed to his friend and companion that they should 
 go along as soon as the sun was likely to be off the water, 
 and try for a grilse or a sea-trout in the cool of the twilight. 
 They did not propose to take either gillie or keeper with 
 them ; they had found out which were the proper flies ; 
 
 o 2
 
 196 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 and they would have greater freedom without professional 
 supervision. So Frank Meredyth shouldered a grilse-rod of 
 moderate length and weight; his companion took with him 
 both landing-net and gaff; and together they walked along 
 to the banks of the stream, passing through the village on 
 their way. 
 
 They were rather too early ; the sun was still on the 
 pools ; but they had the rod to put together, the casting- 
 line to soak, the flies to choose. Then they sate down 
 on the breckan, and cigarettes were produced. 
 
 " Don't you think my sister puts me into a very awkward 
 position % " said the younger man, discontentedly. 
 
 " Why % " asked his companion — being discreet. 
 
 " iteeping up those friendly relations, or apparently 
 friendly relations, with this fellow Ross," Fred Stanley said. 
 " Wouldn't it be very much better, much honester, if we 
 were declared enemies — as the people about here think 
 we are % Then we could give fair notice to the keepers 
 that they must either have him watched or they themselves 
 must go. You see, my sister doesn't care what happens 
 to the fishing or the shooting ; but it is a shame she should 
 be imposed upon ; and a still greater shame that this fellow 
 should come to the house, and pretend to be on friendly 
 terms with her. You know, Frank, he must be a 
 thundering hypocrite. Do you mean to tell me he has 
 forgiven any one of our family for what my uncle did — 
 you know what Mamie told you — draining the loch and 
 pulling doAvn the old castle ? Of course he hasn't ! And 
 perhaps I don't blame him : it was too bad ; and that's a 
 fact. But what I do blame him for is pretending to be on 
 good terms ; coming to the house ; and so taking it out of 
 our power to treat him as he ought to be treated — that is, 
 as a person who is defying the law, whom we ought to try 
 to catch. You see, Mamie is so soft ; she hasn't that 
 dimple in her cheek for nothing ; she's far too good-natured ; 
 and this stuck-up Spaniard, or Portuguese, or whatever he 
 is, seems to have impressed her because he looks mysterious 
 and says nothing. Or perhaps she thinks that we have 
 ill-treated him — that my uncle has, I mean. Or perhaps 
 she hopes that through liim she will get at those ill-con- 
 ditioned brutes about here — you heard what Purdie said.
 
 ON G A ERA'S BANKS 197 
 
 I don't know ; I can't make out women ; they're not 
 sufficiently above-board for the humble likes of me ; but 
 this I do know, that I should like to catch that fellow 
 Ross red-handed, carrying a salmon or a brace of grouse, 
 and then we should have it out ! " 
 
 Frank Meredyth did not reply to this resentful little 
 oration : he had been watching the westering sun, that 
 Avas now slowly sinking behind the topmost trees of the 
 steep bank on the other side of the river. And at length, 
 ■when there was no longer a golden flash on the tea-brown 
 ripples that came dancing over the shingle, he went down 
 to the edge of the stream and began to cast, throwing a 
 very fair line. But he was not very serious about it ; in 
 this rapid run there was little chance of anything beyond 
 a sea-trout ; he had his eye on a deeper and smoother, and 
 likelier pool lower down, where perchance there might be a 
 lively young grilse lying, up that morning from the sea. 
 
 Then he called out — 
 
 " Come along, Fred, and take the next pool : it amuses 
 me quite as much to look on." 
 
 "It amuses me more," the younger man said, taking 
 out another cigarette. "You're throwing a beautiful line 
 — go ahead — you'll come upon something down there." 
 
 And indeed Frank Meredyth now began to cast with 
 more caution as he approached this smoother and deeper 
 pool — sending his fly well over to the other side, letting it 
 come gradually round with almost imperceptible jerks, and 
 nursing it in the water before recovery. It was one of the 
 best stretches of the river — they had been told that ; 
 and there was a fair chance after the rain. But all of a 
 sudden, as he was carefully watching his fly being carried 
 slowly round by the current, there was a terrific splash 
 right in the midst of the stream : a large stone had been 
 hurled from among the trees on the opposite bank : the 
 pool was ruined. The fisherman, without a word, let his 
 fly drift helplessly, and turned and looked at his com 
 pardon. The same instant Fred Stanley had thrown av. ay 
 his cigarette, ran down the bank, and sprang into the 
 water — careless of everything but getting across in time 
 to capture their cowardly assailant. He had no waders 
 on ; but he did not heed that ; all his endeavour was to
 
 198 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 force his way across the current before their unseen enemy 
 could have escaped from among those birches. Meredyth 
 could do nothing but look on. The point at which his 
 companion had entered the stream was rather above the 
 pool, and shallower ; but none the less there was a certain 
 body of water to contend with ; and out in the middle 
 young Stanley, despite his arduous efforts, made but slow 
 progress. Then there was the catching at the bushes on 
 the opposite bank — a hurried scrambling up — the next 
 second he had disappeared among the birch trees. Frank 
 Meredyth laid down his rod, and quietly took out a 
 cicarette : fishing in this kind of a neighbourhood did not 
 seem to attract him any more. 
 
 It was some time before Fred Stanley came back : of 
 course his quest had been unsuccessful — his hampered 
 progress through the water had allowed his foe to get clear 
 away. 
 
 " You see you were wrong, Frank," he said, with afiected 
 indifference, when he had waded across the stream again. 
 " Our friendly neighbour hasn't gone south to keep the last 
 of his terms, or for any other reason. A pretty trick, 
 wasn't it? I knew there was a dog-in-the-manger look 
 about the fellow ; well, I don't care : Mamie can choose 
 her own friends. As for you and me, v/e are off by the 
 mail-car that leaves to-morrow morning." 
 
 He was simply wild with rage, despite all his outward 
 calmness Frank Meredyth looked very grave indeed. 
 "We can't do that, Fred," said he. "It would be an 
 
 affront to your sistei- " 
 
 " Well, then, and she allows my friend — her guest — to 
 be insulted ! " he exclaimed. " And all because no one 
 dare speak out ! But I've had enough of it. This last is 
 too much — this shows you what the neighbourhood is 
 like ; and it is all to be winked at ! As I say, I've had 
 
 enough. I'm off. You can stay if you choose " 
 
 "You know I can't stay here if you go," said Meredyth, 
 in the same grave way : indeed, he did not at all like this 
 position in which he found himself. And then he said : 
 
 " Come, Fred, don't make too much of a trifle " 
 
 "Do you call that a trifle?" the other demanded. "It 
 is an indication of the spirit of the whole place ; and more
 
 ON GARRA'S BANKS 199 
 
 than that, it shows you the miserable, underhand enmity 
 of tliis very fellow who has been pretending to make 
 friends with my sister. It is not on my account — it is 
 on your account — that I am indignant. I asked you to 
 come here. This is pretty treatment, is it not % — and a 
 pleasant intimation of what we may expect all the way 
 through, if we stay on " 
 
 " Of course we must stay on," said Meredyth. " I would 
 not for anything have your sister vexed. I would not even 
 tell her of what has just happened. Why should you ? 
 Neither you nor I care so much for the fishing " 
 
 " That is not the point, Fi'ank," said young Stanley. 
 " Reel up — and we will go back to the house. I want 
 Mamie to understand what all her pampering of this place 
 has resulted in — nothing but miserable, underhand spite 
 and enmity. And if we do stop on, do you think I'd be 
 frightened away from the fishing? Not if I had to get 
 water-bailiifs up from Inverness, and give them each a 
 double-barrelled breech-loader and a hiding-place in the 
 woods. Pitching stones into salmon pools and then 
 running away is a very pretty amusement; but that 
 skulking and poaching thief would sing another tune if he 
 were brought down by a charge of No. 6 shot ! " 
 
 And he was in the same indignant mood when they got 
 back to Lochgarra House. He went straight to his sister. 
 He told her the story — and in silence awaited her answer. 
 "What was it to be % — an excuse ? — an apology ? a promise 
 of inquiry and stricter government % 
 
 But for a second or two Mary Stanley was thoroughly 
 alarmed. She recalled with a startling distinctness her 
 own experience — her wandering up the side of the river — 
 her coming upon the almost invisible poacher in the 
 mysterious dusk of the twilight — the strange and vivid 
 circles of blue-white fire on the dark surface of the stream 
 whenever he moved — then his noiseless escape into the 
 opposite woods ; and she recalled, too, her own sudden 
 suspicions as to who that ghostly fisherman was. Since 
 then she had seen a good deal of Donald Ross, and she 
 had gradually ceased to connect him in any way with 
 that illegal haunting of the salmon-stream ; but this new 
 incident — following upon her brother's protests and re-
 
 200 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 monstrances — frightened her, for one breathless moment. 
 Then she strove to reassure herself. The young man who 
 had sate by her side at dinner a few evenings ago — proud, 
 reserved, and self-possessed, and yet timidly respectful 
 towards herself and grateful for the attention she paid 
 him — was not the kind of person to go spitefully throwing 
 stones into a salmon-pool in order to destroy a stranger's 
 fishing. It was absurd to think so ! 
 
 "I am very sorry, Mr. Meredyth," said she, "that 
 such a thing should have happened. It is a vexatious 
 annoyance " 
 
 " Oh, don't consider me. Miss Stanley !" said he, at once. 
 " I assure you I don't mind in the least. I did not even 
 wish to have it mentioned." 
 
 "It is annoying, though — very," she said. "It seems 
 a pity that any one should have such ill-will " 
 
 "But what are you going to do?" her brother demanded. 
 " Sit tamely down and submit to this tyranny ? And what 
 will be the next thing ? — trampling the nests in the spring, 
 I suppose, so that there won't be a single grouse left on 
 the whole moor. Then why shouldn't they help them- 
 selves to a sheep or two, when they want mu^tton for 
 dinnei', or go into the Glen Orme forest for a stag, if they 
 prefer venison % " 
 
 Mary rang the bell ; Barbara came. 
 
 "Barbara," said she, "send a message to Hector that I 
 want to see him." 
 
 When the tall and bronze-complexioned keeper made his 
 appearance— looking somewhat concerned at this unusual 
 summons — she briefly related to him what had occurred ; 
 and her tone implied that he was responsible for this petty 
 outi'age. 
 
 " I was offering," said Hector, in his serious and guarded 
 way, "to go down to the ruvver with the chentlemen- 
 
 "Yes, that is true enough," Fred Stanley broke in. 
 " Hector did offer to go down with us. But surely it is 
 :i monstrous thing that we shouldn't be able to stroll along 
 to a pool and have a cast by ourselves without being 
 interfered with in this way. Come now. Hector, you 
 must know who was likely to do a thing like that." 
 
 Hector paused for a moment, and then answered —
 
 ON GARRA'S BANKS 201 
 
 " Indeed, sir, I could not seh." 
 
 " Who is it who thinks the fishing in the Garra belongs 
 to him, and is determined no one else shall have it % 
 Isn't there anyone about with that idea in his head ? " 
 The question was put pointedly ; it was clear what Fred 
 Stanley meant ; but there was no definite reply. 
 
 " There's some of the young lads they are fond of 
 mischief," Hector said ambiguously. " And there's others 
 nowadays that will be saying everyone has the right to fish." 
 
 " And perhaps that is your opinion, too," said Pred 
 Stanley, regarding him. 
 
 " Oh, no, sir, not that at ahl," the keeper answered, 
 simply enough. " But such things get into their heads, 
 and sometimes they will be reading it from a newspaper, 
 and the one talking to the other about what the Land 
 League was saying at the meetings. The young lads they 
 speak about new things nowadays amongst themselves." 
 
 "And I suppose they want to ha^■() the shooting, too ? " 
 Fred Stanley continued ; "and if wo don't give them the 
 shooting they will go up the hill hi the spring and trample 
 the eggs % " 
 
 " Oh, no, sir, the shepherds are friendly with us," said 
 Hector. 
 
 Mary interposed ; for this badgering seemed to lead to 
 nothing. 
 
 " Couldn't you get some old man to act as water-bailiff, 
 Hector? — some old man to whom a small weekly wage 
 would be a consideration." 
 
 " Oh, yes, mem, I could do that," said the keeper. 
 
 " And if there are any of those mischievous lads about, 
 why, if he were to catch one of them, a little trip across to 
 Dingwall might frighten the others, wouldn't it % " 
 
 "Just that, mem." 
 
 " There is old John at the inn — he seems to do nothing 
 — does he know anything about the river 1 " 
 
 "Oh, yes, indeed — he was many a day a gillie," Hector 
 made answer. 
 
 " Very well ; see what wages he wants ; and tell him 
 that when he suspects there's any poaching going on, or 
 any mischief of any kind, you and Hugh will give him a 
 hand in the watching."
 
 202 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Very well, mem." 
 
 And so the tall, bushy-bearded Hector was going away ; 
 but Fred Stanley stopped him. The young man's sombre 
 suspicions had not been dissipated by those vague references 
 to mischievous lads. 
 
 " Hector," said he, " is Mr. Ross of Heimra a keen 
 fisherman 1 " 
 
 " I could not sell, sir," was Hector's grave and careful 
 answer. 
 
 " Does he know the Garra well ? " 
 
 *' I could not seh, sir," Hector repeated. 
 
 " You don't happen to have seen or heard anything of 
 him of late ? " 
 
 " No, sir," said Hector ; and then he added, "but I was 
 noticing the yat coming over from Heimra this morning." 
 
 " Oh, really, " exclaimed the young man, with a swift 
 glance towards Frank Meredyth. " The yacht came over 
 this morning 1 So Mr. Ross is in the neighbourhood 1 " 
 
 " Maybe, sir ; but I have not seen him whatever." ' 
 
 That seemed to be enough for the cross-examiner. 
 
 " All right. Hector — thank you. Good evening ! " 
 
 The head-keeper withdrew ; and Fred Stanley turned 
 to his sister. 
 
 " I thought as much," said he. " I had a notion 
 that Robinson Crusoe had come ashore from his desolate 
 island. And no doubt he was very much surprised and 
 disgusted to find two strangers intruding upon his favourite 
 salmon pools — on the very first evening there has been a 
 chance of a cast for some time. But he should not have 
 allowed his anger to get the better of him ; it was a 
 childish trick, that flinging a stone into the water ; a poor 
 piece of spite — for one who claims to represent an old 
 Highland family. Don't you think so, Mamie ? " 
 
 Well, this at least was certain — that the Sirene had 
 come across from Heimra, and was now lying in the Camus 
 Bheag, or Little Bay. And the very next afternoon, as 
 Mary Stanley and her fi'iend Kiithchen were seated at a 
 table in the drawing-room busily engaged in comparing 
 samples of dyed wool, the door was opened, and Barbara 
 appeared. 
 
 " Mr. Ross, mem ! " said Barbara.
 
 A THREATENED INVASION 203 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A THREATENED INVASION. 
 
 Mary rose quickly, her clear eyes showing such obvious 
 pleasure that Kathchen was inclined to be indignant. 
 ' Mamie, have you no pride ! ' Kathchen said in her heart. 
 ' It is not becoming in a young woman to be so grateful 
 — for an ordinary piece of civility. And INIary Stanley 
 of all people ! ' Well, Mary Stanley did not seem to be 
 governed by any such considerations ; she went forward to 
 receive her visitor with the frankest smile of welcome 
 lighting up her face ; the magic-working dunple did its 
 part. 
 
 "I am so glad you have called," said she, "for I was 
 thinking of writing to you, and I was not sure whether 
 you were at Heimra. We have not seen the yacht coming 
 and going of late." 
 
 "No," said he, as he took the chair nearest her (and 
 Kathchen remarked that his eyes, too, showed pleasure, 
 if less openly declared), "I went down as far as Portree 
 in the Consuelo — or I would have called before now. Did 
 you want to see me about — about anything ? " 
 
 And this question he asked with a curious simplicity 
 and directness of manner. There was none of the self- 
 consciousness of a young man addressing a remarkably 
 pretty young woman. It was rather like an offer of neigh- 
 bourly help : what trouble was she in now ? 
 
 "I was wondering," she made answer, wdth a little 
 timidity, whether you would care to go out on the Twelfth 
 with my brother and Mr. Meredyth. It is not a very 
 grand shooting, as you know ; but you would get some little 
 amusement, I suppose ; and Miss Glendinning and I would 
 come and have lunch with you — if we were not in the way." 
 
 This ought to have been a sufficiently attractive invita- 
 tion ; but the observant Kathchen noticed that the young 
 man hesitated. 
 
 " Thank you very much," said he ; " it is most kind of 
 you to have thought of me ; but the fact is I'm not much 
 of a shot, and I shouldn't like to spoil the bag. Of course.
 
 204 DONALD ROSS OF HE I MR A 
 
 your brother will want to see what the moor can yield ; 
 and with fair shooting two guns should give a very good 
 account of Lochgarra ; so that it would be really a pity 
 to spoil the Twelfth by bringing in a useless gun. Thank 
 you all the same for thinking of me " 
 
 " Oh, perhaps you don't care about shooting ? " said 
 Mary. " PerhajDS you are fonder of fishing 1 " 
 
 And hardly were the words out of her mouth when 
 some sudden recollection of that phantom poacher rushed 
 in upon her mind ; a hideous dread possessed her ; how 
 could she have been so unutterably indiscreet 1 Not only 
 that, but there was yesterday's incident of the hurling of 
 the stone into the salmon-pool : would he imagine that she 
 suspected him — that she was probing into a guilty know- 
 ledge ? She was bewildered by what she had done ; and 
 yet determined to betray no consciousness of her blunder. 
 A ghastly and protracted silence seemed to follow her 
 question ; but that was merely imagination on her part ; 
 he answered her at once — and that in the most natui'al 
 mannei", without a trace of embarrassment. 
 
 " I am a poor enough shot," said he, with a smile, "but 
 I am even a worse fisherman. You see, there is hardly 
 any shooting on Heimra Island, but there is still less 
 fishing — none at all, practically. As for the shooting, there 
 are some rabbits among the rocks, and occasionally I have 
 seen a covey of grouse come flying across fi'om the main- 
 land ; but the truth is, when you get used to the charm of 
 quiet in a place like that, you don't want to have it broken 
 by the banging of a gun " 
 
 " Oh, no, of course not," said Mary, with a certain 
 eagerness of assent — for she was overjoyed to find that 
 nothing had come of her fancied indiscretion. " Of course 
 not. I can quite imagine there must be a singular fascina- 
 tion in the solitariness of such an island, and the — the 
 — silence. A fascination and a charm ; and yet when Miss 
 Glendinning and I have been up among the hills here, 
 sometimes it has seemed too awful — too lifeless — it became 
 terrible. Then out at Heimra — the sea being all round 
 you in the night — and the bit of land so small — that 
 must be a strange sensation ; but perhaps you don't notice 
 't as a stranger might ; you must have got used to it "
 
 A THREATENED INVASION 205 
 
 "Yes," said he, "it is very solitary and very silent. All 
 the same," he added, rather absently, "I dare say I shall 
 miss that very solitariness and silence when I go away 
 from Heimra, as I hope to do ere long. I should not 
 wonder if I looked back with some regret." 
 
 " Oh, you are going away from Heimra — and before 
 long 1 " Mary repeated — and Kathchen glanced quickly 
 at her. 
 
 "I hope so," he said. "Well, I would not trouble you 
 with my schemes and plans, but for the fact that they 
 indirectly concern you." She looked startled for a second ; 
 but he proceeded with a certain easy cheerfulness of 
 manner which Kathchen thought became him ; and he 
 spoke in a confidential and friendly way, more than was his 
 wont : "Yes ; if what I am aiming at succeeds it will make 
 your position here a good de'd easier. I know the diffi- 
 culties you have to contend with on an estate like this — ■ 
 the poverty of the soil — families growing up and marrying, 
 and still clinging to the small homesteads — the distance 
 from markets — the climate — and all that. And indeed 
 my first scheme — my ideal scheme," he went on, in this 
 frank kind of fashion, " was comprehensive enough : I 
 wanted nothing less than to take away the whole of the 
 population with me — not the surplus population merely, 
 but the whole of the people bodily, leaving the sheep 
 and the game in undisturbed possession. That would 
 have made matters easy for you — and for Mr. Purdie. 
 I thought I could carry them away with me to one of the 
 colonies ; and get a grant of Crown Lands from the 
 Government ; and be appointed to look after the settlement, 
 so that I could live and die among those I have known 
 from my childhood. There was only one point of the 
 scheme that I was absolutely sure about, and that was 
 that the people would go if I asked them — yes, to the very 
 oldest. ' If I have to be carried on board the ship,' one 
 of them said to me " 
 
 " Have you considered — the terrible responsibility ? " she 
 said, in rather a breathless way. 
 
 "Yes, indeed," said he, gravely. "And that compre- 
 hensive project was not practicable : it was too big — too 
 visionary. But for some time back I have been making
 
 2o6 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 inquiries : indeed I went down to Portree chiefly to see one 
 of the Committee who manage the Emigrants' Information 
 Office — he is taking his holiday in Skye at present. And 
 if in a more modest and reasonable way I could take a 
 number of the people aAvay with me, and found a little 
 colony out in Queensland or in Canada, that would give 
 you some relief, and make it easier for those remaining 
 behind — would it not ? North- Western Canada and Queens- 
 land — perhaps you know — are the only colonies that ofler 
 the immigrant a free homestead of IGO acres; and Canada 
 is especially hospitable, for at all the ports there are 
 Government agents, for the purpose of giving the immi- 
 grants every information and procuring them work. Oh, 
 I am very well aware," he continued — seeing that she was 
 silent and absorbed — " that emigration is not a certain 
 panacea. There is no assurance that the emigrant is going 
 to leave all his ills and troubles behind him. Yery often 
 the first generation have to suffer sore hardship ; then the 
 next reap the reward of their toil and perseverance. A 
 home-sickness^well, plenty of them never get over that ; 
 and naturally, if they are home-sick, they exaggerate their 
 sufferings and misfortunes." He sought in his pockets 
 and brought out a letter. " Perhaps you would care to 
 read that— I found it awaiting me when I came home 
 this time." 
 
 She took the letter, and looked at it in rather a per- 
 functory way. It was clear that her mind was fixed on 
 something quite different. Perhaps she was thinking of 
 that distant settlement — out among the pines and snows of 
 the North- West — or far away under the Southern Cross : 
 the drafted people working with a right goodwill, and 
 concealing their home-sickness, and making light of their 
 hardships, so long as Young Donald was with them. 
 Perhaps she was thinking of the denuded Lochgarra, and 
 of the empty Eilean Heimra. After all, it was something 
 to have a neighbour, even if he lived in that lonely island. 
 And if she were doing her best with the people who re- 
 mained — fostering industries, spreading education, better- 
 ing their condition in every way — well, there would be no 
 one to whom she could show what she had done. What 
 did her brother care for such things % — her brother was
 
 A THREATENED INVASION 207 
 
 thinking only of grouse, and black-game, and grilse. Frank 
 Meredyth? — she more than suspected that his affectation 
 of interest was only a sort of compliment paid to herself. 
 And then there was another thing, more difficult to 
 formulate; but away deep down in her heart somewhere 
 there had sprung up a vague desire that some day or other 
 she might be able to show Donald Ross how sorry she was 
 for the injuries he had suffered at the hands of her family. 
 When once a close and firm friendship had been established 
 between them, he might be induced to forgive. But if he 
 were going away, while as yet he and she were almost 
 strangers ? And she knew that the people who might 
 remain with her at Lochgarra would say to themselves 
 that she was the one who had driven Young Donald across 
 the seas. 
 
 She forced herself to read the letter — 
 
 " Armadale, Slinnesona, Canada. 
 
 " Mr. Ross of Heimra. — Sir, — Peter Macleod was showing 
 me the letter you was writing to him, and asking about 
 me, and he said it my duty to answer and give Mr. Ross 
 the news. We have not much comfort here ; I think the 
 Lord was not pleased with us that we left our own country 
 and come to America. My wife is very seeck ; and while 
 she has the seeckness on her I cannot go away and get 
 railway work ; and there are the five children, the oldest 
 of them twelve, and not able to do mich. I have a cow 
 that is giving mulk. I have a yoke of oxen. There is 
 not a well ; but I will begin at it soon. I have found a 
 Lochgarra man, wan Neil Campbell, about five miles from 
 here ; it is a pleasui-e to me that I have the jance of 
 speaking my own langwich. I have twelve tons of hay. 
 The soil is good ; but the weather verra bad ; ay, until the 
 end of May there was frost every night, and many's the 
 time hail stones that would spoil the crop in half an hour. 
 I bought ten bolls of meal forbye* the Government's 
 supply ; and if I had not had a little money I do not know 
 what I would have done ; and now the money is gone, and 
 I cannot go away to work and leave my wife with the 
 
 * Forbye — besides.
 
 2c8 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 seeckness on her ; and maybe if I did go away I would 
 not get any work whatever. What to do now it is beyond 
 me to say, and we are far away from any friends, my wife 
 and me. When I went to Kavanagh to luring the doctor 
 to my wife I was hearing the news from home that they 
 beHeved I had brokken my leg. But it is not my legs 
 that are brokken — it is my heart that is brokken. There 
 has been no happiness within me since the day I left Loch 
 Torridon and went away to Greenock to the steamer. That 
 was a bad day for me and my family ; we have had no 
 peace or comfort since ; it's glad I would be to see Ru-na- 
 uag once more — ay, if they would give me a job at brekkin 
 stones. This is all the news I am thinking of; and 
 wishing Mr. Ross a long life and happiness, I am your 
 respectful servant, 
 
 "Angus Mack ay." 
 
 " Poor man ! " said Mary. And then she looked up 
 as she handed back the letter. " I should have thought," 
 she continued addressing Donald Ross, " that a report 
 like that would have caused you to hesitate before recom- 
 mending any more emigration. Was it you who sent that 
 poor man out % " 
 
 "Oh, no," he answered at once; "that Angus Mackay 
 lived at Loch Torridon — a long way south from here. I 
 only got to know something of him accidentally. But 
 mind you, Miss Stanley, I would not assume that even in 
 his case emigration has been a failure. That letter is 
 simply saturated with home-sickness. I should not be at 
 all surprised to hear in a year or two that Angus was 
 doing very well with his farm ; and it is almost a certainty 
 that when his family have grown up they will find them- 
 selves in excellent circumstances. Of course it is hard 
 on him that his wife should be ill, especially with those 
 young children — but these are misfortunes that happen 
 everywhere." 
 
 " Emigration ? " she repeated (and Kiithchen could tell 
 by her tone that this scheme of his found no favour in 
 her sight). " So that is your cui"e for the poverty and 
 discontent in the Highlands? But don't you think it is 
 rather a confession of failure ? Don't you think if the
 
 A THREATENED INVASION 209 
 
 landlords were doing their duty there would be no need to 
 drive these poor people away from their homes ? No 
 doubt, as you say, families grow up and marry, while the 
 land does not increase ; but look at the thousands upon 
 thousands of acres that at present don't support a single 
 human being " 
 
 " You mean the deer-forests ? " he said quite coolly (for 
 the owner of the little island of Heimra had not much 
 personal and immediate interest in the rights and duties of 
 proprietors). " Yes ; they say that is the alternative. 
 They say either emigration or throwing open the deer- 
 forests to small tenants and crofters — banishing the deer 
 altogethei', limiting the sheep-farms, planting homesteads. 
 It sounds very well in the House of Commons, but I'm 
 afraid it wouldn't work in practice. Such deer-forests as 
 I happen to know are quite useless for any such purpose ; 
 the great bulk of the soil is impossible — rocks and peat 
 shnply ; and then the small patches of land that might be 
 cultivated — less than two acres in every thousand, they 
 say — are scattered, and remote, and inaccessible. Who is 
 to make roads, to begin with — even if the crofters were 
 mad enough to imagine that they could send their handful 
 of produce away to the distant markets with any chance 
 of competition ? " 
 
 But she was not convinced : a curious obstinacy seemed 
 to have got hold of her. 
 
 " I can't help thmking," she repeated, " that emigration 
 is a kind of cowardly remedy. Isn't it rather like ad- 
 mitting that you have failed % Surely there must be some 
 other means ? Why, before I came to Lochgarra I made 
 up my mind that I would try to find out about the crofters 
 who had gone away or been sent away, and I would invite 
 them to come back and take up their old holdings." 
 
 "It would be a cruel kindness," said he. "And I 
 doubt whether they would thank you for the offer. Yes, 
 I dare say some would ; and on their way back to their 
 old home they would be filled with joy. When they came 
 in sight of Ru-Minard I dare say they would be crying 
 with delight ; and when they landed at Lochgarra they 
 would be for falling on their knees to kiss the beloved 
 shore. But that wouldn't last long. When they came to 
 
 P
 
 2IO DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 look at the sour and marshy soil, the peat-hags, and the 
 rocks, they would begin to alter their mind " 
 
 "In any case," said she, "I have abandoned the idea 
 for the present ; I find I have already plenty on my hands. 
 And I don't confess that I have failed yet. I am doing 
 what I can. It is a very slow process ; for they seem to 
 imagine that whatever I suggest is for my own interest ; 
 at the same time, I don't see that I have failed yet. And 
 as for emigration " 
 
 " But, Miss Stanley," said he seriously, " you don't 
 suppose I would take away any number of the people without 
 your consent ? " 
 
 At this she brightened up a little. 
 
 " Oh, it is only if there is a necessity ? Only as a 
 necessity, you mean ? " 
 
 " Perhaps there is something of selfishness in it, too," 
 he admitted. " Of course, I don't like the idea of living 
 in Eilean Heimra all my life — not now : I am free from 
 any duty ; and— and perhaps there are associations that 
 one ought to leave behind one. And if I could get some 
 post from the Government in connection with this emigra- 
 tion scheme — if I could become the overseer of the little 
 settlement — I should still be among my own people : no 
 doubt that has had something to do with my forecasts " 
 
 "But at all events," she interposed, quickly, "you won't 
 be too precipitate % It is a dreadful responsibility. Even 
 if they exaggerate their hardships through home-sickness, 
 that is not altogether imaginary : it is real enough to 
 them at the time. And if actual suflering were to take 
 place " 
 
 " I know the responsibility," he said. " I am quite 
 awai^e of it. All that I could do would be to obtain the 
 fullest and most accurate information ; and then explain to 
 the people the gravity of the step they were about to take. 
 Then it is not a new thing ; there are quite trustworthy 
 accounts of the various colonial settlements ; and this 
 evidence they would have to estimate dispassionately for 
 themselves." 
 
 " Mr. Ross ! " she remonstrated. " How can you say 
 such a thing? You told me just now that the whole of 
 those people would follow you away to Canada or Australia
 
 A THREATENED INVASION 211 
 
 if you but said the word. Is that a fair judgment of 
 evidence % I don't think you could get rid of your responsi- 
 bility by putting a lot of Blue-books before them " 
 
 " I see you are against emigration," he said. 
 
 " It may be necessary in some places — I don't know yet 
 that it is here," she answered him. " I would i-ather 
 be allowed to try." And then she said — looking at him » 
 rather timidly — "If you think I have not given them 
 enough, I will give them more. There is no foi-est land, 
 as you know ; but— but there is some more pasture that 
 perhaps Mr. Watson might be induced to give up. I have 
 given them Meall-na-Cruagan ; if you wish it, I will give 
 them Meall-na-Fearn. Mr. Watson was most good-natured 
 about Meall-na-Cruagan ; and I dare say there would be no 
 difficulty in settling what should be taken off his rent if 
 he were to give up Meall-na-Fearn and Corrie Bhreag. 
 And — and there's more than that I would try before 
 having people banished." 
 
 Kate Glendinning observed that this young man changed 
 colour. It was an odd thing — and interesting to the 
 onlooker. For usually he was so calm, and self-possessed, 
 and reserved : submissive, too, so that it was only at times 
 that he raised his keen black eyes to the young lady who 
 was addressing him : he seemed to wish to keep a certain 
 distance between them. But these last words of hers 
 appeared to have touched him. The pale, dark face showed 
 a sense of shame — or deprecation. 
 
 " You must not imagine. Miss Stanley," said he, "that I 
 came to ask for anything. You have already been most 
 generous — too generous, most people would say. It would 
 be imposing on you to ask for more ; it would be unfair ; 
 if I were in your position, I would refuse. But I thought 
 my scheme might afford you some relief " 
 
 " And if you went away with them, what would you do 
 with Heimra Island % " she said, abruptly — and regarding 
 him with her clear, honest eyes. 
 
 " That I don't know," said he, " except that I should be 
 sorry to sell it. And it would not be easy to let it, even 
 as a summer holiday place. There is no fishing or shooting 
 to speak of ; and it is a long way to come. For a yachtsman 
 
 it might make convenient headquarters " 
 
 p 2
 
 212 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " But you would not sell the island ? ' she asked again. 
 
 "Not unless I was compelled," he made answer. "I 
 might go away and leave it for a time — the letting of the 
 pasture would just about cover the housekeeper's wages and 
 the keeping up of the place ; and then, years hence, when 
 my little community in Australia or Canada was all safely 
 established — when the heat of the day was over, as they 
 say in the Gaelic — I might come back there, and spend the 
 end of my life in peace and quiet. For old people do not 
 need many friends around them : their recollections are in 
 the past." 
 
 And then he rose. 
 
 " I beg your pardon for troubling you about my poor 
 affairs." 
 
 " But they concern me," she said, as she rose also, "and 
 Very immediately. Besides that, we are neighbours. And 
 so I am to understand that you won't do anything further 
 with your emigration scheme — not at present % " 
 
 " Nothing until you consent — nor until you are quite 
 satisfied that it is a wise thing to embark on. And indeed 
 there is no great hurry : I can't keep my last term until 
 November next. But by then I hope to have learnt 
 everything there is to be learned about the various 
 emigration-fields." 
 
 She rang the bell ; but she herself accompanied him to 
 the door, and out into the hall. 
 
 "By the way," said she, "what has become of Anna 
 Chlannach 1 — I thought you were to tell her to come to me, 
 so that I could assure her she shoiddn't be locked up in any 
 asylum ? " 
 
 "I'm afraid Anna has not got over her fear of you," 
 said he, with a smile. " She seems to third?: you tiued to 
 entrap her into the garden, where Mr. Purdie was. And 
 it isn't easy to reason with Anna Chlannach." 
 
 *' Oh, then, you see her sometimes 1 " she asked. 
 
 " Sometimes — yes. If Anna catches sight of the Sirene 
 coming across, she generally runs down to Camus Bheag, 
 and waits for us, to ask for news from the island." 
 
 " Will you tell her that I am very angry with her for 
 not coming to see me — when Barbara could quite easily be 
 the intei'preter between us ? "
 
 A THREATENED INVASION 213 
 
 " I will. Good-bye ! " 
 
 " Good-bye ! " said she, as he left. 
 
 But she did not immediately go back to the drawing- 
 room, and to Kiithchen, and the dyed wools. She remained 
 in the great, empty oak hall, slowly walking up and down — 
 with visions before her eyes. She saw a name, too : it 
 was New Heimra. And the actual Heimra out there — the 
 actual Heimra would then be deserted, save, perhaps, for 
 some old housekeeper, who would sit out in the summer 
 evenings, and wonder whether Young Donald was ever 
 coming back to his home. Or perhaps an English family 
 would be in possession of that bungalow retreat : the 
 children scampering about with their noisy games : would 
 they be silent a little, when chance brought them to the 
 lonely white grave, up there on the crest of the hill ? 
 
 She was startled from her reverie by some sound on the 
 steps outside, and, turning, found her brother and Frank 
 IMeredyth at the door. 
 
 "Now, Mamie, see what comes of all your coddling!" 
 Fred Stanley exclaimed as he came forward, and he held 
 a piece of paper in his hand. " This is a pretty state of 
 aftairs ! Bvit can you wonder 1 They easily find out where 
 the place is ripe for them — where the people have been 
 nursed into insolence and discontent — and on the Twelfth, 
 too — oh, yes, the Twelfth ! — when they expect the keepers 
 to be up on the hill, so they'll be able to break a few of 
 the drawing-room windows on their way by " 
 
 "What are you talking about?" she said, in answer to 
 this incoherent harangue ; and she took the paper from 
 him. It was a handbill, rather shabbily printed ; and these 
 were the contents : — 
 
 THE HEATHER ON FIEE! 
 
 THE HEATHER ON FIRE ! 
 
 The Land for the People ! — Aivay ivith Sheep, Beer, and Landlords • — 
 Tlie Landlords must go! — Compulsory Emigration for Landlords! — 
 Men of the Highlands, stand up for your rights ! — Dovm with Southren 
 Bach-Renters !
 
 214 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 To THE 
 
 Tenants, Oboftees, and Cottars op 
 lochgaera and neighbourhood : 
 
 A PUBLIC MEETING 
 
 Will he held in Locligarra Free Cliurch, on Monday the l^tli of August, 
 at one o'clocli. Addresses by Mr. Josiah Ogden, M.F., Miss Ernestine 
 Simon, of Paris, and Mrs. Elizabeth Jackson Notes, of the Con- 
 necticut Council of Lihcrty. Mr. John Eraser, Vice-President of the 
 Strutherrich Branch of the Highland Land League, v: ill preside. 
 
 Admission Free. 
 
 Men of Locligarra ! — attend in your hundreds : 
 
 " Wlio would he free themselves must strihe the hloiv!" 
 
 Well, Mary was not the least bit fidghtened. 
 
 "I don't see why they shouldn't hold a public meeting," 
 said she, as she handed him back the bill. 
 
 "Why, there will be a public riot?" he said. "You 
 haven't seen the great placards they have pasted up on the 
 walls — done with a big brush — I suppose they were afraid 
 to print them ; but if you go down through the village you 
 will see what they're after. ^ Sive&p the sheej) off Meall-na- 
 Fearn ' — ' Take hack the land ' — ' A general march into 
 Glen Orme: " 
 
 " Glen Orme deer-forest has nothing to do with me," she 
 said. 
 
 " Do you think they will draw such fine distinctions ? " 
 he retorted. " I can tell you, when once the march has 
 begun, they won't stop to ask whose fences they are tearing 
 down ; and a shot or two fired through your windows is 
 about the least you can expect. And that is what comes 
 of coddling people : they think they can terrorise over you 
 whenever they choose — they welcome any kind of agitator, 
 and think they're going to have it all their own way. And 
 can't you see who suggested the Twelfth to them ? I'll bet 
 it was that fellow Pioss — a clever trick ! — either we lose 
 the opening day of the shooting — and that would make 
 him laugh like a cat — or else we leave the place free for 
 those parading blackguards to plunder at their will." 
 
 "At all events. Miss Stanley," interposed Frank Mere- 
 dyth, in a calmer manner, " there can be no harm in
 
 A THREATENED INVASION 215 
 
 postponing our grouse shooting until the Tuesday. I think 
 it will be better for Fred and myself to be about the 
 premises — and the keepers too— until this little disturbance 
 has blown over." 
 
 " Who are those people 1 " she said, taking back the 
 paper and regarding it. " Mr. Ogden I know something 
 of — mostly from pictures of him in Punch ; but I thought 
 it was strikes and trade unions in the north of England 
 that he busied himself with. What has brought him to 
 Scotland?" 
 
 "Why, wherever there is mischief to be stirred up 
 — and notoriety to be earned for himself — that is enough 
 for a low Radical of that stamp ! " her brother said. He 
 was a young man, and his convictions were round and 
 complete. 
 
 " And Miss Ernestine Simon — who is she ?" 
 
 " Oh, you don't know Ernestine?" said Frank Meredyth, 
 with a smile. " Oh yes, surely ! Ernestine, the famous 
 fctroleuse, who fought at the Buttes Chaumont and got 
 wounded in the scramble through Belleville % You must 
 have heard of her, surely ! Well, Ernestine is getting 
 old now ; but there is still something of the sacred fire 
 about her — a sort of mouton enrage desperation : she can 
 use whirling words, as far as her broken English goes." 
 
 " And Mrs. Noyes 1 " Mary continued. " Who is Mrs. 
 Jackson Noyes, from Connecticut ? " 
 
 " There I am done," he confessed. " I never heard of 
 Mrs. Jackson Noyes in any capacity whatever. But I 
 can imagine the sort of person she is likely to be." 
 
 " And what do those people know about the High- 
 lands 1 " Mary demanded again. 
 
 " What they have been told by the Land League, I sup- 
 pose," was his answer — and therewithal Miss Stanley led 
 the way back to the drawing-room, to carry these startling 
 tidings to Kate Glendinning. 
 
 But she was very silent and thoughtful all that evening ; 
 and when the two gentlemen, after dinner, had gone out on 
 the terrace to smoke a cigar, she said— 
 
 "Kiithchen, I am going to confide in you; and you 
 must not break faith with me. You hear what is likely 
 to happen next Monday. Very well : Mr. Meredyth and
 
 2i6 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Fred both want to remain about the house, along with 
 the keepers, in case there should be any disturbance, any 
 injury done to the place. "Now I particularly wish that 
 they should not ; and you must back me up, if it is spoken 
 of again. Why, what harm can the people do % I don't 
 mind about a broken window, if one of the lads should be- 
 come unruly in going by. And if they drive the sheep off 
 Meall-na-Fearn, the sheep can be driven back the next day. 
 I will warn Mr. "Watson that he must not allow his men to 
 show resistance. But, above all, I am anxious that Fred 
 and Mr. Meredyth should leave in the morning for their 
 shooting, as they had arranged. For the truth is, Kathchen, 
 I mean to go to this meeting ; and I mean to go alone." 
 
 "Mamie ?" Kathchen exclaimed, with dismay in her eyes. 
 
 " There are many reasons," Mary Stanley went on. 
 '•If those strangers know anything about the condition 
 of the Highlands that I do not know, I shall be glad to 
 hear it. If they have merely come to stir up mischief, 
 I wish to make my protest. But there is more than that : 
 perhaps the people about here have their grievances and 
 resentments that they would speak of more freely at such 
 a meeting ; and if they have, I want to know what they 
 are ; and I want to show that I am not afraid to trust 
 myself among my neighbours, and to listen to what they 
 have got to say. For, after all, Kathchen, the more you 
 think of it, the more that emigration scheme — the drafting 
 of a lot of people from their own homes — seems such a 
 complete confession of failure. I would rather try some- 
 thing else first — or many things — rather than have the 
 people go away to Canada or Queensland." 
 
 "Mamie," said Kathchen, rising to her feet, "I will not 
 allow you to thrust yourself into this danger. You don't 
 know what an excited crowd may not do. You are the 
 representative here— the only representative — of the very 
 class whom these strangers have come to denounce." 
 
 " That is why I mean to go and show them that the 
 relations between landlord and tenant need not necessarily 
 be what they imagine them to be," Mary said, with a 
 certain dignity and reserve. " Why, if there is any risk 
 of a serious disturbance, is it not my place to be there, 
 to do what I can to prevent it % "
 
 "KAJN TO THE KING THE MORN!'' 217 
 
 "I will appeal to Mr. Meredyth," said Kathchen. 
 
 "You cannot," said Mary, calmly. "I have entrusted 
 you with my secret— you cannot break faith." 
 
 Kathchen looked disconcerted for a second. 
 
 "It is quite monstrous, Mamie, that you should expose 
 yourself to such a risk. Is it because you are so anxious 
 Mr. Ross should not take away a lot of the people to 
 Canada — and you want them to declare openly that they 
 are on good terms with you ? At all events, you shall 
 not be there alone. I will go with you." 
 
 " It is quite needless, Kathchen ! " 
 
 " I don't care about that," said Kate Glendinning ; and 
 then she added, vindictively : " and when I get hold of 
 that Mr. Pettigrew, I will give him a bit of my mind ! 
 The man of peace— always sighing and praying that people 
 should live together in ahniity — and here he goes and 
 lends his church to these professional mischief-makers. 
 Wait till I get hold of Mr. Pettigrew ! " 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 " KAIN TO THE KING THE MORN ! " 
 
 The night was dark and yet clear ; the sea still ; not a 
 whisper stirred in the birch- woods nor along the shores ; 
 the small red points of fire, that told of the distant village, 
 burned steadily. And here, down near the edge of the 
 water, were Coinneach and Calum-a-bhata, hidden under 
 the shadow of the projecting rocks. 
 
 " Oh, yes, Calum," the elder sailor was saying in his 
 native tongue — and he spoke in something of an under- 
 tone — " maybe we will get a few sea-trout this night ; and 
 a good basket of sea-trout is a fine thing to take away 
 with us to Heimra; and who has a better right to the 
 sea-trout than our master 1 Perhaps you do not know what 
 in other days they used to call Kain ; for you are a young 
 man, and not hearing of many things ; but I will tell you 
 now. It was in the days when there were very good 
 relations between the people and the proprietors — " 
 
 "When the birds sang in Gaelic, Coinneach!" said 
 Calum.
 
 2i8 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "Oh, you may laugh; for you are a young man, and 
 ignorant of many things ; but I tell you there was that 
 time ; and the tenants and the people at the Big House 
 wei-e very friendly. And the tenants they paid part of 
 their rent in things that were useful for the Big House — 
 such things as hens, and butter, and eggs, and the like ; 
 but it was not taken as rent ; not at all ; it was taken as 
 a present; and the people at the Big House they would 
 have the tenant sit down, and drink a glass of whisky, 
 and hear the news. And now do you understand that 
 there's ma:iy a one about here knows well of that custom ; 
 and they may pay their money-rent to the English family ; 
 but they would rather send their Kain to the old family, 
 that is, to our master ; and that is why the Gillie Ciotach 
 and the rest of them are very glad when they can take out 
 a hare or a brace of birds or something of that kind to 
 Heimra. And why should not the sea pay Kain to Donald 
 Ross of Heimra? — I will ask you that question, Calum. 
 If the sea about here belongs to any one, it belongs to 
 the old family, and not to the English family " 
 
 " But if they catch us with the scringe-net, Coinneach 1 " 
 said the younger man, ruefully. " Aw, Dyeea, I was never 
 in a prison." 
 
 " The scringe-net ! — a prison ! " said Coinneach, with 
 contempt. " How little you know about such things ! Do 
 they put the dukes and the lords in prison that come round 
 the coast in their big yachts 1 and in nearly every one of 
 the yachts you will see a scringe-net hung out to dry, and 
 no one concealing it. Do you think I have no eyes, Calum ? 
 "When the Consuelo came round to Camus Bheag, and the 
 master was sending to us for his other clothes before he 
 went away to the south, did I not see them taking down 
 a scringe-net from the boom 1 It is very frightened you 
 are, Calum, whether it is putting a few kegs into a cave, 
 or putting a scringe-net round a shore. Now if there was 
 something really to frighten you — like the card-playing the 
 young man saw " 
 
 "What was that, Coinneach?" said Calum quickly. 
 
 Coinneach paused for a second or two, and his face 
 became grave and thoughtful. 
 
 " That was enough to frighten anyone," he continued
 
 ''KAIN TO THE KING THE MORN J'' 219 
 
 presently — in this mysterious chillness, while he kept his 
 eyes watching the vague, dark plain that lay between him 
 and the distant lights of the village. " And if I tell you 
 the story, Calum, it is to show you there are many things 
 we do not understand, and that it is wise not to speak 
 too confidently, in case some one might overhear — some- 
 one that we cannot see. For sometimes they show them- 
 selves ; and at other times they are not visible ; but they 
 may be there. Now I must tell you it happened in a great 
 castle in the north ; I am not remembering the name of 
 it j maybe it was up in Caithness ; I am not remembering 
 that ; but the story is well known, and I was hearing that 
 someone was putting it in a book as well. Now I must tell 
 you that the owner of the castle is the head of the clan, and 
 of a very old and great family ; and it is the custom, when- 
 ever he goes away from home, that one of the other gentle- 
 men of the clan goes to the castle to keep watch. It is not 
 needful in these days, as you can guess for yourself ; but it 
 is a compliment to the head of the clan, and an old 
 custom ; and maybe it is kept up to this present time- 
 though I am not swearing that to you, Calum. What 
 I am telling you took place a good many years ago ; that 
 is what I have heard ; maybe sixty years, maybe fifty yeai-s, 
 maybe a hundred years ; I am not swearing to that. But 
 the chief had to go away from home ; and according to the 
 custom, one of the gentlemen went to keep watch ; and he 
 took with him a young country lad, one of his own 
 servants. Now I must tell you there was a fire put in the 
 great hall of the castle ; for it was in the winter time ; and 
 they had to sit up all night, the one keeping the other 
 awake — for no one likes to be left alone in a strange place 
 like that, in the night-time, and not knowing what things 
 have been experienced by others." 
 
 " You are not needing to tell me that, Coinneach," the 
 other assented. 
 
 " Very well. But as I was saying, the master he sate 
 close to the fire in the great hall ; and the young man he 
 remained some distance away, by one of the windows, and 
 there was no speaking between them. So one hour after 
 another hour went by ; and there was nothing happening ; 
 and it was not until the dead of the night, or towards the
 
 220 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 morning, that the young man noticed that his master had 
 fallen asleep. He did not like that, I can tell you, Calum ; 
 for if you are left alone, the e^dl beings may appear and 
 come upon you ; and there is no question about it. Very 
 well. The young man he thought he would go over to the 
 fire and waken his master ; but what do you think of this 
 now, Calum, that when he tried to rise from his seat he 
 could not do that — something was holding him back — he 
 tried seven times over and seven times more, as I have 
 heard, for he was trembling with the fear of being held. 
 And then — what do you think of this, Calum ? — and it is 
 the truth I am telling you — he saw what few men have 
 ever seen, and what few would ever wish to see : the 
 folding-doors at the end of the hall were opened wide ; and 
 there were two footmen bringing in lights ; and then there 
 was a procession of ladies and gentlemen all dressed in a 
 way that was strange to him ; and they came into the hall 
 so that you could not hear a sound. They, took no notice 
 of him or his master ; and he could see everything they 
 were doing, for all that his eyes were starting out of his 
 head with fright ; and I tell you he was so terrified he 
 could not cry out to wake his master. But he was 
 watching — oh, yes, he was watching with all his eyes, you 
 may be sure of that ; and he saw the footmen bring 
 forward the tables ; and those people in the strange clothes 
 sate down and began to play at cards ; and they were 
 talking to each other — but never any sound of their 
 talking. He could see their lips moving ; but there was 
 no sound. What do you think of that now, Calum ? — was 
 it not a dreadful thing for a young man to see ? — even if 
 they were not doing him any harm, or even knowing he 
 was there ? There's many a one would have sprung up and 
 shrieked out ; but as I tell you, there was no strength in 
 his bones and he could not move ; and his master was fast 
 asleep ; and all those people — the gentlemen with their 
 small swords by their side, and the ladies in their silks — 
 they were playing away at the cards, and talking to each 
 other across the table, and not a sound to be heard. He 
 watched and watched — aw, God, I suppose he was more 
 dead than alive with trembling, and not being able to call 
 on. his master— until the windows began to grow grey with
 
 '' KAIN TO THE KING THE MORN!'' 221 
 
 the morning liglit ; and then he Scaw that the people were 
 sometimes looking at the windows, and sometimes at each 
 other, and they were talking less. Then they rose ; and 
 he could not see the candles any more because of the light 
 in the hall ; and they were going away in that noiseless 
 manner, when one of them happened to spy the young 
 man ; and he came along and looked at him. He looked 
 at him for a moment — and seemed to breathe on him — so 
 that it was like a cold air touching him — and the young 
 man knew that the hand of death had been put upon him. 
 There was no sound ; the sti^ange person only looked ; and 
 the young man felt the cold air on his foi'ehead, so that 
 he was for sinking to the floor ; for he thought that death 
 was on him already, and that he must go with them 
 wherever they were going. Calum, I have told you what 
 I felt when I was coming back from Ru-Gobhar, and when 
 the Woman came behind me ; it was like that with the 
 young man, as I have heard. And then all of a sudden 
 a cock crew outside ; and his master woke up and looked 
 round ; and there was no one in the hall but their two 
 selves." 
 
 "Did he cry out then? — did he tell his master what 
 he had seen ? " Calum asked, in a low voice. 
 
 " He was not caruig much to tell any one," Coinneach 
 replied. " It was what he felt within him that concerned 
 him ; and he knew that the touch of death had been put 
 upon him. Oh, yes, he told the story, though they found 
 him so weak that he could not say much ; and they put 
 him to bed — but he was shivering all the time ; and he 
 had no heart for living left in him. He was not caring 
 to speak much about it. When they asked him what the 
 people were like, he said the gentlemen had velvet coats, 
 and white hair tied with black ribbons behind ; and the 
 ladies were rich in their dresses ; but he could not say 
 what language they were speaking, for he could see their 
 lips moving, but there was no sound. He was not caring 
 to speak much about it. The life seemed to have been 
 taken out of his body ; he said he would never rise again 
 from his bed. He said more than once, ' It was that one 
 that breathed on me ; he wanted me to go with them to 
 be one of the servants ; and if the cock had not crowed I
 
 222 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 would have gone with them. But now I am going.' And 
 he got weaker and weaker, until about the end of the third 
 day ; and then it was all over with the poor lad ; and 
 there was no struggle — he knew that the death-touch had 
 been put upon his heart." 
 
 "And I suppose now," said Calum, meditatively, "they 
 will have him bringing in the tables for them every time 
 they come to play cards in the middle of the night. Aw, 
 Dyeea, I know what I would do if I was the master of 
 that place : I would have the keepers hidden, and when 
 those people came in I would have three or four guns go 
 off at them all at once : would not that settle them 1 " 
 
 "You are a foolish lad, Calum, to think you can harm 
 people like that with a gun," said Coinneach. "No, if it 
 was I, I would say the Lord's Prayer to myself, very low, 
 so that they could not hear; and if they did hear, and 
 still came towards me, I would cry out, ' God on the 
 cross ! ' and that would put the people away from me, as 
 it made the Woman take her hands from my throat the 
 dreadful night I was coming by the Black Bay." 
 
 "Ay, but tell me this, Coinneach," said the younger of 
 the two men. "I have heard that in great terror your 
 tongue will cleave to your mouth ; and you cannot cry out. 
 And what is to happen to you then, if one of those people 
 came near to put a cold breath on you 1 " 
 
 Coinneach did not answer this question : for the last 
 few seconds he had been carefully scanning the darkened 
 plain before him. 
 
 "The boat is coming now, Calum," he whispered. "And 
 it is just as noiseless as any ghost she is." And with 
 that the two men got up from the rock on which they 
 had been sitting, and went down to the water's edge, 
 where they waited in silence. 
 
 There was a low whistle ; Coinneach answered it. Pre- 
 sently a dark object became dimly visible in the gloom. 
 It was a rowing-boat ; and as she slowly drew near the 
 prow sent ripples of phosphorescence trembling away into 
 the dusk, while the blades of the muffled oars, each time 
 they dipped, sti'uck white fire down into the sea. It looked 
 as if some huge and str£(,nge ci'eature, with gauzy silver 
 wings, v/as coming shoreward from out of the unknown
 
 ''RAIN TO THE KING THE MORN/'' 223 
 
 deeps. Not a word was tittered by anyone. When the 
 bow of the boat came near Coinneach caught it and checked 
 it, so that it should not grate on the shingle. Then he 
 and his companion tumbled in ; two other oars, also muffled, 
 were put in the rowlocks ; and silently she went away 
 again, under the guidance of a fifth man, who sate at the 
 helm. Very soon the lights of Lochgarra were lost to 
 view ; they had got round one of the promontories. Out 
 to seaward there was nothing visible at all ; while the 
 " loom " of the land was hardly to be distinguished from 
 the overhanging heavens that did not show a single star. 
 
 And yet the steersman seemed to be sufficiently sure 
 of his course. There Avas no calling a halt for consulta- 
 tion, nor any other sign of uncertainty. Noiselessly the 
 four oars kept measured time ; there were simultaneously 
 the four sudden downward flashes of white — followed by 
 a kind of seething of silver radiance deep in the dark 
 water ; then, here and there on the surface, a large and 
 lambent jewel would shine keenly for a second or two, 
 floating away on the ripples as the boat left it behind. 
 Not one of the men smoked : that of itself showed that 
 something unusual was happening. They kept their eyes 
 on the sombre features of the adjacent shore — of which 
 a landsman could have made next to nothing ; or they 
 turned to the dimly-descried outline of the tow range of 
 hills, where that could be made out against the sky. It 
 was a long and monotonous pull — with absolute silence 
 reigning. But at length a whispered " Easy, boys, easy ! " 
 told them that this part of their labour was about over ; 
 and now they proceeded with greater caution — merely 
 dipping the tips of their oars in the watei', while all their 
 attention was concentrated on the blurred and vague 
 shadows of the land. 
 
 They were now in a small and sheltered bay, the still- 
 ness of which was so intense that they could distinctly hear 
 the murmur of some mountain burn. On the face of the 
 hill rising from the sea there were certain darker patches — 
 perhaps these were birch- woods : also down by the shore 
 there were spaces of deeper gloom — these might be clumps 
 of trees. No light was visible anywhere : this part of the 
 coast was clearly uninhabited, or else the people were asleep.
 
 2 24 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 And yet, before venturing nearer, they ceased rowing alto- 
 gether ; and watched ; and Hstened. Not a sound : save 
 for that continuous murmur of the stream, that at times 
 became remote, and then grew more distinct again — as 
 some wandering breath of wind passed across the face of 
 the hill. The world around them lay in a trance as deep 
 as death : the bark of a dog, the call of a heron, would 
 have been a startling thing. Meanwhile two of the oars 
 had been stealthily shipped ; the remaining two were suffi- 
 cient to paddle the boat nearer to the rocks, when that 
 might be deemed safe. 
 
 And at last the steersman, who appeared to be in com- 
 mand, gave the word. As gently as might be, the boat 
 was headed in for the shore, until Coinneach, who was 
 up at the bow, whispered " That'll do now ; " the rowing 
 ceased ; there was a pause, and some further anxious 
 scrutinising of that amorphous gloom ; then two black 
 figures stepped over the side into the water, taking with 
 them the lug-line of the net that was carefully arranged 
 in the stern. They were almost immediately lost sight of ; 
 for the boat was again noiselessly paddled away, until the 
 full length of the line was exhausted ; while he in the stern 
 began to pay out the net — each cork float that dropped 
 into the water sending a shower of tremulous white 
 stars spreading from it, and all the meshes shivering in 
 silver as they were straightened out. A wonderful sight 
 it was ; but not the most likely to procure a good fishing ; 
 for, of course, that quivering, lustrous, far-extended web 
 would be visible at some little distance. However, out 
 went the net easily and steadily — with just the faintest 
 possible " swish" as each successive armful soused into the 
 sea ; and then, as quick as was consistent with silence, the 
 boat was pulled ashore, and two of the men jumped out 
 with the other lug-line. They, too, vanished in the 
 impenetrable dusk. The solitary occupant of the mys- 
 terious craft, standing up at the bow, was now left to 
 watch the result of these operations and to direct, in low 
 and eager whispers, his unseen comrades. Slowly, slowly 
 the semicircular net was being hauled in \ as it got nearer 
 and nearer the men at the lug-lines splashed the water 
 with them, so as to frighten the fish into the meshes ; the
 
 ''KAIN TO THE KING THE MORN I" 225 
 
 sea glkamered nebulous in white fire ; here and there a 
 larger star burned clear on the black surface for a moment, 
 and then gradually faded away. The commotion increased 
 — in the water and out of it ; it was evident from the 
 fluttering and seething that there was a good haul ; and in 
 their excitement the scringers who were ashore forgot the 
 danger of their situation — there were muttered exclama- 
 tions in Gaelic as the net was narrowed in and in. And 
 then, behold ! — in the dark meshes those shining silver 
 things — each entangled fish a gleaming, scintillating wonder 
 — a radiant prize, here in the deep night. If this was 
 liain for Donald Ross of Heimra, it was Kain fit to be 
 paid to a king. 
 
 It was at this moment that three men came across the 
 rocky headland guarding the bay on its northern side. 
 They had just completed a careful inspection of the neigh- 
 bouring creek — as careful as the darkness would allow ; 
 they had followed the windings of the coast, searching 
 every inlet ; and so far their quest had been in vain. 
 Now they stood on this promontory, peering and listening. 
 
 " No, sir, I do not see or hear anything," said Hector, 
 the tall keeper, who had a gun over his shoulder ; and 
 he seemed inclined to give up further pursuit. 
 
 " But I tell you they must be somewhere," said Fred 
 Stanley, in an excited fashion. " There was no mistake 
 about what they were after. What would they be going 
 out in a boat for at this time of the night, if it wasn't for 
 ?" 
 Maybe they would be for setting night-lines," said the 
 keeper, evasively. 
 
 " Not a bit of it ! " the young man retorted, with im- 
 patience. " I know better than that. And I know who is 
 in that boat — I know perfectly well. It isn't for nothing 
 that the Sirene is lying in Camus Bheag : I know who is 
 out with those poaching nets — and I'm going to catch 
 him if I can. I want to have certain things made public : 
 I want an explanation : I want to have the Sheriff at 
 Dingwall called in to settle this matter." 
 
 "Are you quite sure you saw the boat, sir?" said the 
 keeper — all this conversation taking place in lowered tones, 
 except when Fred Stanley grew angry and indignant. 
 
 Q 
 
 scringemg
 
 226 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Why," said he, turning to his friend Meredyth, " ho"W 
 far was she from the steam-launch when she passed — not 
 half a dozen yards, I'll swear ! It was a marvellous stroke 
 of luck we thought of going out for that draught-board ; 
 they little thought there \yould be any one on the launch 
 at that hour ; and I tell you, if the punt had been a bit 
 bigger, I would have given chase to them there and then. 
 Never mind, we ought to be able to catch them yet — catch 
 them in the act — and I mean to see it out ■" 
 
 " Yes, but we haven't caught them," said Frank Meredyth, 
 discontentedly ; for he had stumbled again and again, 
 and knocked his ankles against the rocks ; and he would 
 far rather have been at home, talking to Mary Stanley. 
 " And it's beastly dark : we shall be slipping down into 
 the water sooner or later. What's the use of going on, 
 Fred % What about a few sea-trout ? Everybody does 
 it " 
 
 " But it's against the law all the same ; and I mean to 
 catch this poaching scoundrel red-handed, if I can," was 
 the young man's answer-. " Come, Hector, you must know 
 perfectly well where they put out the scringe-nets. Yf hat's 
 this place before us now ? " 
 
 " It's the Camus Mhor, sir," said Hector, " in there 
 towards the land." 
 
 " Well, is it any use scringeing in this bay ? " the young 
 man demanded. 
 
 " There's the mouth of the burn that comes down by 
 the plantation," was the reply. 
 
 " Very well, take us there ! " Fred Stanley said im- 
 patiently. " Those fellows must be somewhere ; and I'll 
 bet you they're not far off. I must say. Hector, you don't 
 seem particularly anxious to get hold of them. Are there 
 any of them friends of yours % " 
 
 Hector did not answer this taunt. He merely said — 
 
 "It is a dai'k night, sir, to make any one out." 
 
 And then they went on again, but with caution ; for 
 besides the danger of breaking a leg among the rocks, 
 they knew that the yawning gulfs of the sea were by their 
 side. Hector led the way, Fred Stanley coming next, 
 Meredyth — with muttered grumblings — bringing up the 
 rear. In this wise they followed the inward bend of the
 
 '' KAIN TO THE KING THE MORN P' 227 
 
 bay, until the keeper leapt from the rocks into a drifted 
 mass of seaweed : they were at the corner of the semi- 
 circular beach. 
 
 Suddenly Fred Stanley caught Hector's arm, and held 
 him for a second. 
 
 " Do you hear that ? " he said, in an eager whisper. 
 " They are there — right ahead of us — fire a shot at them, 
 Hector ! — give them a peppering — give their coats a dust- 
 ing ! " 
 
 " Oh, no, sir," said the serious-mannered keeper, " I can- 
 not do that. But I will go forward and challenge them. 
 When you get to know who they are, then you will apply 
 for a summons aftei'wax'ds." 
 
 " Come on, then ! — come along ! " the young man said, 
 and he began to run — stumbling over seaweed, stones, and 
 shingle — but guided by the subdued commotion in. front of 
 him. 
 
 All at once that scuffle ceased. There was another 
 sound — slight and yet distinct : it was the hurried dip of 
 oars. Nay, was not that the " loom " of a boat, not twenty 
 yards away from them — the dark hull receding from the 
 land ? 
 
 " Here, Hector ! " the young man cried — furious that his 
 prey had just escaped him. "Fire, man! — give them a 
 cliarge ! — give the thieving scoundrels a dose of shot 
 amongst them ! " 
 
 Hector made no answer to this appeal. He called 
 aloud— 
 
 " Who are you % Whose is that boat % " 
 
 There was no word in reply — only the slight sound of 
 the dipping oars. Fred Stanley caught at the gun; but 
 the keeper held it away from him. 
 
 "No, sir, no," he said gravely. "We must keep within 
 the law, whatever they do." 
 
 " Yes — and now they're off — and laughing at us ! " the 
 young man angrily exclaimed. And then he said : " Do 
 you mean to tell me you don't know who these men are ? 
 Do you mean to tell me you don't know quite well that it 
 is Ross of Heimra who is in that boat % " 
 
 " I am not thinking that, sir," Hector answered slowly. 
 
 " You took precious good care not to find out ! " Fred 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Stanley said, for he was grievously disappointed. *' If you 
 had come up with me you might have compelled them to 
 stop and declare themselves : even if you had fired in the 
 air, that would have brought them to reason fast enough. 
 When shall we get such another chance ? I knew things 
 like this were going on — knew it quite well. And it's your 
 place to stop it — it's your business. It is a monstrous 
 thing that the fishing in the rivers should be destroyed by 
 tliose tliieves." 
 
 He continued looking out to sea; but the boat had 
 disappeared in the dark. 
 
 "No, we shall not get another chance like that," said he, 
 turning to his friend Meredyth. " And it is a thousand 
 pities — for I would have given anything to have caught 
 that fellow red-handed : I hate to think of my sister being 
 imposed upon." 
 
 " "Well, I suppose we'd better be getting back," said 
 Frank Meredyth, who had displayed no great interest in 
 this expedition. "And I dare say Hector can show us 
 some inland way — I don't want to go round those infernal 
 rocks again." 
 
 "Hector?" said Fred Stanley, in a savage undertone. 
 " I'm pretty sure of this— that when Hector took us all 
 round those rocks, he knew precious well where the 
 scringers were ! " 
 
 And very indignant was he, and sullenly resentful, when 
 he carried this story home to Lochgarra House and to his 
 sister. He roundly accused the keepers of connivance. 
 They could put down the scringeing if they chose ; but it 
 was all part and parcel of the poaching system that existed 
 for the benefit of Donald Ross. He it was who had the 
 fishing and shooting of this estate. A fine condition of 
 affairs, truly ! 
 
 " I am afraid," said Mary Stanley, who seemed to take 
 this stormy complaint with much composure, "that 
 Mr. Ross has not quite enough skill to make much of a 
 poacher, even if he were incHned that way. If you had 
 been here yesterday, you would have heard himself say 
 that he was a very indifferent shot, and a very poor 
 fisherman also " 
 
 " And you believed him, of course ! " her brother said,
 
 "KAIN TO THE KING THE MORN/'' 229' 
 
 with contempt. " Of course he would say that ! That is 
 the very thing he would profess " 
 
 " But, you see, Fred," she continued, without taking any 
 offence, " he gave us a very good reason why he should be 
 but a poor sportsman. There is neither fishing nor shooting 
 on Heimra Island." 
 
 He laughed scornfully. 
 
 "Fishing and shooting on Heimra Island?" he repeated. 
 " What need has he of them, when he has the fishing and 
 shooting of Lochgarra ? " 
 
 "You may be mistaken, Fred," Frank Meredyth inter- 
 posed — careful to be on Miss Stanley's side, as usual. 
 "You may be going too much by what Purdie said that 
 evening at Inverness. At the same time, I quite know 
 this, that when once you suspect any one of poaching, it is 
 desperately difficult to get the idea out of your head. All 
 kinds of small things are constantly happening that seem 
 to offer confirmation " 
 
 " I will bet you twenty pounds to five shillings," said the 
 young man hotly, " that if we go out to Heimra to-morrow, 
 and stay to luncheon, we shall find sea-trout on the table. 
 There may be no fishing on the island — that is quite 
 possible ; but I tell you there will be sea-trout in Ross's 
 house. I dare you all to put it to the proof. It is a fair 
 offer. We can run out in the steam-launch if the sea is as 
 calm as it is now — Mamie, you can come too, and Miss 
 Glendinning ; and my bet is twenty pounds to five shillings 
 that you will find sea-trout produced." 
 
 " Surely it would be rather shabby to go and ask a man 
 to give you lunch in order to prove something against 
 him ? " she made answer. " And even then that would not 
 show he had been himself in the boat. As for any of the 
 people about here using a scringe-net now and again to 
 pick up a few fish — well, that is not a very heinous 
 offence." 
 
 "If it is," said Meredyth (still siding with her), "it is 
 committed every summer by a large number of highly 
 respectable persons. Why, only the other day the Fishery 
 Board had to issue a circular reminding owners of yachts 
 that netting in territorial seas wasn't allowed." 
 
 "Oh, very well," said Fred Stanley, with a sorb of
 
 '230 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 affected resignation. "Very ^yell. It is no concern of 
 mine. The place does not belong to me. And of course, 
 Mamie, you are only following out the programme which 
 will be laid before the free and independent — the very 
 free and independent — natives of this parish, on Monday. 
 No doubt they will be told they have the right to take 
 salmon and sea-trout wherever they can find them, either 
 in the rivers, or round the mouths of the rivers, or in the 
 sea. Tliey have that right, you understand, but you 
 haven't; if you try to catch a salmon, you will have a 
 stone hurled into the pool in front of you ! And what 
 will be the rest of the programme when the English 
 demagogue, and the French anarchist, and the Yankee 
 plaiform- woman, come to set the heather on fire % How 
 much more are you going to surrender, Mamie % You've 
 cut down the rents everywhere — given up more pasture — 
 given up more peat-land. "What next % Don't you think 
 it's an awful shame you should be living in a great big 
 house like this, when those poor people are living in 
 thatched hovels " 
 
 "Well," said Mary, with an honest laugh, "if I must 
 tell you the truth, I do sometimes think so. Sometimes, 
 when I go outside, and look at the contrast, it does seem 
 to me too great " 
 
 " Oh, very well ! " he said ironically. " When these are 
 your sentiments, I don't Avonder that the place is considered 
 ripe for a general riot. But whatever your theories may 
 be, I'm going to draw the line at personal violence and 
 destruction of property. I shall have my six-chambered 
 Colt loaded on Monday ; and if any impudent blackguard 
 dares to come near this place " 
 
 " You are going up the hill on Monday," said she briefly. 
 " Both you and Mr. Meredyth. I want some grouse for 
 the kitchen ; and as many more to send away as you can 
 get for me." 
 
 " Pardon me, Miss Stanley," Meredyth said, and he spoke 
 with a certain quiet decision, " you are asking a little too 
 much. It is impossible for us to go away shooting and 
 leave you at the mercy of what may turn out to be a 
 riotous mob. It is quite impossible : you have no right to 
 ask it."
 
 A REVOLUTION THAT FAILED 231 
 
 " Yes, but I do ask it ? " she said, somewhat petulantly — 
 for she wished to be left free to follow her own designs on 
 that fateful Monday. " You are my guest ; you are here 
 for the Twelfth ; and I particularly want you — both you 
 and Fred — to go away after the grouse ; and never mind 
 about this — this lecture, or whatever it is " 
 
 " I for one, cannot," he said, firmly ; " and I know Fred 
 will not." 
 
 Mary glanced half-imploringly at Kiithchen. But Kixth- 
 chen sate mute. Perhaps she was considering that, whether 
 Mary went to the meeting or not, it was just as well the 
 two gentlemen were to be within hail. Besides, before 
 then it was just possible Mary might be induced to confess 
 to them her mad resolve : in which case it would become 
 their duty to reason and remonstrate, seeing that Kiith- 
 chen's protests had been of no avail. Or would they insist 
 on accompanying her to the meeting, if she was detei'mined 
 to go ? For one thing, Kiithchen did not at all like Fred 
 Stanley's reference to his Colt's revolver ; if there was going 
 to be any serious disturbance, that was not likely to prove 
 a satisfactory means of quelling it. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 A REVOLUTION THAT FAILED. 
 
 Btri? at first the two young men — especially when they 
 were in the society of the young women — professed to make 
 light of the threatened invasion. What harm could come 
 of allowing a parcel of notoriety-hunting adventurers to 
 air their eloquence — and their ignorance? The crofters 
 would at once perceive that Ogden, M.P., knew no more 
 about them and their ways of life than he kneAV about 
 the inhabitants of the moon. As for Mademoiselle 
 Ernestine — the fiery Ernestine would find it difficult 
 to set the Highland peat-bogs in a blaze with her little 
 tin can of paraffin. And as for Mrs. Jackson Noyes of 
 Coimecticut — but here the young men had to confess that 
 they knew nothing of Mrs. Jackson Noyes ; and so, to 
 amuse themselves, at dinner, they set to work to con- 
 struct an imaginary Mrs, ISToyes out of a series of guesses,
 
 232 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " She is a passionate sympathiser with all suffering races — 
 especially married women," said Mr. Meredyth, confidently. 
 
 " Men are brutes," observed Fred Stanley. 
 
 " She will denounce the hideous cruelty of landlords 
 stalking grouse with express rifles," said Meredyth, keeping 
 the ball rolling. 
 
 " She will call on the crofters to arise in their wrath 
 and demand that of every stag killed two haunches must 
 be delivered over to them, the remaining two to be retained 
 by the landlord." 
 
 *' But doesn't that sound reasonable ! " said Kathchen, 
 innocently — whereat there was a roar. 
 
 " Miss Glendinning," said Meredyth, apologetically, " you 
 forget : the haunches of a stag are limited in number. It 
 was Mrs. Jackson Noyes's idea of a stag we were dealing 
 with. Well, Fred, what next ?" 
 
 " Any landlord or farmer," continued the younger man, 
 with a matter-of-fact air, " found guilty of killing a sheep 
 without the aid of chloroform to be sent to jail for twenty- 
 five years. No lamb to be taken away from its mother 
 without the mother's consent— in writing, stamped, sealed, 
 and delivered before the Sheriff of Dingwall." 
 
 "A compulsory rate," suggested Fraixk Meredyth, " levied 
 on landlords, of course — for the relief of bed-ridden peat 
 hags — -— " 
 
 " Oh, stop that nonsense ! " Mary interposed, laughing 
 in a shamefaced kind of way. " They can't be as ignorant 
 as all that." 
 
 " Oh, can't they ? " said he, coolly. ** I've seen lots of 
 worse things — accompanied by eloquent, if occasionally 
 ungrammatical, denunciations of the brutal landlords. 
 You are a landlord, Miss Stanley ; and you have taken the 
 wages of blood and sin. If I were you I should feel in- 
 clined to throw down the thirty pieces of silver and depart 
 and go and hang myself." 
 
 "She won't do that," said her brother. " But what she 
 is more likely to do is to give up the pasture of Meall- 
 na-Fearn that those people demand. And then Mrs. Jackson 
 Noyes will telegraph to the Connecticut Radiator that a 
 great triumph has been achieved, and that the American 
 banner has begun to wave over the benighted Highlands."
 
 A REVOLUTION THAT FAILED 233 
 
 " I wish the American banner didn't wave over so 
 many Highland deer-forests," said Meredyth, briefly; and 
 there an end for the moment. 
 
 But the talk of the two young men when they were by 
 themselves was very different. 
 
 "What ought to be done, and done at once," said 
 Fred Stanley, "is to send over to Dingwall for a body 
 of police. Indeed, the meeting should be suppressed 
 altogether : it is a clear instigation to riot. I don't see 
 how a riot can be avoided — if those howlers are allowed 
 to rave. But my sister won't hear of it. Oh, no ! Every- 
 thing is to be amiable and friendly and pleasant. She 
 is quite sure that the crofters are grateful to her for their 
 lowered rents and all that. Grateful ! — they don't know 
 what gratitude is ! " 
 
 "But at all events you must remember this," said 
 Meredyth, " that your sister has been here a much longer 
 time than you ; and she has been doing her best to get 
 to understand these people and their wants and their habits 
 of thinking. She may be a little too confident : in that 
 case it is for you and me to see that she is kept out of 
 harm's way. And as far as I can judge, the main event 
 of the day is to be a raid into Glen Orme forest " 
 
 " By the Lord, they'll get a warm reception if they try 
 that ! " young Stanley broke in. " I can tell you, from 
 what I've heard of him. Colonel Tomlins isn't the sort of 
 man to let a lot of vagabonds march past Glen Orme Lodge 
 and take possession of the forest — I should think not. 
 The ragged army will find a sufiicient force awaiting them 
 — keepers, foresters, gillies, and the guns of the house- 
 party : there may be driving — but it won't be the deer that 
 will be driven off." 
 
 " That as it may be," said Meredyth, with much calm- 
 ness. " But even if there is a scrimmage up there, what 
 has that got to do with us ? I don't care a brass farthing 
 about the Glen Orme deer ; I want to see your sister 
 safe. And if the torrent of revolution flows peacefully 
 past this house, and goes to expend itself in Glen Orme — let 
 it, and welcome ! " 
 
 "Yes, but that is too much to expect," Fred Stanley 
 said, gloomily. " It is my sister who will be preached
 
 234 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 against by those fanatics. It is she who is the representa- 
 tive here of the landlord interest. Gratitude ! — it's precious 
 little gratitude they'll show, when they have this fellow 
 Donald Ross secretly egging them on. Of course, he is 
 annoyed that you and I should have come up to interfere 
 with him; he thought he would only have a woman to 
 deal with ; and that the keepers could make all kinds^ of 
 excuses to her. But now he finds it different. I imagine 
 he knows very well that he is suspected and watched, 
 and that there is a chance of his being caught at any 
 moment — a chance that I mean to make a certainty of 
 before I leave this place ! " 
 
 "My young friend," said Meredyth, dispassionately, 
 "I'm afi-aid you are becoming eniete about this Donald 
 Ross. And yet I don't wonder at it. I've seen a similar 
 state of affairs, many a time before now. The fact is, 
 when once you suspect poaching, the suspicion becomes a 
 sort of mania, and all your comfort in the shooting is 
 gone. It is precisely the same on board a yacht. If 
 you once suspect your skipper or your steward of ^ drinking, 
 it's all over with you ; you are always looking out — 
 mistrusting — imagining ; you may as well go ashore at once, 
 or get another skipper or steward. Of course, the poaching 
 is still more vexatious ; for you feel you are being defied 
 and cheated at the same time; and you want revenge; 
 and the poacher is generally a devil of a clever fellow. 
 But, after all, Fred, your sister is right : even if you are 
 convinced that there is poaching going on — as there has 
 certainly been some little ill-will shown against us now 
 and then — still, you have nothing to prove that Donald 
 Ross is the culprit — nothing." 
 
 "I will catch him yet," said Fred Stanley under his 
 breath. 
 
 Next morning being Sunday morning, they all went to 
 church. In going down through the village they could 
 perceive no sign of excitement, anticipatory of the next day : 
 on the contrary all was decorous quiet. Shutters were 
 shut ; in some cases the blinds were drawn down ; the 
 few people they saw were dressed in black, and were cer- 
 tainly not breaking the Lord's day by idle or frivolous con- 
 versation. But here was John the policeman.
 
 A REVOLUTION THAT FAILED 235 
 
 " Well, John," said Mary, to the plump and placid Iain, 
 who smiled good-naturedly when she addressed him, "are 
 we to have civil war to-morrow ? " 
 
 " Mem % " said John — not understanding. 
 
 " Is there going to be a riot to-morrow ? " she repeated. 
 
 "Aw, no, mem," said John, in a mildly deprecating way. 
 " I am not thinking that. The meeting it will be in the 
 church, and there is the Minister." 
 
 "And what are you going to do?" said she. "I 
 suppose you know they threaten to drive the sheep off 
 Meall-na-Fearn, and there is a proposal to go into Glen 
 Orme forest. Well, what are you going to do 1 " 
 
 " I am not sure," said Iain, with a vague, propitiatory 
 grin. 
 
 " You have taken no steps to preserve the peace then? " 
 she demanded — but, indeed, she was well aware of John's 
 comfortable, easy-going optimism, 
 
 " Aw, well," said the round-cheeked representative of 
 the law, "mebbe the lads will no do anything at ahl ; and 
 if they go into the forest, mebbe they will no do mich 
 harm." 
 
 " But I suppose you have heard that Colonel Tomlins's 
 keepers and foresters mean to stop them, if they should 
 attempt any such thing ; and it isn't at all likely that Mi*. 
 Watson's shepherds will let them drive the sheep off Meall- 
 na-Fearn without some kind of resistance. What then ? 
 What are you going to do ? " 
 
 " Aw, well," said John — letting his eyes rove aimlessly 
 away towards Heimra Island, and then to the little white 
 Free Church beyond the bay, and then back to the gi'ound 
 in front of Miss Stanley's feet, " mebbe there will be no 
 mich harm ; and the Minister will be in charge what- 
 ever " 
 
 "Look here, John," Fred Stanley broke in, peremptorily, 
 "it is quite clear to me that you mean to stand by and let 
 anything happen that is likely to happen. Very well, I 
 wish to give you notice — and I wish the people about here 
 to understand — that if there's any demonstration made 
 against Lochgarra House, we've got a gun or two there 
 — half a dozen of them — and we don't mean to stand any 
 nonsense,"
 
 236 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Fred ! " said she, and she drew her head up : he was 
 put to silence in a moment. Then she turned to the 
 phlegmatic Iain, " You must do what you can to give 
 good advice to any of the young men you may hear talking. 
 These strangers that are coming — what do they know about 
 Lochgarra % They only wish to stir up strife, for their own 
 purposes. And it would be a very bad thing for any of 
 the men about here to be sent for trial to Edinburgh, 
 merely because these strangers were bent on making 
 mischief." 
 
 " Yes, mem," answered Iain, obediently — but in a vague 
 way : perhaps he did not quite comprehend. 
 
 "John," said Fred Stanley, coming to the front again, 
 " do you know anything about the scringeing that goes on 
 about here ? " 
 
 This time John did understand. 
 
 " Me, sir ? " he replied — as if such a question were an 
 insult to the dignity of his office. And perhaps he would 
 have gone on to protest as earnestly as his good-humoured 
 laziness would allow, that he had no knowledge of any 
 such illegal practices, but that Mary Stanley intervened, 
 and carried her party off with her to church. 
 
 Of course it was the English portion of the day's services 
 that they attended, in the little, plain, ill-ventilated 
 building. The sermon was so severely doctrinal that they 
 could not follow it very well ; while the occasional appeals 
 to the heart, uttered in that high falsetto sing-song, fell 
 with a somewhat unnatural note on the ear. Yet the 
 small congregation listened devoutly — with an occasional 
 sigh. Mary Stanley's attention was not occupied much 
 with the pulpit : she was looking rather at the sad, 
 withered, weather-worn faces of certain of the older people 
 — and thinking what their lot in life had been. She 
 recalled a saying she had heard somewhere in the Black 
 jT'orest — " The world grows every day harder for us poor 
 folk that are so old ; " and she was wondering when her 
 modest, but at least assiduous and smcere, efforts to 
 somewhat better their condition and introduce a measure 
 of cheerfulness into their surroundings would be accepted 
 with a little goodwill. As for the middle-aged and younger 
 men, she was less concerned about them. If they meant
 
 A REVOLUTION THAT FAILED 237 
 
 to break the windows of Lochgarra House next day, or 
 pillage the garden, or set fire to the kennels, she would 
 stand by and let them do their worst. But she did not 
 think she had deserved such treatment at their hands. 
 
 When they came out of church again Miss Stanley and 
 her friends -lingered awhile, for she wished to intercept 
 the Minister ; and eventually Mr. Pettigrew made his 
 appearance. As he approached them, Mr. Pettigrew's 
 gaunt and grey-hued face wore a certain look of appre- 
 hension, and lie was nervously stroking his long and 
 straggling beard. But Mary received him pleasantly 
 enough. 
 
 " How do you do, Mr. Pettigrew ? " said she. " I thought 
 I should like to know whether you are going to the gather- 
 ing to-morrow. If these placards that are scattered about 
 mean anything, it may be necessary for someone who is 
 well acquainted with the people to be present to speak a 
 quieting word ; and as you have lent the church for the 
 purposes of the meeting, I suppose you accept a certam 
 responsibility " 
 
 "Oh, no. Miss Stanley, I would not say that," the 
 Minister responded, rather anxiously, "I would not say 
 that. I think it is a wise thing and a just thing that the 
 people should have an opportunity of conferring one with 
 another about their temporal interests ; but it is not for 
 me to be a partisan. I would fain see all men's minds 
 contented as regards their worldly afiairs, so that they 
 might the more readily turn to their spiritual requirements 
 and needs. Ay. It is hardly for me to give counsel — 
 either the counsel of Ahitophel or the counsel of Hushai 
 the Archite — " 
 
 " And so," said Kiithchen, striking in (for she had not 
 yet had a chance of opening her mind to Mr. Pettigrew), 
 " you invite these strangers to come here and stu" up con- 
 tention and mischief — you give them your pulpit to preach 
 from — and then you step aside, and wash your hands of all 
 responsibility ! I should have thought a minister of the 
 gospel would have been on the side of peace, not on the 
 side of disturbance and riot " 
 
 " Dear me — dear me — it is all a mistake ! " the bewildered 
 Minister exclaimed. " I assure ye it is all a mistake. I
 
 238 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 did not invite them — Mr. Fraser wrote to me — and I 
 thought I was justified in giving them permission — so that 
 all men's minds might be leeberated. Is not that on the 
 side of peace % Let the truth be spoken, though the 
 heavens fall ! — it's a noble axiom — a noble axiom. If the 
 message that these people bring with them have not the 
 truth in it, it will perish ; if it have the truth in it, it will 
 endure " 
 
 "Yes, that's all very well," said the intrepid Kiithchen. 
 " But in the meantime % What's going to happen in the 
 meantime ? And if there is a general riot to-morrow, and 
 pi'operty destroyed, and people injured — the truth of the 
 message won't mend that. And what do those people know 
 about Lochgarra ? How can they know anything % They 
 are comuig here merely to incite a lot of ignorant crofters 
 and cottars to break the law ; and you lend them your 
 pulpit, so that the people about here will think the church 
 is on their side, even if they should take it into their heads 
 to set fii'e to Lochgarra House ! " 
 
 " Dear me ! " said the Minister — who had not expected 
 any such attack from this amiable and rather nice-looking 
 young lady, " I hope nothing of the kind will happen." 
 
 " At all events, INIr. Pettigrew," said Mary, interposing, 
 " I understand you don't mean to be present at this 
 meeting 1 You will let those strangers talk whatever in- 
 flamraatory stuff they choose without any word of protest 
 or caution. Well, I suppose you have the right to decide 
 for yourself. But I mean to go. If they have anything 
 to say against me, I want to hear it. If I have no one to 
 defend me, I must defend myself " 
 
 "Oh, but I beg your pardon, Miss Stanley?" Frank 
 IMeredyth broke in. " You are not quite so defenceless — • 
 not at all ! For my own part, I don't think you ought 
 to go to this meeting — I think it will be umvise and un- 
 called for ; but if you do go, you sha'n't go alone — I will 
 see to that." 
 
 And again, after they had left the Minister, and were on 
 their way back to Lochgarra House, he urgently begged 
 her to abandon this enterprise ; and her brother joined in, 
 and quite as warmly. 
 
 " Why, you are the very person they have come to
 
 A kEVOLUTION THAT l^AtLED 239 
 
 denounce ! " Trecl Stanley exclaimed. " You are the repre- 
 sentative of the landlords. And what will they thinlc of 
 your appearing at the meeting % They will take it as an 
 open challenge ? " 
 
 "I mean it as an open challenge," she said, proudly. 
 " I want to know what I am accused of. I want to ask 
 what more I could have done — with my limited means. 
 For of course my means are limited. I can't build break- 
 waters, and buy fleets of fishing-boats, and make railways ; 
 for I haven't the money. And I can't change the soil, or 
 alter the climate, or even alter the habits of the people." 
 
 " What did I tell you, Mamie, at Invershin Station ? " 
 said Kiithchen ; but Maiy Stanley went on unheeding — • 
 
 " If there are grievances still to be redressed, I want to 
 hear of them." 
 
 " Their real grievance is that they haven't got the land 
 for nothing," observed her l^rother, who had a short and 
 summary way of dealing with such questions. 
 
 " Well, if you must go, at least we can promise you a 
 bodyguard," said Frank Meredyth, as they were ascending 
 the wide stone steps. "At the same time, I think you 
 would be very much better advised to stay at home." 
 
 That afternoon the ordinary dull somnolence of a Loch- 
 garra Sunday gave way to a quite unusual, if subdued, 
 excitement. To begin with, about half-past three a 
 waggonette came rattling into the silent little village, and 
 drew up at the inn ; while its occupants — the three apostles 
 of Land Liberation — descended and disappeared from view. 
 They were not gone long, however. The cottagers, fur- 
 tively peeping from behind door or window-blind, beheld 
 the strangers come out again and set off for a walk along 
 the sea-front, scanning every object on each hand of them 
 as they passed. The central figure of the three was a lai'ge 
 and heavily-built man, pale and flabby of face, with small, 
 piggish, twinlvliag eyes, close-cropped and stubbly yellow 
 hair, and a wide but thin-lipped and resolute mouth. He 
 wore a loose-flapping frock-coat, and a black felt wide- 
 awake ; his hands wei-e clasped behind him ; he waddled 
 as he walked. On his right was a tall and elderly woman, 
 spare, and rather elegant of figure ; with a thin, sharp face 
 which, either from constitutional acridity of blood or
 
 240 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 perhaps from driving in the sun, was distinctly violent in 
 colour : this was Ernestine — the fiery Ernestine — who had 
 no doubt brought with her her torch and can of parafiin. 
 As for the lady who had come all the way across the 
 Atlantic to enlighten these poor souls of ci'ofters, no one 
 could say what she was like ; for she was entii'ely enveloped 
 in a brown dust-coat and a blue veil. But she was shorter 
 than either of her companions. 
 
 " There are only three of them — ^there ought to be four," 
 said Frank Meredyth, as the Lochgarra House party were 
 regarding these passing strangers from the drawing-room 
 window. " The big man is Ogden — he is easily recog- 
 nisable — I'm afraid he has puffed himself out with too 
 much tea-di'inking ; but where is the Highland Land 
 Leaguer 1 " 
 
 " Why, you don't suppose the vice-president of a branch 
 of the Highland Land League would travel on a Sunday 1 " 
 said Kathchen. " He will be coming along to-morrow 
 morning — even if he has to walk or drive all night." 
 
 Mary was also regarding the strangers. 
 
 " If the American woman, whichever she is," said she, 
 quietly " is going to denounce me to-morrow, she has not 
 left herself much time to get information about this place. 
 She will have to begin at once, if she wishes to ascertain 
 the facts." 
 
 " The facts ! " said Meredyth. " She won't have to 
 search about for them. She has brought them with 
 her — from Connecticut." 
 
 Truly this was an afternoon of surprises. For while on 
 a rare occasion it might happen that someone arrived at 
 Lochgarra on Sunday by road, it was almost an unheard-of 
 thing that anyone should come in by sea. Boating of 
 any description was quite unknoAvn on the sacred day ; 
 there was no ferry — no Queen's highway to be kept open ; 
 while as for going on the water for pleasure, such sacrilege 
 never entered the brain of a native of Lochgarra. And 
 yet here, unmistakably, was a small, black-hulled lugger, 
 with a ruddy brown sail, coming steadily in before the light 
 westerly breeze ; and when, having at length gained the 
 shelter of the quay, she was rounded into the wind, and 
 yard and sail lowered, her occupants presently got into
 
 A REVOLUTION THAT FAILED 241 
 
 the little dinghy astern, and came ashore. From the 
 drawing-room of Lochgarra House they were easily dis- 
 tinguishable ; they were Big Archie, Donald Ross of Heimar, 
 and the young lad who was usually in charge of the lugger. 
 When they landed, young Ross left his companions, and 
 went directly up to the inn. 
 
 « Ha ! didn't I teU you ? " Fred Stanley cried, with an 
 air of triumph. " Before the storm the petrel !— I thought 
 we should see him somewhere about, when this affair was 
 coming off. Only he has missed his confederates. I 
 wonder if they have gone far. I suppose Mr. Ogden has 
 taken his American friend up Minard way to show her 
 what a crofter's cottage is like — or perhaps she wants to 
 look at the bed-ridden peat-hags. We shall find Ross 
 following them in a moment — only he won't know which 
 way they have gone." Of a sudden he rose from his seat, 
 as if struck by some new idea. " I've a great mind to go 
 down to the inn. What do you say, Frank 1 I should 
 like to step up to him and tell him that he'll find his 
 friends if he goes up the jMinard road." 
 
 *' You shall do nothing of the kind ! " said IMary, angrily. 
 
 " I should like to sec the expression of his face ! " her 
 brother observed. 
 
 " If they are friends of Mr. Ross, he can find them 
 for himself," said she. " It is none of our business. And 
 — and — if they are not — I won't have him insulted by any- 
 one going from this house ! " 
 
 He looked at her : she did not often talk in this in- 
 dignant and vehement way. 
 
 "Oh, very well," he said. "Very well. It doesn't 
 matter to me. You may have cause to change your opinion 
 to-morrow." 
 
 All that evening very little mention was made of the 
 subject about which everyone was secretly thinking. Frank 
 Meredyth, finding it was of no use to try to move 
 IVIary from her purpose, thought the best thing he could 
 do was to reassure her : he said he hoped Ernestine would 
 prove amusing. And next morning, too, he professed to 
 treat the whole affair as a jest ; but all the same he kept 
 going to the window from time to time, to have a look at 
 the little groups of twos and threes who were congregated 
 
 B
 
 242 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 here and thei^e, talking amongst themselves. For there 
 was clearly some small commotion prevailing ; the people 
 were not attending to their ordinary affairs ; the most 
 trifling occurrence — -a dog-fight in the street — attracted all 
 eyes. 
 
 Mary insisted on setting out early ; she wished everyone 
 to see that she was going to attend the meeting. And 
 hardly had they left the house — they were going round by 
 the end of the quay — -when Fred Stanley said in an un- 
 dertone to his neighbour Meredyth — - ■ 
 
 " I don't know what's going to happen ; but if they try 
 on any games, I've got a little friend in my pocket here 
 that can bark — and bite." 
 
 Mary overheard, and turned on him at once. 
 
 " What is that ? " said she. " Your revolver ? Let me 
 see it." 
 
 He looked round : there was no one by. 
 
 " Oh, it is an elegant little companion to have with you," 
 he said, bringing forth the silver-mounted weapon from his 
 pocket, and regarding it quite afTectionately. 
 
 She took it from him— he thinking that she merely 
 wished to look at it — and, without more ado, she pitched 
 it over the low sea-wall : there was a splash in the clear 
 green water, and a bubble or two of air. 
 
 "Things of that sort are not fit for children," she said — 
 and she took no heed of the angry flush that at once rose 
 to his forehead : anger more probably caused by the 
 reference to his youth than to the loss of his revolver. 
 However, he said nothing ; and so they went on again ; 
 and eventually arrived at the church. 
 
 When they entered the little building and modestly took 
 their places in the nearest of the pews, there ensued a 
 rather awkward moment ; for they had come early ; and, 
 on looking round, they found that the only other persons 
 present were they who had summoned the meeting ; so 
 that the hostile camps had a good opportunity of contem- 
 plating each other. The pulpit (like the body of the 
 church) was empty ; but in the precentor's box was a serious- 
 visaged, brown-bearded man, who was no doubt Mr. Fraser, 
 of the Stratherrick Branch of the Highland Land League ; 
 while underneath him, in the square space partitioned off
 
 A REVOLUTION THAT FAILED 243 
 
 for the pews of the elders, sate the three persons who were 
 to address the meeting. They were all gravely silent, as 
 was fit and proper ; but their eyes were alert ; and it was 
 as clear as daylight to Mary's friends that the strangers 
 had recognised in her the lady of Lochgarra House, whom 
 they had come to impeach as the representative in these 
 parts of the iniquitous landlord interest. It was indeed 
 an awkward moment ; and Mr. Ogden's glances of scrutiny 
 were furtive, until he turned away altogether ; but the 
 thm and feverish-faced Mile. Ernestine took a more con- 
 fident survey J and her bold black eyes went from one to 
 the other of the group, but were most fi'equently fixed 
 on Mary Stanley. The lady from Comiecticut, also, was 
 obviously curious : most probably she had never beheld 
 before any of those people whose malevolent turpitude had 
 brought the Highlands to such a j^ass. 
 
 The time went slowly by, in this constrained silence. 
 The vice-president of the Stratlierrick Branch, from his 
 seat in the precentor's box, began to look rather anxiously 
 towards the door. Mr. Ogden glanced at his watch. 
 Franlc Meredyth did likewise — it was ten minutes after 
 one. And yet there had been no sign of any human being 
 — except for a small boy who had thrust his shock head in 
 for a second, and gazed wonderingly around the empty 
 church, and then withdrawn with a scared face. At 
 length the chairman leaned over the edge of the precentor's 
 box, and in an audible whisper said — 
 
 " Mr. Ogden, I'm thinking ye'd better go out and 
 tell them 1 " 
 
 Mr. Ogden hesitated for a moment, and then made 
 answer — 
 
 " Don't you think we should begin the proceedings ? — • 
 that will be the best announcement." 
 
 " Very Avell," said Mi*. Eraser ; and he rose in his place 
 with a heavy sigh of preparation. " Ladies and gentle- 
 men," he began, " before coming to local matters, I will 
 ask Mrs. Jackson Noyes to read a paper that she has pre- 
 pared. Mrs. Noyes has recently completed a two days' 
 trip round the West Highlands in the steamer Dunara 
 Castle ; and where she has been unable to land — for the 
 steamer does not give ye much time at any place — she has 
 
 R 2
 
 244 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 used her eyes, or her opera-glass, impartially ; and what 
 she has seen she has put down. The title of the paper 
 is : ' The Horrible Desolation of the Highlands, as Descried 
 from the Deck of the Dunara' Would ye get up on the 
 bench, mem?" 
 
 This last murmured invitation was addressed to Mrs. 
 Noyes, who rose to her feet, but seemed to shrink from 
 taking up any more prominent position. Indeed, the 
 poor woman looked dreadfully embarrassed ; her face was 
 all aflame ; instead of proceeding with her paper, she kept 
 glancing helplessly towards the door, whither Mr. Ogden 
 had gone to reconnoitre ; and it was clear she could not 
 bring herself to begin without an audience, or, rather, 
 with that small audience that was a hundred times worse 
 than none. And presently Mr. Ogden came back — his 
 face black as thunder. He went up to the precentor's 
 box, and muttered something to the chairman. He returned 
 to the elders' enclosure, and said something to the two 
 ladies — who seemed entirely bcAvildered. The next moment 
 the four of them had filed out of the church, without a 
 word. 
 
 " Well, this is the most astounding thing ! " Frank 
 I\Ieredyth exclaimed, when his party had also left their 
 places, and got into the open air. " What is the matter 
 with the people ? Not a living soul has come near the 
 place ! No wonder the big Parliament-man was in a 
 furious rage ! " 
 
 But Mary had turned to Kate Glendinning, who had 
 fallen a step or two behind. 
 
 " Kiithchen," she said, in an undertone, " what is the 
 meaning of all this ? I can see perfectly well you know 
 something about it." 
 
 For indeed Kiithchen was all tremblingly triumphant, 
 and joyous, and also inclined to tears — half-hysterical, in 
 short. 
 
 " Mamie — Mamie," she said, between that laughing and 
 crying, " I knew he could do it if he liked — and — and — 
 I thought he would — for your sake — " 
 
 "AVhat are you talking about?" said Mary: but a 
 sudden self-conscious look showed that she had guessed. 
 
 "You needn't be angry, Mamie," said Kathchen, her
 
 SMOKE AND FLAME 245 
 
 wet eyes thi'm'ng with a half-concealed pride and delight ; 
 "but—but I was terribly frightened about what might 
 happen to you ; and yesterday I sent Big Archie out to 
 Heimra — I told him to go as soon as the people had" got 
 into church — and I gave him a note. For I knew he 
 would answer the message at once — and that he would see 
 you came to no harm — " 
 
 " Do you mean Donald Koss ? " said Mary, rather breath- 
 lessly. 
 
 " "Who else could have done it ? " said Kathchen, with 
 something of reproach. " And I knew he would do that — 
 or anything — for your sake. Oh, do you think I can't 
 see ? — do you think I have no eyes % " 
 
 Mary did not answer : she walked on in silence for a 
 little while. But by and by she said — 
 
 " Kathchen, don't you think I ought to see Mr. Ross— 
 before he goes back to Heimra ? " 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SMOKE AND FLAME. 
 
 But that was not at all the view that Fred Stanley took 
 of this amazing and iucomprehensi'ole incident. 
 
 " There's some trick in it, Frank," he said vehemently, 
 as he hurried his friend along with him, on their way back 
 to the house. " There's some underhand trick in it, and 
 I want to know what it means. I tell you, we must get 
 the keepers, and go up the hill at once, and see what is 
 going on. There's something at the bottom of all this 
 jugglery." 
 
 " Jugglery or no jugglery," his companion said, with 
 much good-humour, " it has come in very handy. If a 
 riot had been started, Avho knows what the end might have 
 been 1 It wasn't the raid into the Glen Orme forest that 
 concerned me, nor yet the driving of the sheep off Meall- 
 na-Fearn ; but I confess I was anxious about your sister. 
 If she had been denounced before an angry and excited 
 meeting " 
 
 *' Oh, we should have been able to take care of our-
 
 246 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 selves ! " the younger man said, dismissing that matter 
 contemptuously. 
 
 "And if it was Ross of Heimra who stepped in to 
 prevent all this," Meredyth continued, "I, for one, am 
 very much obliged to him." 
 
 " Oh, don't be an ass, Frank ! " the other said with 
 angry impatience. "If it is Donald Ross who has done 
 all this, I'll swear he has done it for liis own purposes. 
 And I want to know. I want to find out. I want to see 
 what the trick means. And of one thing I am absolutely 
 certain, and that is, that Donald Ross is up on the moor at 
 this very moment. Oh, yes," the young man went on, 
 seeing that his wild suspicions received no encouragement 
 from his more cautious companion, " a fine stratagem, to 
 keep us idling and kicking our heels about here all the 
 morning — and on the Twelfth, too ! I thought it was odd 
 that the meeting should be fixed for the Twelfth ; but now 
 I begin to see. Now I begin to understand why Donald 
 Ross came over from Heimra yesterday afternoon." 
 
 " Well, what do you imagine % " Meredyth asked. 
 
 " Why, it's as clear as daylight ! " the younger man 
 exclaimed — jumping from vague surmises to definite con- 
 clusions. "Here have we been hanging about all the 
 morning, like a couple of simpletons, waiting for a general 
 riot or some nonsense of that kind, while Ross and his 
 gang of poachers have been up on the moor, sweeping the 
 best beats clean of every bird ! That has been the little 
 programme ! — and a fine consignment of game to be sent 
 away to Inverness to-night, as soon as the dark comes 
 down. But they may not be off the hill yet ; and we'll 
 hurry up Hector and Hugh, and have a look round." And 
 then he added, vindictively : " I'd let the Twelfth go — I 
 shouldn't mind a bit having had the Twelfth spoilt — if 
 only I could catch those scoundrels — and the chief of 
 them^red-handed. " 
 
 " All I have to say is," observed the more phlegmatic 
 Meredyth, "that if we are going up the hill we may as 
 well take our guns with us and a brace of dogs. We can 
 have an hour or two. The fag-end of the Twelfth is better 
 than no Twelfth ; and your sister says she wants some 
 birds."
 
 SMOKE AND FLAME 247 
 
 " Birds? " the other repeated. "What do you expect to 
 find on the ground after those poaching thieves have been 
 over it ? " 
 
 However, in the end he consented ; and as they found 
 that Hector — ^undisturbed by all those alarming rumours 
 of riot and pillage — had kept everything in readiness for 
 them, the two young men snatched a hasty sandwich and 
 set forth. It was not a very eager shooting party. There 
 was a sensation that the great possibilities of the Twelfth 
 had been ruined for them. Nevertheless, there would be 
 some occupation for the afternoon, and the mistress of the 
 household wanted some grouse. 
 
 But, indeed, it soon became evident that it was not 
 shooting that was uppermost in Fred Stanley's mind. He 
 overruled Plector's plan for taking the nearest beats. He 
 would have his companions hold a way up the Corrie 
 Bhreag, which leads to the Glen Orme forest ; and ever he 
 was making for the higher ranges — scanning the ground far 
 ahead of him, and listening intently in the strange silence ; 
 while he was clearly unwilling to have the dogs uncoupled. 
 
 " Look here, man," at length said Meredyth, who, though 
 new to the place, had a trained eye for the features of a 
 moor ; " surely we have come down wind far enough % It 
 will take us all our time to get back before dinner, even if 
 we pick the beats on the way home " 
 
 The answer was unexpected — a half-smothered exclama- 
 tion of mingled anger and triumph, 
 
 " Didn't I tell you so ? " young Stanley exclaimed, with 
 his eyes fixed on a small, dark object a long distance up 
 the glen. " Didn't I tell you we should find him here ? 
 Don't you see him — away up yonder ? My lad, when you 
 come poaching, you shouldn't put on sailor's clothes ; they're 
 too conspicuous. What do you say. Hector : can you 
 make him out ? Well, whether you can or not I will tell 
 you his name. That is IMr. Donald Ross, if you want to 
 know — and I guessed we should find him here or here- 
 abouts ! " 
 
 " I am not sure," said Hector, slowly, also with his eyes 
 fixed on the distant and dark figure. 
 
 "But I am!" Pred Stanley went on. "And perhaps 
 you can tell me what he is doing up on our shooting ? "
 
 248 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "Mebbe," said the serious-visaged keeper, with a little 
 hesitation, " mebbe he was waiting to see that none of the 
 lads would be for going into the forest. Or mebbe he was 
 up at Glen Oi-me." 
 
 " Oh, stujff and nonsense ! " the young man cried, scorn- 
 fully. " Do you think we are children ! I tell you, we 
 have caught him at last ; and wherever the rest of the gang 
 have sneaked off to, he is bou.nd to come along here, and 
 face it out. Yes, he is coming : I can see he is moving this 
 way. Very well, Frank, you have the dogs uncoupled 
 now, and begin to shoot back home : I'm gouag to meet my 
 gentleman — and I will take my gun with me, just to keep 
 a wholesome check on insolence." 
 
 " You will not," said Meredyth, with decision — for he 
 knew not whither this young man's obvious wrath and 
 enmity might not lead him. " I will wait here with you : 
 whoever that is, he is clearly coming this way." 
 
 " Why, of course he must ! " was the rejoinder. " He 
 sees he is caught : what else is there left for him but to 
 come along and try to put some kind of face on it ? " 
 Then presently he exclaimed : "Well, of all the effrontery 
 that I ever beheld ! He is carrying a gun under his arm ! 
 how's that for coolness 1 " 
 
 " I am not thinlving it is a gun, sir," said the tall, 
 bx'own-bearded keejDer ; " it is more like a steeck." 
 
 " Yes, it is a stick, Pred," Meredyth put in, after a 
 moment. 
 
 " Oh, why should he have a gun ? What does ho want 
 with a gun ? " the young man said, without being discon- 
 certed for a moment. " He has only to direct the opera- 
 tions of Ms confederates. A stick ? — very likely ! — the 
 master-poacher doesn't want to be encumbered with a 
 gun ! " 
 
 And so they waited. It was a singular scene for the 
 Twelfth of August on the side of a Highland hill : no 
 ranging of dogs, no cracking of breechloaders, no picking 
 up of a bird here and there from the thick heather, but a 
 small group, standing silent and constrained, and dimly 
 aware that pent-up human passioiLS were about to burst 
 forth amid these vast and impressive solitudes. Young 
 Ross of Heimra— for it was u'maistakably he — came
 
 SMOKE AND FLAME 249 
 
 leisurely along; his intention was evidently fixed on the 
 sportsmen ; perhaps he was wondering that they did not 
 let loose the dogs and get to work. But as he drew 
 nearer he must have perceived that they were awaiting 
 his approach ; and so — with something of interrogation and 
 surprise in his look — he came up to them. 
 
 " I hope you have had good sport," said Fred Stanley. 
 
 Donald Ross stared : there was somethiag in the young 
 man's tone that seemed to strike him. 
 
 " I — I don't quite understand," said he. 
 
 " Oh, well, it's only this," replied the other, striving to 
 keep down his rising rage, and speaking in a deliberately 
 taunting fashion, "that when you find anyone on a 
 Highland moor on the Twelfth of August you naturally 
 suppose that he has come for grouse. And why not ? I 
 am sorry we have interrupted you. When you have the 
 fishing and the stalking, why shouldn't you have the 
 shooting as well ? I am sorry if we have disturbed 
 
 you " 
 
 They formed a curious contrast, those two : the tall, 
 handsome, light-haired youth, with his fair complexion 
 and his boyish moustache causing him to look almost 
 efieminate, and yet with his nostrils dilated, his haughty 
 grey eyes glistening with anger, a tremor of passion about 
 the lines of his lips ; the other, though hardly so tall, of 
 more manly presence, his pale, proud, clear-cut features 
 entirely reticent, his coal-black eyes, so far, without flame 
 in them, an absolute self-possession and dignity governing 
 his manner. 
 
 " I hardly know what you mean," said he, slowly, 
 fixing those calmly observant black eyes on the young lad. 
 "What is it all about? Do I understand you to accuse 
 me of shooting over your moor — here — now % — do you 
 
 imagine " 
 
 " Oh, it isn't that only ! — it is half-a-dozen things 
 besides ! " the young man exclaimed, letting his passion 
 get entirely the mastery of him. " Who has this place ? 
 Not those who bought it ! It is you who have the shooting 
 and fishing and everything ; and not content with that but 
 you play dog-in-the-manger as well — heaving stones into the 
 pools when anyone else goes down to the river. And who
 
 2S0 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 does the scringeing about here ? — answer me that ! — do you 
 think we don't know well enough ? Let us have an end to 
 hypocrisy " 
 
 " Let us have an end of madness " said Donald Ross, 
 sternly ; and for a second there was a gleam of fire in his 
 black eyes. But that sudden flame, and a certain set ex- 
 pression of the mouth, almost instantly vanished ; this 
 young fellow, with the girlish complexion, was even now 
 so curiously like his sister. " I do not answer you," 
 Donald Ross went on, with a demeanour at once simple 
 and austere. "You have chosen to insult me. I do not 
 answer you. You are in my country : it is the same as if 
 you were imder my roof." 
 
 " Your country ! " the hot-headed young man cried, in 
 open scorn, " What part of the country belongs to you ! 
 That rock of an island out there ! — and I wish you would 
 keep to it ; and you'd better keep to it ; for we don't mean 
 to have this kind of thing going on any longer. "We mean 
 to have an end of all this scringeing and poaching ! We 
 have been precious near getting hold of those scringe-nets : 
 we'll make sure of them the next time. And I want once 
 for all to tell you that we mean to have the fishing for 
 ourselves, and the shooting, too ; and we want you to 
 understand that there is such a thing as the law of tres- 
 pass. What right have you to be here, at this moment, on 
 this moor % " he demanded. " How can you explain your 
 being here ? Wliat are you doing here — on the Twelfth ? 
 Do you know to whom this moor belongs % And by what 
 right do you trespass on it % " 
 
 '"'■'■ Fred," interposed Frank Meredyth, who was painfully 
 conscious that the two keepers — though they had discreetly 
 turned away — must be hearing something of this one-sided 
 altercation, " enough of this : if there is any dispute, it can 
 be settled another time — not before third persons." 
 
 " One moment," said Donald Ross, turning with a grave 
 courtesy to this intervener. " You have heard the questions 
 I have just been asked. Well, I do not choose to account 
 for my actions to any one. But this I wish to explain. 
 I have no right to be where I am, I admit ; I have tres- 
 passed some dozen yards on to this moor, in order to come 
 up and speak to you. When you saw me first I was on
 
 SMOKE AND FLAME 251 
 
 the old footpath — there it is, you can see for yourself — 
 that leads up this corrie, and tlu'ough the Glen Orme 
 forest to Ledmore ; it is an old hill road that everyone has 
 the right of using." 
 
 "Oh, yes, thieves' lawyers are always clever enough!" 
 Fred Stanley said, disdainfully. 
 
 Donald Ross regarded him for a moment — with a strange 
 kind of look, and that not of anger : then he quietly said, 
 " Good afternoon ? " to Meredyth, and went on his way. 
 Hector got out of the prevailing embarrassment by un- 
 coupling the dogs ; and Frank Meredyth put cartridges in 
 his gun. This encounter did not augur well for steady 
 shooting. 
 
 Meanwhile Donald Ross was making down for the coast, 
 slowly and thoughtfully. What had happened had been a 
 matter of a few swift seconds \ it had now to be set in 
 order and considered ; the scene had to be conjured up 
 again — with all its minute but vivid incidents. And no 
 longer was there any need for him to affect a calm and 
 proud indifference ; phi-ases that he had seemed to pass 
 unheeded began to burn ; the rapid glances and tones of 
 those bi"ief moments, now that they were recalled, struck 
 deep. Indeed, the first effect of a blow is but to stun 
 and bewilder — the pain comes afterwards ; and there are 
 words that cause more deadly wounds than any blows. 
 Taunt and insult ; these are hard things for a Highlander 
 to brook— and yet — and yet — that handsome, headstrong 
 boy, even in the white-heat of his passion, had looked so 
 curiously like his sister. 
 
 " Ah, well," said Ross, aloud, and there was a kind of 
 smile on his face, " it is, perhaps, a wholesome lesson. 
 Hereafter I'd better mind my own business. And if I 
 have been ordered off the mainland — sent back to my little 
 island — very well : the sea-gulls and gannets won't accuse 
 me of trespass." 
 
 In time he drew near the village. But as he went 
 down the hill from Minard, and had to pass Lochgarra 
 House, he did not tui^n his eyes in that direction. He 
 held straight on ; and at length encountered a small boy 
 who had just been engaged in hauling a dinghy up on the 
 beach.
 
 252 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 "Alan," said he, " have you seen Big Archie anywhere 
 about % " 
 
 " Ay," said the boy, '* he was at the inn to look at the 
 people driving aweh." 
 
 " What people % The strangers who were at the church 
 this morning % " 
 
 " Ay, chist that. There was many a one laughing at 
 them," said Alan, with a bit of a grin. 
 
 "Well, run along now, and see if you can find Big 
 Archie, and tell him I am going out to Heimra. Then 
 you can come back with him, and pull us out to the 
 lugger." 
 
 And away went Alan, with a will, eager to earn the 
 sixpence that he foresaw awaiting his return, while the 
 young laird of Heimra, having nothing else to do until Big 
 Archie should put in an appearance, seated himself on the 
 gunwale of the dinghy, with his eyes turned towards the 
 sea. Not once had he glanced in the direction of Lochgarra 
 House. 
 
 But Lochgarra House had taken notice of him. Mary 
 Stanley chanced to be passing one of the windows, when 
 of a sudden her face grew animated, and her eyes — those 
 liquid grey-green eyes that were at all times so clear and 
 radiant — those bland, good-humoured, kind eyes — shone 
 with a quick interest and delight. 
 
 "Kathchen! Kiithchen ! " she called. "There is Mr. 
 Ross just gone by — tell Bai^bara to run after him — quick ! 
 quick ! — and— and my compliments — and I want to see 
 him most particularly. He must not go out to Heimra 
 before I have seen him — tell her not to lose a minute — 
 I'm afraid he may be going along now to get Big Archie's 
 boat." 
 
 But at such a crisis Kate Glendinning did not choose to 
 w^it for any servant. She flew into the hall, snatched a 
 straw hat from the table, tripped down the wide stone 
 steps, and made her way as quickly as might be round 
 the sea-wall and along the beach. He did not hear her 
 approach ; he seemed plunged in a profound reverie. 
 
 " Mr. Ross ! " she said, rather breathlessly and timidly, 
 to attract his attention. 
 
 He started to his feet ; and, when he saw who this was,
 
 SMOKE AND FLAME 253 
 
 his naturally pale, dark face grew suddenly suffused — an 
 almost school-boyish constraint visible there for a moment ! 
 Kathchen was surprised ; but she made haste to deliver 
 Miss Stanley's message. 
 
 " She happened to see you from the window ; and she is 
 most anxious you should not go back to Heimra before 
 she has a chance of thanking you for your great kindness. 
 For she quite understands it was you who prevented all 
 the mischief that might have arisen from those people 
 coming here ; and she is very grateful ; and wishes to say 
 so to yourself. And I was to give you her compliments, 
 and say that she wished particularly to see you — if you 
 wouldn't mind coming along for a few moments." 
 
 This time he did throw a brief glance in the direction 
 of Lochgarra House — perhaps thinking of what otherwise 
 might have been. But now, how could he ever again be 
 under that roof ? 
 
 " "Will you tell Miss Stanley," said he — and though 
 that temporary confusion had gone, there was still a curious 
 reserve in his manner — " that I am very glad if I have 
 been of any service to her — very glad that she should think 
 so, I mean ; but it isn't worth speaking about ; and she 
 must not say anything more about it." 
 
 "But she wishes to see you!" exclaimed Kathchen, 
 who naturally had expected an instant acquiescence. 
 " Surely she is the best judge as to whether she ought to 
 thank you, or not. And that was the message I was to 
 take to you, that she wished most particularly to see you, 
 before you went out to Heimra. A few moments only — 
 she will not detain you " 
 
 " If you will excuse me, I would rather not go along," 
 said he, looking uneasily towards the cottages and the inn. 
 " I have just sent for Big Archie." 
 
 Kathchen was astounded. What kind of a young man 
 was this, to refuse the invitation of a beautiful young 
 woman — one, indeed, who had shown herself singularly 
 interested in him, even as he had gone out of his way to 
 render friendly little services to her % Kiithchen's secret 
 conjectures, founded on what she had recently observed 
 as between these two, seemed to have been suddenly and 
 rudely stultified. What was the key to this enigma \
 
 254 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Jealousy ? Was it the presence of Frank Meredyth 
 that interposed? Would he decline to visit the house 
 until that possible rival had been removed ? She could 
 not understand ; she was bewildered ; but still she had 
 her commission to execute ; and the faithful Kate was 
 staunch. 
 
 " Miss Stanley will be disappointed," said she. " She is 
 most anxious to see you. A couple of minutes would 
 be enough. And surely you could let Big Archie wait." 
 
 " Thank you," said he — and it was clear that it was with 
 the greatest reluctance he was forcing himself to refuse 
 — " but I would rather not. I am very sensible of Miss 
 Stanley's kindness ; but — but she must not make too much 
 of this trifling thing." 
 
 Kiithchen paused irresolute. But, after all, she had no 
 more to say. She could not appeal to him, she could not 
 beg of him, as a favour, to accept Miss Stanley's mvitation : 
 Kiithchen also had a little pride ; so she civilly bade him 
 good afternoon, and hoped he would have a pleasant voyage 
 home ; and set out on her way back to the house. 
 
 " Well % " said Mary, when Kiithchen came into the 
 room. But she had already seen, from the window, that 
 her messenger was returning alone. 
 
 "Oh," said Kathchen, in an indifferent sort of fashion 
 ■ — and she began to gather up some samples of homespun 
 tliat were strewn on the table — " he says he is going out 
 to Heimra at once. He has sent for Big Archie. He says 
 — he says — that he is glad if he has rendered you any little 
 service — but you are not to think of it." 
 
 Mary's eyes had grown full of wonder. For out of 
 these windows she could plainly see that he was still 
 waiting on the beach : the fact being that the boy Alan 
 had failed to find Big Archie at the inn, and had gone off 
 to seek him throughout the cottages. 
 
 " But did you tell Mr. Boss that I wished to speak 
 with him % " she asked. 
 
 " I said that you most particularly wished to speak 
 with him." 
 
 " Yes— and then ? " 
 
 " Then he — he begged to be excused," said Kathchen, 
 bluntly.
 
 SMOKE AND FLAME 255 
 
 Mary turned sharply away from the window, and for a 
 second or two she was silent. 
 
 " Why did you say ' most particularly ' ? What right 
 had you to give him any such message ? " she demanded, 
 with something of a cold and dignified air, but not 
 looking towards Kiithchen. 
 
 " Those were your very words, Mamie ! " Kathchen pro- 
 tested. 
 
 " I may have said something like that — in the hurry of 
 calling to you," Mary said, with flushed face. " But you 
 ought to have known. You might have known it was not 
 a message I wanted given to anyone — not to anyone. 
 However, it is of little consequence." She advanced to 
 the table — her head someAvhat erect. "I suppose," she 
 said, in a matter-of-fact way, " you will be writing about 
 those samples to the Erasers, in Inverness % " 
 
 " Yes, Mamie — you told me to." 
 
 " Very well," she continued, still with that air of uncon- 
 cern ; "you might say to them at the same time that we 
 can get patchwork quilts made for them at from ten to 
 twelve shillings the piece, if they send us the materials. 
 That is the price I promised to the women here. And if 
 they prefer the stockings made longer, I will have them 
 made longer ; only they mvist give me a little more for 
 them — there is so much more wool and so much more work.", 
 
 She glanced furtively over her shoulder : it was only now 
 that Eig Archie had made his appearance — coming down 
 the beach to the spot at which young Ross was idly walking 
 about. 
 
 " Kathchen," she said of a sudden, Avith something of 
 piteous vexation m her tone, "are you certain you said 
 ' most particularly ' ? — are you quite certain ? — I — I did 
 not mean it — -I was in a hurry — you did not say ' most 
 particularly,' did you % At the same time," she went on, 
 with an abrupt affectation of carelessness, " it is of very 
 little consequence — no consequence whatever : the only 
 thing is that the Highlanders appear to have odd manners 
 — and that again, as I say, is a matter of perfect in- 
 difference. Don't foi'get to mention the patchwork quilts 
 and the stockings." 
 
 But Kate Glendinning rose and went to the window.
 
 256 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 By this time Donald Ross, Big Archie, and the young lad 
 wei'e all in the dinghy, on their way out to the lugger. 
 
 " There is something strange, Mamie," Kiithchen said, 
 thoughtfully. " I cannot imagine what made him refuse 
 to come along to this house^and refuse with such embar- 
 rassment. And these are not Highland manners at all. 
 But sometimes a Highlander is too jDroud to speak." 
 
 They were soon to learn what all this meant. When 
 the two young men returned from their afternoon expedi- 
 tion, it appeared that they had got thirteen and a half brace 
 of grouse, and a few odds and ends — a very fair bag, con- 
 sidering the size of the moor and the length of time they 
 had been out. But it was not the success of the shooting 
 that caused Fred Stanley to come into the drawing-room 
 with something of a gay and triumphant air. 
 
 "Well, we have caught your poaching fi'iend at last," 
 he said to his sister, "and I think we have sent him home 
 with a flea in his ear. I knew we should corner him sooner 
 or later, in spite of his cunning. And a very pretty ti"ick 
 it was — to plan this insurrectionary meeting for the Twelfth, 
 so that we should be kept away from the hill, keejDers and 
 all. But it didn't work, you see ; for we lost no time in 
 getting up to the Corrie Bhreag, and there he was, sure 
 enough. And veiy little he had to say for himself — not a 
 word ! — but I had something to say to him ; and I don't 
 think we shall be troubled with his presence about Lochgarra 
 for some little time to come." 
 
 " Are you speaking of Mr. Ptoss ? " said Mary, Avith a 
 certain calmness of manner that did not quite conceal her 
 alarm. 
 
 " I should think I was ! " 
 
 " And what did you lind him doing 1 " 
 
 " I found him on the moor — Avhcre he had no riuht to 
 be ; and if the rest of the gang managed to hide themselves 
 or to get safe away, Avell, 1 did not care much about 
 that ; he Avas there to answer for them ; and so we had it 
 out. Yes, I may say we had it out." 
 
 Mary turned to Frank Meredyth. 
 
 "Mr. Meredyth, what is all this about? What hap- 
 pened % Did you find Mr. Ross shooting on the moor ? " 
 
 " Well, no," said Meredytli, with something of disquiet.
 
 SMOKE AND FLAME 257 
 
 for he was now placed in a most unenvialjle position. 
 " The fact is, it would be difficult to bring any definite 
 charge against him ; for he was coming down from the 
 direction of the Glen Orme forest, and when we first saw 
 him he was following an old hill-path that everybody has 
 the right to use — so he says. No, he wasn't shooting — 
 not then, certainly ; nor did we see any one with him : 
 but as regards Fred's suspicions — well, you know, I have 
 said before, that when you imagine there is poaching going 
 on, you see it in every circumstance." 
 
 " What was he doing up there at all ? " the younger 
 man broke in. " Why, he had no defence to make. He 
 had not a word to say for himself. It's all very well 
 to be high and mighty : you won't account for your actions 
 to anybody — no, of course not, when you can't without 
 convicting yourself ! " 
 
 " I suppose he had a gun with him ? " said she, still 
 addressing Frank Meredyth. 
 
 "Well, no; he had- not," Meredyth confessed, looking 
 somewhat anxious and disconcerted. 
 
 " A game-bag, at least % and a dog ?" she went on ; " or 
 something that entitled you to suspect him % " 
 
 " Oh, no, not at all. The truth is, he Avas simply coming 
 down the strath, and he had nothing under his arm but 
 a walking-stick." 
 
 " Oh, indeed," said she ; and she drew herself up a 
 little proudly. " Very well. You meet a stranger — no, 
 not a stranger — but one of my friends, whom you have 
 seen under my roof, and he is walking along a public 
 footpath carrying a stick in his hand. Well, and then ? 
 I want to know what happens then ? " 
 
 Meredyth was grievously embarrassed. 
 
 " I am afraid thei"e were a few hard words said — and — 
 and I must say for Mr. Ross that he showed great for- 
 bearance and self-control. Yes, I must admit that ; and 
 also that Fred was rather too — too outspoken. I must 
 say I rather admired Mr. Ross because of his composure ; 
 for, indeed, I thought at one time — well, it was a very 
 awkward meeting. When there is bad blood, you see — 
 when one suspects poaching — everything points that way," 
 
 " Oh, I am responsible for everything that occurred ! " 
 
 S
 
 258 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Fred Stanley broke in again, impetuously. "Meredyth 
 had nothing to do with it — nothing at all ! And I tell 
 you I spoke plainly. I thought the time for pretence and 
 hypocrisy had gone by ; I thought it was time my gentle- 
 man-poacher should understand we weren't going to be 
 made fools of any longer. Oh, I spoke plainly enough, 
 if that is what you want to find out ! " continued this con- 
 fident lad, who seemed to be leather vain of his achievement. 
 "I told him we had had quite enough of him about Loch- 
 garra — quite enough of him, and his scringe-nets, and his 
 thieving of salmon, and heaving of stones into the pools. 
 I told him we wanted this place to ourselves now. I re- 
 commended him to keep to that small island out there " 
 
 "It is infamous — it is shameless!" said Mary Stanley 
 — and the beautiful, proud face had grown suddenly pale, 
 and there was a curious indignant vibration in her voice. 
 " Do you know what that man has done for me, this very 
 day % What does he value most in the world — what 
 remains to him of all the possessions which his family used 
 to hold — what but the devotion and affection with which 
 these people about here regard him ? And he risked it all 
 — for my sake ! He took my side — against his own people ! 
 They were appealed to by everything that could tempt 
 them ; and they had been taught to regard me as their 
 enemy ; and who knows what might have happened if he 
 had not stepped in, and confronted them, and said — ' No.' 
 He has forgiven the injuries, the irreparable injuries, my 
 family have done him and his ; he has met me with friend- 
 liness at every turn — and always keeping out of the way 
 and claiming no thanks for it ; and now the return he gets 
 is — insult ! — and insult that he would scorn to answer." 
 She went on with increasing indignation : *' Shooting and 
 fishing ! What do I care for the shooting and fishing ! I 
 would rather have every fish in the river and every bird 
 on the hill destroyed than that the disgrace of such in- 
 gratitude should have fallen on this house ! " She paused 
 — hesitated — her lips began to quiver. " I — I beg your 
 pardon, Mr. Meredyth — I am sorry you should have met 
 with any annoyance to-day." And the next second, and 
 in despite of herself, she had burst into a passionate fit 
 of weeping ; while with the proud head bent, her hand-
 
 A SUMMONS 259 
 
 kerchief covering her eyes, and her frame shaken with 
 sobbing, she left the room. Instantly Kathchen went with 
 her — leaving silence behind. 
 
 It was about half an hour thereafter that the dinner- 
 gong sounded upward from the big, empty, echoing hall. 
 Kathchen came d<jwn to the drawing-room. 
 
 " Miss Stanley would rather that you did not wait for 
 her," said she to the t^vo gentlemen. And therewith 
 Kathchen also withdrev/. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A SUMMONS. 
 
 " What can I do, Kathchen 1 What can I do 1 " she was 
 saying, in accents almost of despair ; and in her agitation 
 she was walking up and down before the windows, glancing 
 out from time to time towards the far island that was now 
 shining in the morning sunlight, while the driven blue sea 
 was springing white along its rocky shores. "What can 
 I do ? What atonement can I make 1 Or is it quite hoj^e- 
 less ? Is he to be sent away as a stranger, without a word 
 of excuse, or apology, or appeal 1 " And then she said : 
 " Kathchen, surely there is some fatality in it, that this 
 young man, who has heaped kindness on me since ever I 
 came to this place — but always keeping aloof in a strange, 
 proud ^^'ay, as if to avoid the possibility of thanlvs^surely 
 there is some fatality that he should receive nothing but 
 insult and wrong at our hands. First, my uncle — now, my 
 brother " 
 
 " At all events," said Kate Glendiixning, boldly, " I 
 don't see why you should toiture your mind about it, 
 Mamie. It has been none of your doing. You ai-e not 
 responsible for what your uncle may have done ; and if 
 Fred has spoken in a moment of anger, well, I don't 
 suppose Mr. Ross will prove to be so unforgiving." 
 
 "It is the whole family he must thinlv of, Kathchen ! " 
 Mary broke in bitterly. " I shouldn't wonder if he hated 
 the very name of^ Stanley ! What a despicable race he 
 must think us ! But I suppose there is an end now. He 
 has borne too much already : this puts a climax to it.
 
 26o DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 Unforgiving % Why, oven if I could persuade Fred to go 
 out to Heimra and offer him an apology, he would treat it 
 with scorn — and rightly too. I know he would ! " 
 
 The shrewd Kiithchen, though she did not say so, had 
 her doubts on this score. In the dim recesses of her con- 
 sciousness there was an echo of two lines from ' Maud ' — 
 
 ' Peace, anf^ry spirit, and let liim be ! 
 Has not Lis sister smiled on me ? ' 
 
 And she fancied, for reasons of her own, that if the head- 
 strong lad could be brought to ask for pardon, the some- 
 what haughty features of the young owner of Heimra 
 woixld not long remain stern and implacable. But she 
 dared not reveal those reasons, even as she dared not repeat 
 those two lines. She was a prudent lass ; and careful not 
 to presume unwarily. 
 
 Of a sudden Mary said, in her impetuous way — 
 
 " Kathchen, I will take the sheep off Meall-na-Fearn ! " 
 
 Kate Glendinning looked up, startled. 
 
 " Yes," the young proprietress said, with decision. 
 " After breakfast you and I must drive away out and see 
 Mr. Watson. If he will give up Meall-na-Fearn on the 
 same terms as Meall-na-Cruagan, good and well ; the sheep 
 must go ; and the ci'ofters can have the pasturage divided 
 amongst them. I suppose," she added, with something of 
 embarrassment in the clear-shining eyes, " some one would 
 be sure to — to carry the news — out to Heimra ? Or a 
 line, perhaps — you might have occasion to send out to 
 him " 
 
 "Mamie!" said Kathchen, in warm protest. "What 
 are you thinking of % Is that the atonement you want 
 to make ? Do you mean to cut down Mr. Watson's farm 
 still further just to please Donald Ross? AVhy, it is 
 madness ! To begin with, it would not please him — not 
 in the least ; he has told you that you have already been 
 far too generous ; and I don't know what he would think 
 of such a needless and useless sacrifice." 
 
 " Oh, you think he would not aj^prove % " said Mary, 
 slowly. She was now standing at one of the windows, 
 looking out towards the distant island beyond the wide 
 blue plain of the sea.
 
 A SUMMONS 261 
 
 " I am pi'ctty sure he would not," Kathcheii responded, 
 " especially if he fancied it was done to propitiate him : it 
 would put him in a very awkwai-d position. But I'll tell 
 you what I should do if I were in your place, Mamie " 
 
 "Yes," she said, instantly turning from the window, 
 " AVhat is it ? Is there anything I can do, Kiithchen ? 
 It seems so terrible — and so shameful ; and here am I 
 helpless. And then he is so proud — yes, proud and dis- 
 dainful ; I have said it before ; only this time he has an 
 ample I'ight to be." 
 
 " Well, Mamie, if I were you, I would simply take no 
 notice of what happened yesterday afteiuioon ; " this was 
 Kiithchen's advice. " I would assume that the friendly 
 relations between him and you were pi'ecisely as they 
 always had been." 
 
 " Yes, but how to let him know that that is what I am 
 thinking 1 " said Mary eagerly — and rather piteously 
 withal. 
 
 " I would send him a note," said the intrepid Kiithchen. 
 
 "About what?" 
 
 "About anything ! " 
 
 " Shall I ask him to come over and dine with us 1 " 
 Mary asked, rather nervously. 
 
 "Well, no : that would be useless ; he would not accept 
 — at present," Kiithchen made answer. " But indeed, 
 INIamie, I would not send him any invitation, nor would 
 I say anything that needed an answer : I should write so 
 that he might answer or not just as he pleased." 
 
 " Yes, yes," said Mary, with some animation. " Your 
 advice is excellent, Kathchen, I will write at once. And 
 about what 1 Oh, about kelp. I have got all the infonna- 
 tion I wanted about the burning of kelp ; and I will tell 
 him that any time he comes over to the mainland I should 
 like to show him the report." And then as abruptly she 
 discarded this idea. " No. Kelp is too commonplace. It 
 would be like asking for his advice about something con- 
 nected with the estate ; and I want him to understand that 
 I can get on by myself. Oh, I'll tell you, Kathchen ! — 
 the photographs ! — the photographs I promised to send to 
 Mrs. Armour. You know how proud he was of the old 
 woman's coming all the way from Canada to have but a
 
 262 DONALD ROSS OF HE 1 MR A 
 
 glimpse of Young Donald ; and I could see ho"w he was 
 pleased hy the little attentions I was able to show her — 
 quite grateful he seemed — though you know he doesn't say 
 much." 
 
 She was all excitement now, and as happy and sanguine 
 as hitherto she had been despondent. She went and got 
 writing materials forthwith, and hastily, and yet with some 
 consideration, penned this note : — 
 
 " Lochgarra House, Tuesday Morning. 
 
 "Dear Mr. Ross, — I do not know whether I told you 
 that, before Mrs. Armour left to return to Canada, I 
 promised to send her a series of photographs of Lochgarra 
 and the neighbourhood. I am arranging to have a photo- 
 grapher come through from Inverness, and any time that 
 you happen to be over here I should be exceedingly obliged 
 if you would spare nie a few minutes to let me know what 
 places would be likely to prove most interesting to her. 
 
 "Yours sincerely, 
 
 " Mary Stanley." 
 
 "Now, you see," she said, as she rather triumphantly 
 liandcd the letter to Kiithchen, "that demands nothing. 
 He does not need to reply unless he happens to have 
 plenty of time and nothing else to do. It merely shows 
 that, as far as I am concerned, I don't consider that any- 
 thing has occurred to disturb our friendly relations. It 
 v/as so clever of you to think of it, Kiithchen. And I 
 ]nust send word to Big Archie that I shall want him 
 and his boat. I'm afi-aid it's too rough to try the steam- 
 launch. I'm so much obliged to lyou, Kathchen, for 
 thinking about it ! " 
 
 Indeed, she was quite joyous and I'adiant. Her keen 
 remorse, and shame, and piteous despair seemed wholly to 
 have fled ; she was possessed Avith an audacious confidence ; 
 a sort of gratitude towards all the world shone in her 
 eyes. And Kathchen, Avho had studied this young woman 
 closely, and who was capable of draAving conclusions, knew 
 perfectly the origin of this buoyancy of spirit : the letter 
 Mary had just written demanded no answer, it is true, 
 but none the less was she in her heart convinced that an
 
 A SUMMONS 263 
 
 answer — an answer confirming all her best anticipations — 
 would be forthcoming, and that without delay. Big 
 Archie was bidden to haste and get his lugger ready : he 
 was to set out for Heimra at once. 
 
 Kate Glendinning was not the only one in this house 
 who could draw conclusions, or at least form suspicions. 
 When the two gentlemen returned that evening from the 
 hill, they found the letters and newspapers that had 
 arrived by the mid-day post spread out on the hall-table ; 
 and they began to glance at addresses and tear open 
 envelopes. Fred Stanley was soon satisfied ; he went off to 
 his room to change for dinner ; but his elder companion 
 remained — holding a letter in his hand, and apparently 
 much concerned about something. At this moment Kiith- 
 chen appeared, passing across to the door leading out into 
 the garden ; and the instant he caught sight of her his 
 eyes seemed to light up with interest. Here was a friend 
 in need. 
 
 " Miss Glendinning," said he, in something of an anxious 
 undertone, "could you give me a couple of minutes 1 Are 
 you going into the garden? May I come with you? I 
 want to ask you to do me a great service — how great I can 
 hardly tell you." 
 
 Kathchen was surprised ; for this trim, brisk, bronze- 
 cheeked, shrewd-eyed sportsman generally took things in 
 a very happy-go-lucky, imperturbable fashion. But her 
 instant conjecture was a natural one : "Be sure this is 
 aboiit Mamie ! " she said to herself. 
 
 Well, he accompanied her down the stone steps and into 
 the garden, where she began to employ herself in cutting 
 flowers for the dining-room table, while she listened atten- 
 tively enough. 
 
 "The fact is," said he, "I have just had a letter from 
 home, with no vei*y good news. My father, who is an old 
 man, has been an invalid for a great many years, varying 
 in health from time to time ; but now it seems he has had 
 a very bad attack of asthma along with his other ailments, 
 and the doctors have ordered him off to Bournemouth 
 
 " I am very sorry," said Kathchen, as in duty bound. 
 
 " And — I have received an intimation that I may be 
 telegraphed for — I might have to leave here at a moment's
 
 264 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 notice almost." He hesitated for a second or so. " Miss 
 Glendinning," he said, " you see how I am situated : I may 
 be called away at any moment — with something that is of 
 great importance to me left unsettled. I have been living 
 in a fool's paradise; I thought there was plenty of time. 
 And then, again, I did not care to confide in any one. 
 But now I am going to appeal to you. Will you tell me 
 something in strictest confidence — something you are likely 
 to know ? It might save your friend — you can guess 
 whom I mean — much embarrassment, even pain ; and it 
 would be the greatest favour you could possibly confer 
 on me." 
 
 And now Kathchen knew her surmise was correct ; and 
 perhaps she may have been inclined to think that there 
 was something incongruous, something even humorous, in 
 this ordinarily cool and firm-nerved person appearing to be 
 afflicted by the hesitation of an anxious lover, only that 
 she was also aware of the gravity of the situation. For 
 tragic things may happen even to the steeled. 
 
 "Miss Glendinning," said he, "I want you to tell me if 
 there is anything between Mr. Ross and Miss Stanley % " 
 
 Well, this was a frank challenge ; and she ansAvered it 
 as frankly. 
 
 " I do not think there is," she said ; " but I think there 
 might be at any moment. That is only iny impression ; 
 and I may be quite wrong ; and indeed I have no right to 
 say so " 
 
 " But I have appealed to you as a friend, to do me this 
 great favour," said he ; and then he paused for a second. 
 " The fact is," he Avent on, as if with some unwillingness, 
 "I have noticed one or two odd things — Miss Stanley's 
 indignation with her brother if he said anything against 
 Mr. Ross — and the painful scene of yesterday evening — 
 these things might lead one to conjecture " 
 
 " Oh, but I'm sure there is nothing between them — 
 nothing at present, at least," said Kathchen, with some 
 earnestness ; for this assurance she could honestly give 
 him; and when did a perplexed and troubled lover ever 
 appeal in vain to a woman's heart ? " There is nothing 
 between them at present, I am certain of that ; and 
 whether there ever may be, who can tell ? Both of thera
 
 A SUMMONS 265 
 
 hav6 peculiar natures. Both of them arc proud ; and she, 
 besides that, is wilful and impulsive ; while he is reserved 
 — and — and you might almost think cold — only that I 
 imagine his studiously keeping away from her, and treating 
 her with a kind of distant civility, has some meaning and 
 intention in it. I don't thinlc he would like to become the 
 slave of any woman ; and she — well, she is very independent, 
 too. And then both of them are very peculiarly situated : 
 there is the old-standing feud between the two families ; it 
 must ha^'B been hard on him and on his mother to have 
 strangers coming into the neighbourhood, tearing down the 
 old landmarks. There are things that the Highland nature 
 can never forget ; and INIary knows that well ; more than 
 once she has said to me, 'Kiithchen, there are wrongs 
 that can never be undone ; I can never rebuild Castle 
 Heimra.' " 
 
 " Yes, yes, I quite understand," said he, rather absently ; 
 "and yet Ross does not seem to bear any resentment — not 
 against her. ISTo, nor against any one belonging to her. I 
 juust say for him that his forbearance yesterday towards 
 Fred Stanley was most remarkable : that was another thing 
 that struck me as peculiar. And yet you say there is 
 nothing between him and Miss Stanley ? " 
 
 " Nothing, I am certain," Kiithchen assured him again. 
 
 " I am so awfully obliged to you ! " he said, with some 
 little exjDression of relief ; and yet he was thoughtful and 
 silent as they walked back to the house — Kiithchen having 
 got all the flowers she wanted. 
 
 Tliat night, after dinner, when the two young ladies 
 retired to the drawing-room, Mary seemed somewhat dis- 
 turbed. 
 
 " Don't you think it rather strange, Kiithchen," she said, 
 "that Big Archie brought no message back from Heimra? 
 I don't mean an answer. I don't mean an answer to my 
 note. That was not necessary — it was hardly to be ex- 
 pected. But why has he not come to say he delivered my 
 letter ? " 
 
 She went to one of the windows, and pulled aside part 
 of the blind. The night had turned out rather dark and 
 squally ; and there were spots of rain on the glass that 
 caught the light of the lamps within.
 
 266 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " I should lil?:e to see Big Archie," said she, with a vague 
 restlessness. And then of a sudden she made this abrupt 
 proposal; "Kathchen, won't you come down with me into 
 the village? Barbara says the gentlemen have gone 
 into the billiard-room, for there is a threatenhig of rain ; 
 but we could put on waterproofs, and run away down 
 there and back, without anything being known of it." 
 
 "Is it worth while, Mamie ? " Kathchen remonstrated. 
 " He must have delivered your note ! " 
 
 " Yes ; but it is so strange there should be no message 
 of any kind ! " said Maiy. And then she instantly added, 
 changing her tone : " Of course, it is not at all strange. 
 Only — only, Big Archie sometimes takes a glass of whisky, 
 you know ; and he might have got some answer that he 
 has forgotten — perhaps a note that he has left in his 
 pocket " 
 
 " Oh, if you like, I will go with you," said Kathchen at 
 once, rather welcoming a little bit of adventure ; and foi-th- 
 with both of them hurried away to get their waterproofs. 
 
 The night was dark and blustering ; the ordinarily 
 clear twilight of these northern regions was obscured by 
 heavy clouds ; and the wind that blew in from the sea 
 brought with it a sense of moisture that promised to become 
 actual rain. The two black figures made their way with 
 little difficulty in the direction of the orange lights of the 
 village, the unseen sea washing up on the beach close by 
 them. Neither spoke ; but both walked quickly ; perhaps 
 they wanted to be back at Lochgarra House before their 
 absence should be known. 
 
 Then, just as they were getting near to the inn, Kate 
 suddenly put her hand on her f i-iend's arm. Ahead of them 
 were two other figures, as black as themselves, but looming 
 larger through the dusk. 
 
 " That is Big Archie," said Kathchen, in a whisper, " and 
 isn't the other Hector ? — yes, I am sure that is Hector ! " 
 
 At this moment the two men disappeared, 
 
 " I know where they have gone," Mary said promptly. 
 "They have gone into the tap-room behind. Well, we 
 will follow, in case the people in the inn should deny 
 them. Come along, Kathchen, I know the way." 
 
 The two young women left the main street, crossed a
 
 A SUMMONS 267 
 
 stable-yard, and, guided by the dull glow of a window, 
 went up to a door, which Mary entered. The next moment 
 they were gazing into a small sanded parloui", where Gil- 
 leasbuig Mor and his friend the keeper were standing : 
 indeed, the two men had not had time to sit down nor yet 
 to order anything to drink. The oil-lamp on the table shed 
 a feeble light, but it was quite sufficient to show that 
 Hector, thus caught, was looking terribly guilty ; while the 
 great, heavy-shouldered fisherman, whose deep-set grey eyes 
 under the bushy eyebrows seemed to say that he had 
 already had a glass, instantly came to his companion's help. 
 
 "Aw, well now," Archie said, in his plaintive Argyll- 
 shire accent, " iss it Miss Stanley herself that would be 
 coming in here — indeed, indeed ! — and Hector, the honest 
 lad, chist feenished up with ahl his work — oh, aye — the 
 guns ahl cleaned, and the dogs fed, and everything ready 
 for the chentlemen to-morrow — and me coming bye from 
 the Camus Bheag, and says I, ' Hector, will you come along 
 with me and hef a dram when your work is feenished 1 ' 
 And Miss Stanley need not be thinking there wass any 
 more in ovir minds than that ; for Hector is a fine laad, and 
 fine keeper, and what harm will a dram do to anyone when 
 ahl the work is done ? " 
 
 " Sit down, Archie — sit down. Hector ! " said Mary, 
 quite good-naturedly. "I saw you come in this way, 
 Archie, and I merely wished to ask you what happened at 
 Heimra." 
 
 "Aw, Heimra," said Archie, collecting his thoughts — 
 and his English. "Iss it at Heimra? Aw, well now, 
 Martha is a ferry nice woman, and she wass giving me 
 some bread and cheese, ay, and a glass of spirits the like of 
 it is not ahlways — a good woman Martha " 
 
 "Yes, but my note, Archie," said Mary. "The note 
 you took out : I suppose you gave it to Mr. Ross ? And 
 he did not say anything ? "Well, there was no need for an 
 answer — none in the least " 
 
 " Aw, the letter ? " said Archie. " Well, I wass not 
 seeing Mr. Ross at ahl, for he wass aweh up on the north 
 side of the island, setting snares for the rabbits." 
 
 " Oh, you did not see Mr. Ross 1 " said Mary, quickly. " He 
 could not possibly have sent any answer 1 " She seemed
 
 268 DONALD ROSS OF HElMRA 
 
 greatly pleased — as Kathchen observed. " ISTo, of course, 
 he could not send an answer if he was away at the other 
 end of the island." Then she turned to Hector ; and the 
 tall, swarthy, brown-bearded keeper perceived that the fair 
 young Englishwoman — the Baintighearna — had no mind 
 to rebuke him or to be in any way angry with him. 
 " Why, Hector," she said, quite pleasantly, " that is a 
 very strange thing, that he should go snaring rabbits : 
 why doesn't he shoot them ? " 
 
 " Mr. Ross, mem," said Hector, in his grave and 
 respectful fashion, " he does not care much about shooting. 
 And the rabbits, if they are not kept down, would do a dale 
 of mischief on a smahl island like that." 
 
 " He is not fond of shooting, then ! No ; I think he 
 told me so himself." Then, with one of her sudden im- 
 pulses, she said — " Come, Hector, let me know what all 
 this is about poaching on this place. Ever since I came 
 here I have heard of all kinds of rumours and charges 
 and suspicions ; and I want to know the truth. I shan't 
 blame anybody. I want to know the actual truth. Tell 
 me frankly. It isn't such an important thing, after all. I 
 only want to know what is happening around us." 
 
 The tall keejDer looked concerned — not to say alarmed : 
 the violent scene of the day before \.'ds fresh in his mind. 
 But the big, good-natured giant from Cantire broke in. 
 
 "Aw, he is a fine lad, Hector, Miss Stanley may be 
 sure of that ; and there's no mich poaching going on about 
 this country side — at least, not about Lochgarra v/hatever. 
 It's myself that wass hearing Hector seh that if he wass 
 catching the Gillie Ciotach with a gun, he would brek the 
 gun over his head." 
 
 " Gillie Ciotach ? " said Mary. " I know him — a wild- 
 looking young fellow, with a mark across his forehead. 
 Well, is he a poacher, Hector?" 
 
 " It is in this way, mem," Hector said, slowly and care- 
 fully ; " there's very little poaching about Lochgarra, as 
 Archie says, and Hugh and myself we know it well ; but 
 there's some of the young lads, ay, and some of the older 
 men too, that if they came across a salmon, or a few sea- 
 trout, or a hare, they would be for taking it out to Heimra, 
 and slipping round by the back-door, and Martha thei'e
 
 A SUMMONS 269 
 
 to take the present. Mr. Ross, he does not pay attention 
 to such things ; for he is ahhvays having a salmon, or a 
 capercailzie, or a box of grouse sent him by the big families 
 that he knows, when their friends are up for the shooting ; 
 and he will believe anything that Martha says; and he 
 pays no moi'e heed to such things." 
 
 " Yes, but. Hector, what I want you to tell me is this," 
 she interposed — and she spoke with a certain air of proud 
 confidence — " what I want you to tell me distinctly is this : 
 do you mean to say that Mr. Ross himself would take 
 a gun or a fishing-rod and go where he had no right 
 to go, either fishing or shooting ? " 
 
 It was a challenge ; and Hector met it unflinchingly. 
 He said, in his serious way — 
 
 " Oh, no, mem — no, no : there is not anyone about here 
 that would think such a thing of Mr. Ross." 
 
 Mary turned to Kathchen, with a quick, triumphant 
 glance. Then she addressed herself again to Hector. 
 
 " Well, sit down, and have a chat with your friend. 
 Hector," said she, very pleasantly. " We shan't interrupt 
 you any longei'. And if now and again one of the lads 
 about here should be taking out a little present of fish or 
 game to old Martha, for the housekeeping, well, that is a 
 trifling matter ; and I dare say she gives them a glass of 
 whisky for their trouble. And, Archie, any other time 
 you go out to Heimra with a message from me, mind you 
 come back and tell me whether there is an answer or not, 
 even when I am not expecting an answer, because that 
 makes everything certain and correct. So good-night to 
 you both — good-night ! — good-night ! " And therewith the 
 two young ladies, who, even in the dull light of this little 
 sanded parlour, had formed such a curious contrast to those 
 two big, swarthy, heavily-bearded men, withdrew, and shut 
 the door after them, and set out for home through the dark- 
 ness and the drizzling rain. 
 
 Next morning Mary said, with a casual glance out 
 toAvards Eilean Heimra — 
 
 " Kiithchen, don't you think, if you lived on that island, 
 you would rather have a good-sized steam-launch than any 
 sailing-boat 1 It would be so much more handy — ready at 
 a moment's notice almost — and taking up so much less time,
 
 270 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 if you wanted to send a message to the mainland. I sup- 
 pose ]Mr. Ross has to tliiiik twice before telling his men to 
 get the yacht ready, or even that big lugsail boat." 
 
 But as the day wore on there was no sign of either yacht 
 or lugger coming away from Heimra ; the grey and squally 
 sea remained empty ; indeed, towards the afternoon, the 
 wind freshened up into something like half a gale, and it 
 grew to be a matter of certainty that Donald Ross would 
 not seek to communicate with the shore. Mary was not 
 disheartened. On the contrary, her face wore the same 
 happy look — that Frank Meredyth could not quite undei"- 
 stand. He had become observant and thoughtful : not 
 about grouse. 
 
 The following morning broke with a much more cheerful 
 aspect. 
 
 " Kathchen," said Mary, before they went down to 
 breakfast together, "don't you think that any time Mr. 
 Ross comes across to the mainland he might as well walk 
 along here for lunch, instead of going to the inn % Talking 
 to us should interest him as much as talking to that soft- 
 headed John, the policeman, or to the sulky Peter Grant, 
 or even to the sing-song Minister. And it would be very 
 pleasant for us, too, with the gentlemen away on the moor 
 all day." 
 
 But again the slow hours of the day passed ; and, what- 
 ever may have been her secret hopes, her anxious fears, 
 or even, at times, her disposition to be proudly resentful, 
 that width of rough blue water gave no answer to her 
 surreptitiously questioning gaze. There was a fresh westerly 
 breeze blowing ; either the smart little cutter or the more 
 cumbrous lugger could have made an easy and rapid passage. 
 However, neither brown sail nor white sail appeared ou.t- 
 side the distant headland ; and so the afternoon drew on 
 towards evening \ and here were the sportsmen come down 
 from the hill, and the dressing-bell about to sound. 
 
 After dinner-, when the two young ladies were alone 
 together, INIary said — with a curious affectation of in- 
 difference — 
 
 "I did not ask for an answer, Kathchen. Oh, certainly 
 not. There was no answer needed — but still — it seems to 
 me he might have acknowledged the receipt of my note.
 
 A SUMMONS 271 
 
 Of course I am rathe:* anxious to know on wliat terms 
 we are — naturally — and — and naturally I should like to 
 
 know whether he absolves me " She was silent for a 
 
 moment. When she spoke again she was more honest : 
 there was something of a proud, hurt feeling in her tone. 
 "I do think he might have sent me a message. Don't 
 you, Kathchen 1 Either yesterday morning or to-day — the 
 whole of to-day has been fine weather. I went out of 
 my way to make the first overtures — after — after what 
 happened. I held out the olive-branch. It seems to me" 
 that common courtesy would suggest some little acknow- 
 ledgment : one is not used to being treated in this 
 way " 
 
 " Perhaps to-morrow " suggested Kathchen, vaguely. 
 
 "Oh, if he is not in a hurry, neither am I," said she, 
 with a sudden air of haughty unconcern; and she would 
 have no more said. 
 
 Nay, from this moment she seemed to dismiss Donald 
 Ross from her mind. When, on the following day, Eilean 
 Heimra remained as mute and unresponsive as before, 
 she made no remark to Kathchen ; she resolutely dismissed 
 an involuntary habit she had formed of scanning the space 
 of sea intervening between the island and the coast ; and 
 if Kathchen mentioned Mr. Ross's name, she would either 
 not reply at all, or reply with a cold indifierence, as much 
 as to say, " AVho is the stranger whom you speak of?" 
 All the day long she busied herself with her multifarious 
 duties, and Avas particularly cheerful ; in the evening she 
 showed herself most complaisant towards the two young 
 men who were her guests. She talked of giving a ball to 
 the keepers, the gillies, and their friends ; and won- 
 dered whether there was anywhere a barn big enough for 
 the purpose. 
 
 So time went by ; and these four young people occupying 
 Lochgarra House appeared to be as merry and happy as 
 though they had belonged to a certain little band of Floren- 
 tines of the fourteenth century. For Mary was not always 
 deep-buried in her industrial schemes. Sometimes she and 
 Kate Glendinning would go away up to join the sportsmen 
 at lunch-time ; and thereafter, perched high on these sterile 
 and lonely altitudes, she would set to work to add to a
 
 -72 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 series she was forming of sea-views and coast-views — 
 drawings in most of which the horizon-line was close np 
 to the top of the sheet. It is true that in these spacious 
 sketches she had sometimes to include the island of 
 Heimra ; but no mention was made of Donald Ross ; it 
 was as if he had gone aAvay, and for ever, into some 
 unlcnown clime. Even Fred Stanley was almost ready to 
 believe that the poaching had ceased ; and so there was 
 peace in the land. 
 
 But there came a thunder-clap into this idyllic quiet. 
 One evening, when the two young men returned from their 
 long day on the hill, there was a telegram among the letters 
 on the hall-table. It was for Frank IMeredyth. He tore 
 open the envelope. 
 
 " I was afraid of it," he said to his companion. " I must 
 be off, Fred, by the mail-car to-morrow morning. Very 
 sorry, old chap, to have to leave you." 
 
 " I hope it is nothing serious," young Stanley put in, with 
 his grey eyes grown grave. 
 
 '^They don't say anything very definite," was the 
 reply. "Only I am summoned, and I must go." 
 
 "Then I will go with you," said the other promptly, "as 
 far as London. This just decides it. I'll accept Nugent's 
 invitation, after all ; and if he has started, I'll pick him up 
 at IMarseilles. We've seen pretty well what the moor is 
 like ; and perhaps some other time my sister asks us down, 
 we may wait on and have a try for a stag or two. Very 
 sorry, though, you must go." 
 
 Dinner that evening, in view of this summons, was 
 rather a sombre affair: it was Kiithchen who, when the 
 young men subsequently made their appearance in the 
 drawing-room, suggested they should all go out for a stroll 
 up to the top of the Minard road. She thought this little 
 excursion would remove some of the prevailing constraint. 
 Besides, it promised to be a beautiful moonlight night ; 
 and from the summit of the hill they would have a view 
 of the wide southern seas, with the black headlands run- 
 ning out into the shimmering pathway of silver. 
 
 Well, the expedition, so far as pictorial effects wei'e 
 concerned, was entirely successful ; but it Avas not moon- 
 light that was in Frank Meredyth's mind. He was going
 
 A SUMMONS 273 
 
 away on the morrow ; he did not know what might happen 
 in his absence ; and he thought his departure was a fair 
 and reasonable excuse for his revealing to Mary Stanley 
 certain hopes and as^^irations that had gradually, and 
 for some long time back, been taking possession of him. 
 On their way back to the house Fred and Kiithchen were 
 walking on in front ; the night was still, so that half- 
 murmured words were enough ; the surroundings lent a 
 certain charm. And so it came about that Frank Meredyth 
 asked Mary to become his wife. 
 
 Now it cannot be said that the language in which 
 this proposition was couched was quite in accordance with 
 these poetical accessories of moonlit vale, and larchwood, 
 and hill ; for the average young Englishman, however honest 
 and sincere he may be, does not express himself fluently 
 on such occasions ; probably he would be ashamed of him- 
 self if he could and did. Nevertheless, a proposal of 
 marriage, however stumblingly and awkwardly conveyed, 
 is a very serious thing to a young woman ; and Mary, 
 stax'tled and frightened, had only the one immediate and 
 overwhelming desire — to postpone the terrible necessity of 
 giving a definite answer. For it was all too bewildering. 
 She wanted to think. To tell the truth, Frank Meredyth's 
 wooing had not been too open and avowed. A man of 
 the world in other things, in this he had been a little 
 shy — one touch of nature among a thousand convention- 
 alities. Then, again, was not a refusal a very cruel thing, 
 that should be administered gently ? 
 
 " Oh, IMr. Meredyth," she said, in a very low and rather 
 breathless voice, " I think — I think — this is hardly the 
 time -" 
 
 " But surely it is ! " said he. " For I am going away 
 to-morrow morning. And I don't know when I may 
 see you again. And I should like to take with me some 
 little word of hope — something to remember " 
 
 " Did you see that hare 1 " Fred Stanley called to them, 
 looking back f(jr a moment. 
 
 Meredyth did not pay much heed to the hare. 
 
 " Perhaps I have asked you too abruptly," he went on, 
 in the same hurried and confused undertone. " Perhaps 
 1 am asking too much — that you should say something 
 
 T
 
 274 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 definite all at once. Veiy well : I will not press for an 
 answer — I will wait — I will wait " 
 
 They were emerging from the shadow of the larch trees ; 
 before them was an open space of gravel, white in the 
 moonlight, and beyond that rose the grey walls and turrets 
 of Lochgarra House. 
 
 " Only tell me this," said he, in a still lower voice, " tell 
 me if there is any one before me. I have hesitated about 
 speaking earlier because I imagined certain things — perhaps 
 I was mistaken — at least you will tell me that — tell me 
 if there is some one else " 
 
 " No," said Mary, as they crossed that space of white 
 moonlight, and perhaps she spoke a little proudly. " That 
 — at least — I can assure you " 
 
 " No one ? " he said eagerly, in the same undertone. 
 
 But here they were at the house — with Fred and Kathchen 
 waiting for them on the grey stone terrace : these two had 
 turned to look at the wonderful beauty of the night. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 A FORECAST. 
 
 Now, among the numerous undertakings on which the 
 young proprietress of Lochgarra had set her heart was the 
 establishment of a Public Peading-room and Free Library ; 
 and to that end she had planned and built — employing 
 local labour only — a large, long, one-storeyed erection, of a 
 solid and substantial cast, fit to withstand the bufifetings of 
 the western storms. The interior was as simple and un- 
 pretentious as the exterior ; there was nothing beyond a 
 strip of platfoi"m, a series of plain wooden benches, a few 
 deal tables and chairs, and a small space partitioned off as 
 kitchen. The rules and regulations, of her own sketching- 
 out, were likewise of an artless nature. The place was to 
 be open to the whole community. Tea and coffee at cheap 
 rates were to be procurable between five and seven a.m., 
 and from seven till nine in the evening : the morning hours 
 were for the benefit of bachelor workmen on their way to 
 work, or of fishermen coming in cold and wet after a night 
 at sea. Although reading was the ostensible aim, women
 
 A FORECAST 275 
 
 were free to bring their knitting or sewing : good lamps 
 would be provided, and a good fire in winter. There were 
 to be no set entertainments of any kind ; but on certain 
 evenings such of the young people as could sing or play on 
 any instrument would be expected to do their best for the 
 amusement of their neighbours. Thus far only had she 
 drawn out her simple code ; she wished to get the opinions 
 of the villagers themselves as to minor details ; and so, all 
 being ready, thei'e one day appeared the following modest 
 little handbill — "On Tuesday next, at six o'clock in the 
 evening. Miss Stanley will open the Public Reading Room 
 for the use of the inhabitants of Lochgarra. Everyone is 
 invited to attend." 
 
 It was on the IMonday afternoon that she and Kate 
 Glendinning went along to have a final look. Apparently 
 all was in order ; though, to be sure, the supply of books, 
 magazines, and newspapers was as yet somewhat scanty. 
 But it was something else that was uppermost in Mary's 
 mind at this moment. 
 
 " You don't think me really nervous, Kathchen ? " said 
 she, in a half-laughing and yet concerned way. 
 
 " No, I do not," her friend said explicitly. " Why, you, 
 of all people ! — you have courage for anything " 
 
 " Look at that platform," Mary went on. "It is only 
 a few inches raised above the floor. Yes, but those few 
 inches make all the difiei'ence. Standing here I might 
 perhaps be able to say something ; but I declare to you, 
 Kathchen, that the moment I set foot on that platform I 
 shall be frozen into a voiceless statue. Why, I am 
 trembling now, even to thinlc of it ! I feel the choking in 
 my throat already. And to have all those eyes fixed on 
 you — and your brain going round — and you unable to say 
 a word ; I know I shall tumble down in a faint — and the 
 ignominy of it " 
 
 " It is very unfortunate," Kilthchen admitted, as they 
 left the building and set out for home again, " that Mr. 
 Meredyth was called away so suddenly. He could have 
 done it for you. Or even your brother. But if you are 
 so terrified, Mamie, why don't you ask the Minister ? — he 
 is accustomed to conduct all sorts of meetings." 
 
 " No, I could not do that either," Mary said. " You see, 
 
 T 2
 
 276 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 I want the people thoroughly to understand that they are 
 not going to be lectured or preached at. They are not 
 even to be amused against their will. The whole place is 
 to be their own : I have no educational fad to thrust on 
 them. Do you remember Mrs. Armour talking about the 
 Ceilidh of the old days ?— well, I want to revive the 
 Ceilidh; and I am not sure that Mr. Pettigrew would 
 approve. No ; I suppose I must get up on that platform, 
 even if my knees should be knocking against each other. 
 And if my tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth, well, 
 you must come forward, Kathchen, and make an apology, 
 and tell them that I give them the use of the building and 
 its contents, and that there's no more to be said." 
 
 Now Kate Glendinning, during these last few seconds, 
 seemed to be occupied with something far ahead of them, 
 on which she was fixing an earnest gaze. The afternoon 
 around them was clear and golden, with an abundance of 
 light everywhere ; but the sun was getting over to the 
 west, so that the larches threw a shadow across the Minard 
 highway, whither her eyes were directed. Presently, how- 
 ever, she seemed to have satisfied herself. 
 
 "Well, Mamie," said she, "I have never tried to address 
 a meeting, so I don't know what it is like ; but I should 
 have thought you had nerve and courage for anything." 
 
 " It isn't nerve, Kathchen ; it isn't courage ! " she ex- 
 claimed, in a kind of mock despair. " Why, at the Lord 
 Mayor's dinner, I have seen one of the bravest soldiers that 
 England possesses — I have seen him with his hands shaking 
 like a leaf as he stood up to answer to a toast." 
 
 " Yery well, then, Mamie," said her companion, calmly, 
 " if you are so frightened, why don't you get Mr. Donald 
 Ross to take your place % I am sure he would do it for 
 you at once. And as for asking him, there can be no 
 trouble about that ; because if you look along there you 
 will see him at the foot of the Minard road, and he is 
 coming this way." 
 
 For one startled second Mary stood stock still, her eyes 
 filled with alarm ; perhaps some wild notion that escape 
 might even yet be possible had flashed through her brain. 
 But that was only for a moment. Kathchen had just been 
 complimenting her on her courage : she could not show
 
 A FORECAST 277 
 
 the white feather the very next minute. So instantly she 
 resumed her onwai'd walk, and that with something of an 
 air of proud confidence. She was ' more than common tall,' 
 and thei^e was a certain freedom and dignity in her gait : 
 how could any bystander have told that under that hrave 
 demeanour her heart was going like the heart of a captured 
 hare ? 
 
 "Oh, what were you saying, Kathchen?" she resumed, 
 with a fine assumption of carelessness. " The Mansion 
 House dinner — oh, yes, I assure you— a very famous soldier 
 — and his hand was shaking — you see, I happened to be 
 sitting next him " 
 
 " Mamie, are you going to ask Mr. Ross about the photo- 
 graphs % " Kathchen asked, in a low voice, for young 
 Donald of Heimra was drawing nearer. 
 
 But what could she say in reply ? This encounter was 
 altogether too abrupt and unexpected a thing. She had 
 not even time to recall what she had decided was her 
 position with regard to this solitary neighbour of hers. 
 If he had wronged her by neglect, she had vehemently 
 professed to Kathchen that that was of no consequence. 
 If, on the other hand, he was still haughtily indignant over 
 the insults that had been heaped upon him by her bi'other, 
 how could she make him any fit apology ? In fact, she 
 hardly knew whether to treat him as friend or foe ; and 
 yet here he was approaching them — every moment coming 
 nearer — and her heart going faster than ever. 
 
 As for him, he kept his eyes fixed on her, with a calm 
 and even respectful attention. He, at least, was not em- 
 barrassed ; and Mary, in a desperate kind of way, was 
 conscious that it was for her to decide ; she was aware, 
 without looking, that he was expectant ; she was mortified 
 to think that her face was flushed and confused, while he 
 was tranquilly regarding her. Then of a sudden she re- 
 belled angrily against this calm superiority ; and just as he 
 came up she glanced towai'ds him and coldly bowed. He 
 raised his cap. Was he going on — without a word ? 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Ross," said she, stammering and embarrassed, 
 and yet affecting to treat this meeting as quite an everyday 
 affair, " it is strange we should just have been talking about 
 you — you — you haven't been much over to the mainland of
 
 278 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 late, have you ? — perhaps you haven't seen the reading-room 
 since it was finished — no, I suppose not — do you think 
 it will be of any use ? — do you think it will be of any 
 service ? — do you think the people will care for it ? " 
 
 " They ought to be very grateful to you," said he. " I 
 wonder what you are going to do for them next 1 " 
 
 The sound of his voice seemed immensely to reassure 
 her. 
 
 " Grateful ? " she said, quite cheerfully, and despite her 
 conscious colour she managed to meet his eyes. "Well, I, 
 for one, should be exceedingly grateful to you if you would 
 do me a very particular favour with regard to this same 
 reading-room. Miss Glendinnihg was talking about you 
 only a moment or two ago — and — and the fact is, I propose 
 to hand over the building to-morrow afternoon " 
 
 " I saw the little handbill," said he, with a smile. 
 
 " Then I hope," said she, with an answering smile, " that 
 you haven't come over to turn away my audience, as you 
 did in the case of the people who wanted to create a 
 disturbance." 
 
 "Oh, no," said he, "I hope you did not suspect me of 
 any such intention. Oh, no ; it was quite the other way, 
 indeed — if any one had asked me " 
 
 " But I want more than that from you," said she — and 
 all her confusion seemed to have fled : she was resrardinsf 
 him in the most friendly way, and talking with a happy 
 confidence. " I want far more than that, Mr. Ross, if you 
 will be so kind. Do you know, I was telling Kathchen 
 here that the moment I put my foot on the platform 
 to-morrow evening I should expire, or faint, or do some- 
 thing terrible ; for what experience have I in addressing 
 a meeting ? I assure you I am in an absolute fright about 
 it ; I tremble when I think of it ; when I try to imagine 
 what I am going to say, my throat seems to gasp already. 
 Now would you do this speechmaking for me — what little 
 is needed ? Would it be too much of a favour ? Is it 
 asking too much % " 
 
 This was her brief prayer ; and Kathchen, standing by, 
 a not uninterested spectator, was saying to herself, " Well, 
 Mamie, you have the most extraordinary eyes, when they 
 choose to be fiiendly and interested, and appealing; I
 
 A FORECAST 279 
 
 wonder what mortal man could resist them ? " It was not 
 Donald lloss, at all events. 
 
 " Oh, yes, certainly ; I will do that for you with pleasure," 
 said he at once. "I have never in my life addressed a 
 meeting ; but I don't suppose there can be any trouble 
 about it — especially when one knows the people. Only, 
 you must tell me what I am to say : if I am to be your 
 counsel, you must give me instructions " 
 
 " Oh, yes, yes," said she, quite eagerly. " I will tell you 
 all the i-egulations I mean to propose ; and the points on 
 which I want to have the public opinion. Are you very 
 busy just now 1 Will you come along and have tea with 
 us ? Then I could tell you all I vv^ish to have said." 
 
 He hesitated; and the least tinge of colour appeared 
 in the pale, keen, resolute face. He had not expected to 
 be asked so soon to cross the threshold of Lochgarra 
 House. Nevertheless, after that momentary indecision, 
 he said — 
 
 " Thank you, yes, I will go with you and get my brief. 
 Though it does seem a little impertinent in me to presume 
 to be your spokesman." 
 
 " Oh, don't say that," she remonstrated, warmly. " I 
 cannot tell you how much I am obliged to you. Why, 
 Ktithchen will assure you that I was just about dying with 
 fear." 
 
 And all this had taken place so rapidly that even 
 Kathchen was a little bewildered. How had such a 
 mighty revolution come about within the space of two or 
 three swift seconds? A few minutes before, and Mary 
 Stanley would not have allowed this young man's name 
 to have passed her lips ; and now she was regarding him 
 with the most obvious favour, and smiling and talking 
 with an eager delight; while his keen, dai-k face and 
 expressive eyes answered her in kind. Kate Glendinning, 
 as they walked on towards the house, did not seek to in- 
 terfere in this conversation : to watch the demeanour of 
 those two was of far greater interest to her than any 
 question connected with the Free Library, And Kath- 
 chen, if she did not talk to them, could commune with 
 herself. "Mamie," she was saying, in this secret fashion, 
 " you should not show yourself so anxious to please. It
 
 28o DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 isn't like you. If you are overjoyed to be on friendly terms 
 with him again, don't make it so manifest. You shouldn't 
 seek him ; let him seek you. And don't allow your eyes 
 to say quite so much : do you know that they are just 
 laughing with gladness ? " And then, as they were passing 
 into the hall, the door leading out on to the garden-terrace 
 recalled a certain little incident. " Poor Mr. Meredyth ! " 
 said Kathchen to herself. 
 
 In the drawing-room, again, Mary plied this guest of 
 hers with every kind of pretty attention ; and seemed very 
 pleased and happy ; while she grew almost reckless in her 
 philanthropic schemes. Indeed, it was Donald Ross himself 
 who had to interpose to put a check on her generous 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 "No, no," he said, with a smile, and yet with a certain 
 quiet and masterful air that was habitual with him, "you 
 must not do anything of the kind. Giving them Meall- 
 na-Cruagan was quite enough. You must not think of 
 giving up Meall-na-Fearn as well. You would be crippling 
 Mr. Watson to no purpose. The crofters have quite enough 
 pasture now for their stock." 
 
 " Yes, but I want to do everything," she insisted, " I 
 want to try everything that can be thought of — every- 
 thing — before coming to the last confession of failure : and 
 you know what that is ? " 
 
 " What ? " 
 
 "Why, emigration. Oh, I haven't forgotten your 
 threat," she said, with some little touch of confusion in her 
 smiling eyes, " to take the people away with you to Canada 
 or New South Wales, or some such place. And — and I 
 don't want that. That seems to me ignominious. That 
 seems to me simply a confession of failure." 
 
 "At all events," said he, " it was not as a threat that I 
 made the suggestion. I thought it would help you." 
 
 " Oh," said she, with her face flushing a little, " but I 
 don't want anybody to go away. Surely something else 
 should be tried first. There are many things to be done. 
 I want to have many more looms going ; and the fishing 
 developed ; and several new industries started — perhaps 
 even kelp-burning, if there are sufficient beds of seaweed. 
 Why, I consider I am only beginning nov/. I have been
 
 A FORECAST 281 
 
 simply clearing the way — getting fair rents fixed — and all 
 that ; and — and I don't want to be interfered with, in 
 that rude fashion. Give me time. Let me have my chance 
 first. Then if I fail " 
 
 " Oh, but we shan't talk of failure," said he, good- 
 naturedly. " Failure would be too cruel a return for all 
 your kindness to these people." 
 
 He stayed till very near dinner-time : those two seemed 
 to have so much to say to each othei' — and not about the 
 Lochgarra estate only. Directly he had gone, Mary said, 
 in quite an eager and excited fashion — 
 
 " Kathchen, if I had had the courage of a mouse, I'd 
 have asked him to dine with us ! Why shouldn't I ? 
 Don't you think I might — the next time % Don't you think 
 I might ? It is so pleasant for neighbours to be on 
 neighbourly terms. And just imagine what his life must 
 be out in that little island, seeing no one. . It seems to 
 me that, situated as we are, it is almost a duty to ask him 
 to come to the house. And why not to dinner ? If he 
 comes in, and has tea with us, why not dinner ? What 
 is the difference between tea and dinner ? " 
 
 " He has very eloquent eyes," said Kiithchen, demurely. 
 " He seemed much pleased with his visit this evening." 
 
 " Kathchen," said Mary, and she seemed a little restless, 
 and yet very happy withal : she went to the window 
 occasionally to look at nothing, and appeared quite oblivious 
 of the fact that the dinner-gong had just sounded — " Kath- 
 chen, do you remember the blue and gold embroidered scarf 
 that I told you could be so easily turned into a hood for 
 the opera ? " 
 
 " I'm sure I do ! " said Kathchen, little dreaming of 
 what was coming. 
 
 " Then I'm going to give you that — yes, I will — now, 
 don't protest — ^ — " 
 
 " Indeed I must, though, Mamie," said Kathchen, 
 wax*mly. "Why, what use would it be to me? And 
 you know how admirably it sviited your complexion and 
 the colour of your hair. What mania for giving has seized 
 you this afternoon ? I thought you were going to throw 
 away the whole of the Lochgarra estate ; and I was glad to 
 see Mr. Ross put some curb on your wildness. And I
 
 282 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 must say you were very amenable, Mamie. You're not 
 quite so self-willed when Mr. Ross is talking to you — — " 
 
 " I'm going to be self-willed enough to make you take 
 that scarf, Kathchen," said Mary, with a gay impetuosity. 
 "Yes, I am. I will send for it to-morrow. Why, you 
 know it is a pretty thing, Kathchen — the Albanian needle- 
 work is so quaint — and I remember perfectly that you 
 admired it " 
 
 "But what use would a hood for the theatre be in a 
 place like this ! " Kathchen exclaimed. 
 
 " Don't I tell you it is a pretty thing to look at, here 
 or anywhere else ? " was the imperious rejoinder. " And 
 I want to give it to you, Kathchen— and that's all about 
 it — and so not another word ! " 
 
 When at length they went in to dinner, Mary sate silent 
 and thoughtful for a little while : then she said — 
 
 " Kathchen, did you ever hear a voice that gave you 
 such a curious impression of sincerity ? " 
 
 " Do you mean Mr. Ross's % " said Kathchen, gravely. 
 
 "Yes," said Mary, with a bit of a start : she had been 
 forgetting. " I mean quite apart from the quality of the 
 voice, and that of itself seems to me remarkable. For you 
 know most men's voices are repellent — umiecessarily harsh 
 and grating — you are not interested— you would rather 
 keep away. But his voice, quiet as it is, thrills ; it is so 
 clear, and soft, and persuasive ; I don't know that you can 
 say of a man that he has a musical voice in talking, but if 
 you can, then his is distinctly musical. Only that is not 
 what you chiefly think of. It is the honesty of his tone 
 that is so marked. He never seems to talk for effect ; he 
 does not want to impress you, or make any display ; it is 
 the truth he aims at, and you feel that it is the truth, and 
 that you can believe down to the very depths every word 
 he is uttering. And you seem to feel that he makes you 
 honest too. It is no use ti-ying any pretence with him. 
 He would laugh at you if you did — and yet not cruelly. 
 He is so direct, so simple, so manly, not a grain of affecta- 
 tion to be discovered. I wonder, now, when he is called to 
 the Bar, if he will practise in the courts ? For don't you 
 think I rather effectually stopped the emigration scheme — 
 didn't I, Kathchen ? Oh, yes, I don't think he will talk
 
 A FORECAST 283 
 
 any more about Canada or Australia — not, at least, until 
 I have had my chance. But on the other hand, if he were 
 to remain in this country, and practise at the Bar, don't 
 you think he would succeed ? I know if I Avere a judge, 
 and Mr. Ross were pleading before me, I should have little 
 diiJiculty in deciding who was speaking the truth." 
 
 " Counsel are not paid to speak the truth : quite the 
 reverse," said Kathchen. 
 
 " And when he laughs, there is nothing sarcastic in his 
 laugh — nothing but good-nature," continued the young- 
 lady, who was not paying much attention to Barbara's 
 ministrations. " Is there anything so horrid as a cackling 
 laugh — the conceited laugh of a small nature ? Yes, it is a 
 very good thing he has so pleasant and good-humoured a 
 laugh — for — after all — yes, perhaps he is just a little blunt 
 and peremptory. What do you think, Kathchen 1 Did you 
 think he was a little dictatorial 1 And you said something — 
 that I was amenable 1 But was I too amenable, Kathchen ? 
 I hope he did not imagine that I was subservient — especially 
 if he was rather masterful and plain-spoken " 
 
 " Come, come, Mamie, don't quarrel with him when he 
 has hardly had time to get out of the house," Kathchen 
 interposed, with a smile. " I consider that the manner of 
 both of you was quite perfect, if what you wanted to convey 
 was that you were both highly pleased to meet in this way 
 and have a confidential and friendly chat. Dictatorial ? 
 Not in the least ! Of coui'se he knows a good many things 
 about this place ; and it was to save you yourself from 
 being excessive in your generosity that he spoke plainly. 
 And speaking plainly — why, wasn't it that very thing you 
 were praising only a moment ago, when you spoke of the 
 simpKcity and sincerity of his speech ? " 
 
 " Because," said Mary, dravsdng up her head a little, " if 
 — if I thought he considered me too complaisant and sub- 
 missive — if I thought so — well, I would show him some- 
 thing different." 
 
 "Now, are you determined to quarrel?" Kathchen 
 exclaimed, with laughing eyes. " Here is this poor young 
 man who meets you in the i-oad, and he is as respectful 
 and distant as could possibly be, waiting to see how you 
 mean to treat him ; and you seem a little doubtful ; then
 
 2S4 DONALD ROSS OF HElMRA 
 
 of a sudden you resolve to make the first advances ; and 
 the next thing is that you appear so glad to find that both 
 of you are on friendly terms, that nothing will do but he 
 must come away home and have tea with you ; and you 
 are exceedingly kind to him, and he is exceedingly grateful 
 — as those black eyes of his showed. What is there in all 
 that ? Yet now you must alarm yourself by thinking you 
 have been too complaisant ! " 
 
 " No, Kathchen, no ; not that I think so ; what I dread 
 is that he may have been thinking so." 
 
 "If I were to tell you, Mamie," said Kathchen, "what 
 I imagine to have been in Donald Ross's mind when you 
 and he were sitting talking together, eyes fixed on eyes, 
 with never a thought for anything or anybody else in the 
 whole wide world, well, I suppose you would be indignant, 
 and would probably tell me to attend to my own affairs. 
 Which I mean to do— only I am not blind." For a second 
 INIary regarded her friend with a scrutinizing glance ; but 
 she had not the courage to speak ; she changed the subject 
 — and hardly mentioned Donald Ross's name for the rest of 
 that evening. 
 
 Next day, and especially towards the afternoon, there 
 was quite a commotion in the village, for small things 
 become great in a remote little community like Lochgarra ; 
 and when it drew near to six o'clock there were various 
 groups of people scattered around the new building, walking 
 about and chatting, sometimes peeping in at the door with 
 a vague curiosity. 
 
 " I wonder if he expects us to go along and meet him 
 there ? " said Mary, rather anxiously to Kathchen. 
 
 " You mean Mr. Ross % " said Kathchen, though well she 
 knew to whom the "he" referred. "I should think he 
 would call for us. The Sirene is not in the bay ; she 
 must be round in the Camus Bheag ; so Mr. Ross will be 
 coming down from Minard." 
 
 Kathchen's anticipations proved correct ; young Ross, in 
 passing Lochgarra House, stopped for a moment to ask 
 if the ladies had gone on ; and, finding that they Avere just 
 about ready to set out, he waited for them. And thus 
 it was that the inhabitants of Lochgarra again witnessed 
 a strange sight — something far more wonderful than the
 
 A FORECAST 285 
 
 opening of a Free Library : they beheld young Donald 
 of Heimi-a acting as escort to this Englishwoman — this 
 alien — this representative of the family that had drained 
 the waters out of Heimra Loch, and torn down the walls 
 of the old Castle, And not only that, but when they came 
 along, he seemed to manage everything for her. He drove 
 the people into the large, long room, and got the benches 
 filled up ; he had two chairs placed on the platform, one 
 for Miss Stanley and one for Miss Glendinning ; and then, 
 standing by the side of the Baintighearna, proceeded to 
 speak for her, and to explain the conditions attaching to 
 this bequest. 
 
 And here once more Mary, sitting there silent and 
 observant, may have been struck by the curious directness 
 and simplicity of his speech. Concise, explicit sentences : 
 they seemed to accord well with his own bearing, which 
 was distinctly straightforward, intrepid, resolute. Indeed, 
 so little of effort, so little of talking for effect was there 
 about this address, that once or twice, and in the most 
 natural way in the world, he turned to Miss Stanley and 
 asked her for information on certain points. Finally, he 
 told them that Miss Stanley wished for no ceremony, open- 
 ing or otherwise ; they were merely to take possession ; and 
 they would now be left to examine the resources of the 
 building, including the duplicate catalogues of the library. 
 
 "Three cheers for Donald Ross of Heimra!" called 
 out a voice — and a cap was twirled to the roof. 
 
 " Don't make a fool of yourself, Gillie Ciotach ! " said 
 Ross, with a quick frown ; and then he went on calmly : 
 "It is Miss Stanley's express wish that there should be 
 no formalities whatever, otherwise I should have proposed 
 a vote of thanks to her for her very great kindness and 
 thoughtfulness. However, that is not to be ; and -the best 
 way you can show what you think of her munificent gift 
 is by making a good use of it and taking every care of 
 it." He turned to the Baintighearna. " I suppose that is 
 about all I have to say, Miss Stanley ? " 
 
 " Yes, I think so : thank you so much ! " she said, in 
 rather a low voice — for she was a trifle self-conscious before 
 all those people. 
 
 Then she roz2. He stopped do",vn from the platform,
 
 286 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 and led the way along the hall. There was some covert 
 clapping of hands and stamping of feet; but the Gillie 
 Ciotach had been snubbed into silence ; and, indeed, the 
 majority of those sad and weather-worn countenances re- 
 mained stolidly indifferent, as if they hardly knew what 
 was happening around them. Ross opened the door for 
 his two companions, and followed them out into the golden- 
 clear afternoon ; the villagers were left to overhaul at their 
 leisure this new possession, and to become famihar with its 
 opportunities. 
 
 But no sooner were those three out in the open, and by 
 themselves, than Mary Stanley's manner underwent a 
 complete change. She had thrown off that platform con- 
 straint ; she was profuse in her expressions of gratitude ; 
 her eyes were shining with pleasure. 
 
 " How can I ever sufficiently thank you ? " said she. 
 " I could never have got through it by myself — never ! 
 And of course they will remember everything you said : 
 any word of yours is all-important with them. I am a 
 sti'anger. I am suspected. But when you are on my side 
 all goes well. And now that this serious business has 
 been got over, I feel as if we had earned a hoHday for the 
 rest of the day," she continued, in a very radiant and light- 
 hearted fashion. "What shall we do, Kathchen ? Can't 
 you devise something ? Can't you devise some wild escapade 
 — something terrible — something unheard of ? " 
 
 "The Lady Superior of Lochgarra," said Donald Ross, 
 "is much too distinguished a person to indulge in wild 
 escapades." 
 
 " At least," said she, turning to him — and they were 
 now on their way to Lochgarra House — " it would be very 
 hard if we three, having so successfully got through the 
 solemn duties and labours of the day, were to separate now. 
 Don't you think we are entitled to a little relaxation? 
 Now, tell me, ]Mr. Ross, where you are going at this 
 moment. Back to the Sircne, are you not 1 And you 
 will be dining alone ? And after that a book and a pipe 
 in the solitary saloon — isn't that about how you will pass 
 the evening ? " 
 
 " You have guessed pretty near the truth. Miss Stanley," 
 said he, with a smile.
 
 A FORECAST 287 
 
 "Then," said she, boldly, "why should we separate^ 
 Come in and dine with us. Give up your book, and let 
 two frivolous creatures talk to you. We will allow you 
 to go away at ten ; and it will be a clear starlight night — 
 you will have no difficulty in finding your way round to 
 the Camus Bheag. Now, will you ? " 
 
 "Indeed, I shall be most happy," said he, without an 
 instant's hesitation ; and again Miss Stanley's clear grey- 
 green eyes thanked him — as they could, when she had a 
 mind. 
 
 And really this proved to be a most joyous and careless 
 evening without an atom of restraint or reserve ; the 
 little group of friends, brought together in that far-away 
 corner of the world, developed a very frank and informal 
 intimacy ; the time sped swiftly. Mary was in especial 
 meriy-hearted and audacious; occasionally betraying new 
 moods of wilful petulance ; and then again becoming sud- 
 denly honest, as much as to say, " No, don't believe that 
 of me j it was only mischief." Even Kathchen was less 
 demurely observant than usual ; she had become a little 
 more accustomed to the flame of those coal-black eyes ; 
 moreover, the young man had a winning smile. He was 
 no longer the proud and austere person whom she had 
 regarded with a little anxiety and even awe. Implacable 
 she was no longer ready to call him : surely one who 
 could laugh in that frankly good humoured way was not 
 likely to prove revengeful and unforgiving? As for his 
 being haughty and imperious, she noticed one small circum- 
 stance — that ever and again, amid this familiar and sprightly 
 intercourse, he checked himself a little, and would address 
 Miss Stanley with something almost of deference. It was 
 as if he were saying, ' It is exceedingly kind of you to treat 
 me in so very friendly a fashion ; but still^still — you are 
 the Lady Superior of Lochgarra — and I am your guest.' 
 And sometimes he seemed to veil his eyes a little — those 
 burning eyes that might unawares convey too much. 
 
 The lightning moments fled ; ten o'clock came ere he 
 knew. Indeed, it was half-an-hour thereafter before he 
 chanced to look at his watch : and instantly he rose, with 
 a quite boyish confusion on his clear, finely-cut face. 
 
 " When do you go back to Heimra ? " said Mary to
 
 233 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 him — the two young ladies having accompanied him out 
 into the hall. 
 
 " I hardly know," said he. "I am waiting for a rather 
 important letter that I must answer at once." 
 
 " Not to-morrow, then 1 " 
 
 " Perhaps not." 
 
 "For I have sent for the photographer," said she, "and 
 he may be here the day after." 
 
 "But I will stay over," said he; "oh, yes, certainly: I 
 should be so pleased if I can be of the least service to 
 you." 
 
 " Oh, thank you." And then she hesitated. " To- 
 morrow — to-morrow you will simply be waiting for the 
 mid-day mail ? " 
 
 " Yes — is there anything that I can do for you in any 
 way?" 
 
 "Oh, no," she made answer, with still further hesitation. 
 " Some day — I am going to ask you to let me have a peep 
 at the Sirene. She seems such a pretty little yacht." 
 
 "Won't you come alone; and look over her to-morrow 
 morning, if the weather is line ? " said he, quickly. 
 
 " Would you like to go, Kathchen 1 " asked Mary, with a 
 little shyness. 
 
 " Oh, I should be delighted," answered the useful Kath- 
 chen, divining what was wanted of her. 
 
 " If you are sui-e it is not troubling you," said Mary to 
 her departing guest. 
 
 " Why, it will give me the greatest possible pleasure," 
 said he. "Come as early as ever you like. It will be 
 quite an event : it is many a day since I had the honour of 
 receiving visitors on the little Sirene." 
 
 " Then about eleven," said INIary ; and therewith he took 
 his leave. 
 
 When they got back to the drawing-room, Kate Glen- 
 dinning threw herself into the chair she had recently 
 quitted. 
 
 " Well, I think he is simply splendid ! " said she, as if 
 she had some difficulty in finding words to express her 
 enthusiasm. " That's all I can say — just splendid. He is 
 so curiously straightforward, outspoken, independent; and 
 yet all the time he is so careful to treat you with marked
 
 SloU^ BUT SURE 2§^ 
 
 fespect. if his eyes laugh at you, it is in such a good- 
 natured way that you can't take offence. And he never 
 agrees with you for courtesy's sake — never — oh, not a bit ; 
 but yet, as I say, to you he is always so respectful — in so 
 many little ways — didn't you notice 1 Ah, well, Mamie," 
 continued the observant but nevertheless cautious-ton^ued 
 Kiithchen, " it's a curious world, the way things happen in 
 it. Do you remember, when you first came here, your 
 distress about the destruction of Castle Heimra 1 You 
 said nothing could ever atone for that ; and I was of your 
 opinion then. But I am not so sure now. I should not 
 be so surprised, after all, if there were to be some atone- 
 ment for the pulling down of Castle Heimra." 
 
 INIary did not answer : she had gone to put some Japanese 
 water-colours into a large portfolio. Nor could the ex- 
 pression of her face be seen ; if there was any indignant 
 colour there, any proud, maidenly reserve and resentment, 
 it was invisible ; for she remained standing by the portfolio 
 for some time, turning over the leaves. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 SLOW BUT SURE. 
 
 The next morning was the very perfection of a September 
 morning, clear, and crisp, and still ; there was just enough 
 wind to lift away the lazy blue smoke from the cottage 
 chimneys, and to stir the smooth waters of the bay with a 
 shimmering ripple. And here was the carriage in front of 
 Lochgarra House, waiting for the two young ladies to come 
 down. 
 
 " Kiithchen," said IMary, in an undertone, as they took 
 their seats and were driven off, " supposing I should get a 
 chance of speaking to Mr. Ross priA-ately — for a minute or 
 two — do you think I should venture to apologise to him 
 for Fred's outrageous conduct ? AVliat would you do if you 
 were in my place 1 " 
 
 " Not that — oh, no, IMamie, not that ! " Kiithchen said 
 at once. " Don't you see how he wishes to ignore it 
 altogether 1 And surely vou remember what he himself 
 
 U
 
 290 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 said about the pulling down o£ Castle Heimra? 'There 
 are some things that are best not spoken of.' " 
 
 " It is very generous of him," said Mary, absently. 
 
 They drove away up the Minard road ; and when they 
 had got some distance past the top of the hill, they dis- 
 missed the carriage, and left the highway, striking across 
 the rough high ground by a worn footpath. Presently they 
 found far beneath them the sheltered waters of the Camus 
 Bheag ; and the first thing they saw there was the Sirene 
 at her moorings, with all her sails set and shining white 
 in the morning sun. The next thing they perceived was 
 that the two sailors, Coimieach and Calum, were on the 
 beach, by the side of the yacht's boat ; while standing some 
 way apart was Donald Ross. And who was this who was 
 talking to him 1 — a young girl, whose light brown curly 
 hair was half hidden by her scarlet shawl, 
 
 "It is Anna Chlannach ! " said Mary. " Now I have 
 got her at last ! She is always escaping me — and I want to 
 convince her that I will not allow Mr. Purdie to lock her 
 up in any asylum. Kiithchen, couldn't we get down some 
 other way, so that she may not see us 1 " 
 
 But at this very moment the girl down there happened 
 to catch sight of them ; and instantly she turned and fled, 
 disajDpcaring from sight in an incredibly short space of 
 time. For one thing, the face of this hill was a mass of 
 tumbled rocks, intermingled with long heather and thick- 
 stemmed gorse, while skirting it was a plantation of young- 
 larch : most likely Anna Chlannach had made good her 
 escape into this plantation. 
 
 " Why did you let her go 1 " said Mary, reproachfully, 
 Avhen she had got down to the beach. " You knew I 
 wanted to talk to her." 
 
 " It isn't easy reasoning with Anna Chlannach," said 
 Donald Ross, with his quiet smile. " She still associates 
 you with Purdie ; she is afraid of you. And this time she 
 was on other business ; she was pleading with me to take 
 her out to Heimra— offering me all the inoney she has got 
 — her shells, you know — if I would take her out." 
 
 "And why does she want to go out there'?" Mary 
 asked — her eyes still searching that rocky hill-side for the 
 vanished fugitive.
 
 SLOPV BUT SURE 291 
 
 " To bring back her mother. Sometimes she forgets her 
 fancy about the white bird, and thinks if she could only 
 get out to Heimra she would bring back her mother alive 
 and well. And it is no use trvinsc to undeceive her," 
 
 The men were waiting. IMary and Kiithchen got into 
 the stern of the boat ; the others followed ; and presently 
 they were on their way out to the yawl. 
 
 " How much bigger she is than I had imagined ! " Mary 
 said, as they were drawing near. 
 
 And again when they were on deck, looking around with 
 the curiosity that an unknown vessel invariably arovises, 
 she could not but express her high approval : everything 
 looked so trim and neat and ship-shape — the spotless decks, 
 the gleaming brass, the snow-white canvas. And these 
 cushions along the gunwale ? 
 
 " The fact is," young Ross confessed — with some look 
 of timid appeal towards Mary, " I got the sails up this 
 morning just in case I might be able to induce you to take 
 a bit of a run with us. There is a nice breeze outside, and 
 nothing of a sea. What do you say. Miss Stanley ? The 
 Sirene feels proud enough that you should have come on 
 board — but if j'ou would like to see how she takes to the 
 water " 
 
 If he was at all anxious, the quick glance of pleasure in 
 Maiy's eyes must have instantly reassured him. 
 
 " Oh, yes, why not 1 " said she, rather addressing herself 
 to Kate Glendinning ; "I am sure we shall be delighted 
 — if it isn't taking up too much of your time, Mr. 
 Ross " 
 
 " We can slip the moorings and be off at once," said he, 
 and he gave a brief order to the men, himself going to 
 the tiller. In a few minutes the Sirene was under way, 
 gliding along so quietly that the two visitors hardly knew 
 that they were moving. 
 
 But their departure had not been unnoticed elsewhex^e. 
 Suddenly, into the absolute silence prevailing around, there 
 came a piteous wail— a Avail so full of agony that imme- 
 diately all eyes were directed to the shore, whence the 
 sound proceeded. And there the origin of it was visible 
 enough. Anna Chlannach had come down from her hiding- 
 place to the edge of the water ; she was seated on a rock, 
 
 u 2
 
 5^2 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 her hands clasped in front of her and her head bent down 
 in an attitude of indescribable anguish, her body swaying to 
 and fro, while from time to time she uttered this heart- 
 rending cry, of despair and appeal. 
 
 " Poor Anna ! " said Mary, with tears starting to her 
 eyes. " Let us go back, Mr. Ross ! Never mind us. We 
 can go home. You must take her out to Heimra." 
 
 " What would be the use 1 " he said. " She would only 
 be more miserable, searching about and finding no mother 
 anywhere. And Amia does not keep very long in one 
 mood. She will soon lose sight of us — and then she'll be 
 off again searching for wild strawberries." 
 
 And perhaps it was to distract their attention from 
 this melancholy setting out that he now called one of the 
 men to the tiller, and would have his guests go below, to 
 have a look at the ladies' cabin and the saloon. Of course 
 they were much interested and pleased — admiring the cun- 
 ning little contrivances for the utilisation of space ; while 
 Mary arrived at the conclusion that, if these rooms were 
 kept in order by Calum, Calum was a very handy youth to 
 have in one's service, whether afloat or ashore. They 
 spent some time over these investigations ; and when they 
 came on deck again, they found they were well out at sea, 
 with a far-extending view of the high and rocky coast, 
 Lochgarra itself appearing as merely a thin gi-ey-white 
 line along one of those indented bays. 
 
 And still, and carelessly, and joyously, they kept on 
 their course, the light breeze holding steady, the wide plain 
 of water shining with a summer blue. Young Donald had 
 not returned to the tiller ; he was devoting himself as- 
 siduously to his two guests— their conversation, whatever 
 its varying moods, accompanied by the soft, continuous 
 murmur of these myriad-glancing ripples, for waves they 
 could scarcely be called. And on this occasion Mary was 
 not nearly so nervous, and excited, and wayward as she 
 had been on the previous day ', a placid, benign content 
 reigned in her eyes ; a sort of serious, bland sweetness in 
 her demeanour. Kiithchen thought to herself that she had 
 never seen Mary Stanley look so beautiful, nor yet wearing 
 so serene an air. 
 
 And still th^y h Id on, in this fair halcyon weather, alono'
 
 SLOiy BUT SURE 293 
 
 with the sky, .and the fresh wind, and the shimberous 
 main ; and so entirely and hajipily engrossed with them- 
 selves that they had no thought for the now distant land. 
 But at last Kiithchen said — 
 
 " Mr. Ross, huw far are we going ? I thought you 
 were expecting an important letter." 
 
 " There are things of equal importance," said he, 
 pleasantly. He cast a glance forward. " Soon we shall 
 be getting near to Heimra, Miss Stanley. I have never 
 had the chance of I'eceiving you in my poor little bungalow : 
 will you go ashore for a while 1 " 
 
 "Oh, yes," she replied, cheerfully. "I should like to 
 renew my acquaintance with Martha ; she was exceedingly 
 kind to us when Kiithchen and I called." 
 
 "And perhaps," said he, "when we get round the point, 
 you wouldn't mind standing up for a few seconds — you 
 and Miss Glendinning?— then Martha will see I have 
 visitors, and will have time to put on her best gown. 
 Othei-wise I should get into serious trouble." 
 
 And so they sailed into the small, quiet harbour, and 
 eventually got ashore at the little slip, and made their way 
 up to the house. Martha had seen them ; here she was 
 in the porch, smiling a welcome, with her grey Highland 
 eyes, to the young master, and also to his guests. These 
 she took possession of — with suggestions of tea. 
 
 " No, no, Martha," said Donald Ross, " we are not going 
 to have tea at this time of the day. The young ladies will 
 stay for lunch ; and you must do the best you can for us. 
 We will go for a stroll about the inland, and be back in 
 an hour or thereabouts." 
 
 "Oh, yes, indeed," said the old Highland woman, "but 
 it is a peety I was not knowing before " 
 
 " Martha," said Mary Stanley, interposing, " I dare say 
 ]Mr. Ross does not understand much about housekeeping. 
 Now, you must put yourself to no trouble on our account. 
 A glass of milk aviU be quite sufficient." 
 
 " Aw, but there will be moi^e than that," the old woman 
 said, and she regarded this beautiful, tall, shining-eyed 
 young creature with a most favouring look, and her speech 
 was soft and propitiating ; " it would be strange if there 
 was not more than that in the house, and Mr, Ross
 
 294 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 bringing his friends with him." And therewith she went 
 away ; and presently they heard her sharply calling on 
 the lad Calum, who had come up from the slip, and was 
 hanging about, to be in readiness if he were wanted. 
 
 And now as the proud young host led forth his fair 
 guests on an exploration of these winding shores, and 
 tumbled crags, and steep precipices, this island of Heimra 
 looked infinitely more cheerful than it had done on Mary's 
 previous visit, in the bleak April weather. There was an 
 abundance of rich colour everywhere. The silver-grey 
 rocks, and ruddy-grey rocks, and black-grey rocks were 
 interspersed with masses of purple heather ; and other 
 masses there were of tall foxgloves, and bracken, and 
 juniper, and broom. Their progress, it is true, was some- 
 thing of a scramble for there was no road nor semblance 
 of a road ; the sheep tracks, he explained, were up on the 
 higher slopes and plateaus ; down here by the shore they 
 had to get along as best they could, though sometimes they 
 had the chance of a space of velvet-soft sand — with the 
 clear green water breaking in crisp white ripples and 
 sparkling in the sun. A solitary, if a picturesque, island, 
 facing those wide western seas ; there was no sign of 
 human existence or occupation after they had got out 
 of sight of the single house and its small dependencies ; 
 and at last Mary said : 
 
 " One would think that no living creature had ever 
 been round this coast before. But it cannot be so wild and 
 lonely to you, Mr. Ross, as it seems to us ; you have dis- 
 covered all the secrets of it j and so I want you to take me 
 to your grotto. In such an island of Monte Cristo, you 
 must have the grotto of Monte Cristo : where is it ? " 
 
 " How did you guess ? " said he, with a smile. 
 
 " Guess what ? " 
 
 "For there is a grotto," he said, regarding her. "Your 
 surmise is quite correct. There is a grotto ; only it isn't 
 filled with sacks of jewels and coins — all that there is in 
 it is some smuggled brandy." 
 
 " Oh, really % " she said, with her eyes showing a sudden 
 attention. " Brandy % — smuggled brandy ? — and how did 
 it come there ? — did you bring it ? " 
 
 *' Indeed I did," said he, without a moment's hesitation
 
 SLOIV BUT SURE 295 
 
 — and he was standing in front of her now, for she had sate 
 down on a smooth grey rock. " I suppose I must let you 
 into my dark and terrible secret, and give you the power of 
 sending the Supervisor over, and haling me off to Dingwall. 
 It is not a grotto, however, it is a cave ; and very few 
 people know of its existence. In fact, you can't get to it 
 by the shore at all ; you must go by water ; and I hope to 
 show it to you some day, if you would care to go round in 
 a boat. But then there are no wonders — no hasheesh — 
 no heaps of diamonds and rubies — only little casks of 
 spirits : perhaps they wouldn't interest you ? " 
 
 " Oh, iDut I think they would," she said — and yet with a 
 little caution, for she did not quite know how to take this 
 confession. 
 
 He observed her face for a moment. 
 
 " I see I must begin and justify myself," said he, lightly, 
 " if justification is possible. For of course it's very wrong 
 and wicked to evade the customs duties of your native 
 land ; only in my case there are two or three qualifying 
 circumstances. For one thing, I am a Highlander ; and 
 smuggling comes natural to a Highlander. Then I have 
 the proud consciousness that I am circumventing Mr. 
 Purdie — and that of itself is a praiseworthy achievement. 
 You may have heard. Miss Stanley, that Purdie plumes 
 himself on having routed out the very last of the illicit 
 stills from this country-side — and it was done merely out 
 of ill-will to the people ; but he forgot that it is diificult to 
 watch a rough coast Like this. I can put a counter-cheek 
 on Mr. Purclie's zeal. But my real excuse is simply this — 
 the old people about here are too poor to buy spirits of any 
 kind, but especially of a wholesome quality ; and it is the only 
 little bit of comfort they have when they are cold and wet, 
 just as it is the only medicine they believe in ; and really 
 I think the Govennnent, that gives lavish grants here, 
 there, and everywhere — except here, by the way — I think 
 the Government can afford to wink at such a small trifle. 
 Am I convincing you 1 " he went on, with a laugh. " I'm 
 afraid you look very stern. Is there to be no palliation ? " 
 
 Then up and spoke Kate Glendinning, valiantly — 
 
 " I consider you are perfectly justified, Mr. Ross ; yes, I 
 do, indeed," said she.
 
 296 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "You see I have Miss Glendinning on my side," he 
 pointed out, still addressing Mary. 
 
 " Ah, but you are both Highlanders," Mary said, as she 
 rose from the rock; "and how can I argue one against 
 two ? " 
 
 " Shall I be quite honest," said he, as they were setting 
 out for home again, " and confess that there is a spice of 
 adventure in going away to the south for the cargo, and 
 running it safely here % It is a break in the monotony of 
 one's life on the island." 
 
 " Yes, I shouldn't wonder if that had something to do 
 with all those fine reasons," she observed, with demure 
 significance. 
 
 " And then," he continued, frankly, and perhaps not 
 noticing her sarcasm, " I like to be on friendly terms with 
 the old people who knew our family in former days. I like 
 them to speak well of me ; I like to think that they have 
 some trifle of affection for me. And this is about the only 
 way I can keep up the old relationship that used to exist 
 between them and the ' big house ' ; it's very little kindness 
 I am able to show them : they've got to take the will for 
 the deed nowadays." He turned to her. " What, not 
 convinced yet % " he said, laughing again. " What is to be 
 the verdict ? Not acquittal % " 
 
 She shook her head doubtfully : the Lady Superior of 
 Lochgarra did not choose to say. 
 
 They found an excellent lunch awaiting them ; and after 
 that, in his eager desire to entertain these rare visitors in 
 every possible way, he showed them the heirlooms of the 
 family, along with a heap of antiquities and curiosities that 
 for the most part had been put away in cabinets and chests, 
 as being out of keeping with these plain rooms. Naturally 
 the old armovir interested Mary less than the silks and 
 embroidei'ies, the porcelain and pottery ; and in particular 
 was she struck by a Rhodian dish, the like of which she 
 had never seen befoi'e. It was of coarse material, and of 
 the simplest design — a plain draught-board pattern, with a 
 free-handed scroll I'unning round the rim ; but the curious 
 pellucid green colour was singularly beautiful, and the 
 glaze extraordinarily luminous. 
 
 <' Where could that have come frgrn ? " said she, re-
 
 SLOW BUT SURE 297 
 
 luctantly laying it down, and still regarding it with admira- 
 tion. " I have never seen one like it in England." 
 
 " My father sent it home from Smyrna," he said, simply, 
 " to my mother. He could not live in the West Islands : 
 the climate did not suit him. He travelled a great deal." 
 
 Donald Ross seemed to speak without any restraint or 
 embarrassment ; but there was some strange misgiving in 
 Mary's mind ; she was glad when Kiithchen changed the 
 subject — calling her attention, to some exquisite lace. 
 
 And at last this wonderful and memorable visit had to 
 come to an end ; but when they went out to the little porch 
 INIary said she could not go without saying good-bye to 
 Martha, and so she turned and went throvigh the passage 
 ir:-^-" the kitchen. 
 
 " Martha," said she, in her most winning way, and with 
 ..miling eyes, "you have been very good to us, and I shall 
 never forget your kindness on our first visit to Heimra, 
 when we were quite strangers to you. And this is a little 
 present I want you to take, as a souvenir, you under- 
 stand " 
 
 She had unclasped the chatelaine from her belt ; and 
 there it was, in antique silver, with all its ornaments and 
 housewifely implements complete, pressed upon the old 
 dame's acceptance. But Martha hung back — shyly — and 
 yet looking at the marvellous treasure. 
 
 " Oh, no, mem," she said. " I thank ye ; I'm sure I thank 
 ye ; but Mr. Ross would not be liking me to tek it." 
 
 "Mr. Ross!" said Mary impatiently. "What does 
 Mr. Ross know about such things 1 Why, it is necessary 
 for your housekeeping, Martha ! — and, besides, you must 
 take it to please me ; and it will remind you of our visit 
 until we come back again- — for I hope to come back and 
 see you some day." 
 
 " Yes, yes, and soon, mem," said the grateful Martha, 
 who had been forced into compliance. "And I will bo 
 showing it to Mr. Ross, mem " 
 
 " Good-bye, then, Martha, and thank you for all your 
 kindness," said Mary, as she was going. 
 
 " Ko, no, mem, it is my thanks and service to you, 
 mem," said Martha, and she timidly extended her hand. 
 Mary had learnt the ways of this country. She shook
 
 298 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 hands with the old dame ; and said good-bye again ; and 
 went her way. 
 
 Then once more over the shining sea, with the light 
 northerly breeze providing them a steady and continuous 
 passage. Mai-y turned once or twice to look at the now- 
 receding island. 
 
 "I suppose you get very much attached to a solitary 
 home like that ? " she said absently. 
 
 *' But I like a few days on the mainland very well," said 
 he, with much cheerfulness, " if there is anything to be 
 done. When do you expect your photographer ? " 
 
 " To-morrow or next day." 
 
 "I will wait for him," said he, promptly. 
 
 " That will be very kind of you," said she ; " for what 
 would pictures of Lochgarra be to Mrs. Armour if you were 
 not in them ? " 
 
 " And Saturday is Miss Stanley's bu'thday," put in 
 Kathchen. " You should stay over for that." 
 
 " Saturday ?" said he. " Oh, indeed. Oh, really." And 
 then he added : " Why, they must get up a big bonfire on 
 the top of Meall-na-Fearn." 
 
 " No, no," said Mary, with an odd kind of look ; " that 
 is not for me. I must Avait a little for anything of that 
 sort. It must come spontaneously, if ever it comes." 
 And then she suddenly changed her tone. " Well, Mr. 
 Ross, since you are remaining on the mainland for a day 
 or two, I hope you will come and see what I have been 
 doing. I have started a few things " 
 
 " I know more about your work than you think," said 
 he. " But I should be glad to go with you." 
 
 " And then perhaps the people won't treat me as a 
 stranger," she said, with a touch of injury in her tone. 
 
 " It is very ungrateful of them if they do," said he with 
 some emphasis. 
 
 And so it came about, on the next day, that Lochgarra 
 again beheld the spectacle of Young Donald of Heimra 
 acting as escort to the English lady, while she was taking 
 him about and showing him all she was doing or trying to 
 do. And to Kathchen it was clear as daylight that those 
 people began to be a great deal more friendly — more 
 willing to answer questions — more sympathetic in their
 
 SLOW BUT SURE 299 
 
 looks. Why, when the two girls returned home that 
 evening, they found the hall-door open, and Barbara in 
 the act of lifting up two huge stenlock that had been laid 
 on the stone slab. 
 
 " Why, what's this, Barbara ? " Mary inquired. 
 
 " Oh, it's just that foolish lad, the Gillie Ciotach," said 
 Barbara, with a smile of apology, "and he was leaving 
 them here instead of taking them round by the back. He 
 was saying the people are thanking Miss Stanley for the 
 new building and the papers ; and he and Archie MacNicol 
 they had a big catch of stenlock, and would Miss Stanley 
 take one or two." 
 
 " Do you mean that the Gillie Ciotach brought me those 
 fish as a present 1 " said Mary, with a delighted surprise — 
 and she was looking at those big, coarse lythe as if she had 
 just received an Emperor's gift. 
 
 " Yes, ma'am," said Barbara. 
 
 " But of course you gave him something all the same % " 
 
 *' Oh, no, ma'am." 
 
 "A glass of whisky, at least ? " Mary demanded. 
 
 " Oh, no, ma'am," said the soft-spoken Barbara, " there 
 is no whisky in the house." 
 
 "Then it is a shame there should be no whisky in a 
 Highland house ! " Mary exclaimed indignantly. " Why 
 could you not have run over to your brother's cottage and 
 got some?" 
 
 " The Gillie Ciotach was not giving me time, ma'am," 
 answered Barbara, in her pleasant way. " May be he was 
 thinking of something of that kind, and he went away 
 quick after leaving the message." 
 
 " I'll make it up to the Gillie Ciotach — you will see if I 
 don't ! " she said to Kathchen, as they passed through the 
 hall and went upstairs. And all that evening she appeared 
 to be greatly pleased by this little incident ; and spoke of 
 it again and again : why, to her it seemed to presage the 
 pacification of this lawless land — she was going to meet 
 with some return at last. 
 
 Moreover, when the photographer at length made his 
 appearance and set to work, it must have appeared to the 
 people about that Donald Ross of Heimra had become the 
 chosen ally and companion of the young Baintighearua ;
 
 3CJO DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 while to Donald Boss himself it seemed as if Mary were 
 bent on representing him — in these views, at least — as the 
 owner of the whole place. And she was wilful and im- 
 perative about it, too ; though Kiithchen, standing by as a 
 spectator, perceived that she had to deal with a nature 
 which, however quiet, was a good deal firmer than her own. 
 For example, one of the first views was the front of Loch- 
 garra House. The artist, having a soul above bare stone 
 and lime, suggested that there should be some figures 
 standing at the open hall-door, on the terrace above the 
 steps. 
 
 " Oh, yes, certainly," said Mary at once. " You go, 
 Mr. Ross, and stand there — will you be so kind ? " 
 
 " I ? " said he, in amazement — for it was clear she meant 
 herself and Kate Glendinning to remain out of the picture 
 — " What should I do there ? That is your place, surely — • 
 in front of your own house." 
 
 " Oh, wliat does Mrs. Armour want with me ! " she pro- 
 tested. "It is you she wants, naturally. Of course she 
 associates Lochgarra House with you, not with me at all. 
 Who am I % A stranger — -an interloper. What does 
 Mrs. Armour care about me ? No, really, I must insist 
 on your going and standing on the terrace." 
 
 " But indeed I cannot ; what right have I to be there % " 
 said he, with the faintest touch of colour coming to the 
 keen, pale, dark face. 
 
 "Mrs. Armour would tell you you had a better right 
 to be there than I have ! " said Mary, rather ruefully, " I 
 knew what she was thinking, if she was kind enough to say 
 nothing. Now, go, Mr. Ross, to please me ! I must not 
 appear in this picture at all — indeed, I will not." 
 
 "And I cannot," he said, simply. 
 
 " Very well, then," said the shifty Kathchen, cheerfully 
 stepping into the breach, "it is evident that I, at least, 
 can't be expected to take vip a position as owner of Loch- 
 garra House ; but figures are wanted ; and so, if you are 
 both resolved to remain out, I will go and get the keepers 
 and gillies and servants, and range them along the front 
 there, at the foot of the steps. I dare say Mrs. Armour 
 will recognise some of them." 
 
 " Then you positively refuse me ? " Mary said to him,
 
 ^LOJV BUT SURR 3oi 
 
 "You ought to understand why," he answered her — and 
 then she was silent. 
 
 But on the following morning she was deeply impressed 
 by his thoughtful forbeai^ance and consideration. They 
 wished to get a view of the little hamlet of Cruagan, 
 j\[rs. Armour having lived there formerly ; and, as the 
 place was some distance off, they drove thither — the artist 
 and his camera up beside the coachman. Now, it was 
 inevitable they should pass the desert plain that used to 
 be Loch Heimra, with the tumbled stones of the ancient 
 keep ; and on coming in sight of these the photographer, 
 recognising a subject, and yet a little puzzled, called on 
 the coachman to stoj). 
 
 " That, sir — what is that, sir ? " he asked of Donald Eoss, 
 whom he generally consulted. 
 
 " Oh, that is nothing," said Ross (and this time it was 
 Mary who looked distressed and embarrassed). " Never 
 mind ; go on." 
 
 " Isn't that an old ruin, sir ? " said the photographer, 
 with professional instinct. Subjects did not abound in 
 this neighljourhoocl, and he wished to do his best. 
 
 " That is of no use : that would not make a picture — a 
 heap of stones like that," said young Donald ; and so the 
 artist gave way ; and the carriage went on again. There 
 was a space of silence thereafter. 
 
 But Mary was none the less grateful to him. And when 
 they came to a stretch of the Connan, where there were 
 some rocks in mid-stream and a bit of a waterfall, with 
 some birches by the side of the river, she said : 
 
 " Now, Mr. Ross, Mrs. Armour is sure to remember this 
 place; and it is very pretty; and since you want me to 
 come into some of the pictures, I will come in this time, 
 and the three of us can sit on the bank as if we were a 
 pic-nic party. And if it turns out well, niightn't we have 
 it enlarged and some cojDies printed for our own friends % 
 We will send on the carriage a bit, so that there shall be 
 nothing but ourselves in this solitude." 
 
 " Let me go on with the carriage, Mamie ! " interposed 
 Kiithcheu at once. 
 
 " Don't be silly, Kiithchen ! " Mary made answer, with 
 quickly lowered lashes. " We are supposed to be a pic-nic
 
 302 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 party, or a fishing party, taking a rest — anything you 
 please ; but of course we must all be together." 
 
 So that group also was taken, with the Highland river- 
 scene for its backgi-ound ; and then they went forward 
 and overtook the carriage. Mary was much more cheerful 
 now, after getting away from that reproachful sight of 
 Castle Heimra. 
 
 " Do you know, Mr. Ross," she was saying, ' I am about 
 to encounter the bitterest enemy I have in the world ? " 
 
 " I cannot believe you have any enemy," was his reply. 
 "But who is this?" 
 
 " James Macdonald." 
 
 " Oh, INIacdonald the crofter at Cruagan. Well, what 
 have you been doing to him % " 
 
 " What have I been doing to him 1 " she said with some 
 spirit. "You should rather ask what I have been doing 
 for him. I have been doing far too much for him : I 
 suppose that is why he hates me. What haven't I done 
 for him 1 I took off the tax for the dyke ; I handed over 
 the pasturage of Meall-na-Cruagan ; I lowered his rent ; I 
 forgave him arrears ; I had the decree of removal quashed, 
 and gave him back his holding after he had forfeited it ; I 
 stopped the action against him for deforcing the sheriffs 
 officer. What more ? What more 1 And yet he looks as 
 if he would like to murder me if I try to speak to him." 
 
 "Have you any idea of the reason?" 
 
 "Yes," said Mary, a little proudly. " He says that you 
 are his laird, and not I : he says I have nothing to do 
 with the land or the people here." 
 
 " Macdonald is a foolish man — and stubborn : I will 
 talk to him," he said ; and he was thoughtful for a second 
 or two. 
 
 Indeed, when they arrived at the scattered little hamlet 
 of Cruagan, it was not the sun-pictures that occupied Mary 
 (Stanley's attention. The photographer was allowed to 
 choose his subjects as he liked. For, in driving up, they 
 had perceived the sullen-browed, Rvissian-looking crofter 
 at work in his patch of potatoes ; and as soon as the 
 carriage stopped, young Ross left his companions, stepped 
 over the bit of wire fence, and went along the potato 
 drills. Macdonald ceased working, and respectfully raised
 
 SLOW BUT SURE 303 
 
 his cap. Ross began speaking in a low voice, and yet 
 with some emphasis, and increasing emphasis, as the ladies 
 in the waggonette could gather. It was impossible for 
 them to overhear the words, even if they had been able to 
 understand ; but as he proceeded it was clear enough that 
 he was becoming angry and indignant, the man with the 
 shaggy eyebrows and the determined jaw having answered 
 once or twice. Then almost suddenly there came a strange 
 termination to this fierce encounter. Young Ross remained 
 behind, glancing around him as if merely wanting to know 
 whether the crop promised well ; but Macdonald came 
 down the drills, in the direction of the carriage. 
 
 " Kathchen," said Mary in an eager whisper, " he is 
 coming to speak to me ! Let me get out — quick ! " 
 
 She stepped into the roadway. As Macdonald came 
 slowly towards her, he raised his eyes and regarded her for 
 a second, in silence. He took off his cap — and forgot to 
 put it on again. He was thinking what to say. 
 
 "I — not mich English. It is thanks to you — for many 
 things. The young laird says that. And I — am to ask 
 your pardon — and sorry I am if there is not goodwill — - 
 and there is goodwill now— and it is sorry I am " 
 
 " Not at all — not at all ; we are going to be quite good 
 friends, Mr. Macdonald — and there's my hand on it," said 
 she in her frank, imj^etuous way. "And you are going to 
 ask me into your house ; and will you give me a little bit 
 of oatcake, or something of the kind ? — and when you are 
 next over at Lochgarra you must not forget to come and 
 see me. And at any time, mind you, if you have anything 
 to complain of come to me first ; come direct to me ; don't 
 go to Mr. Purdie, or anybody ; for perhaps I might be able 
 to settle the matter for you at once." 
 
 And with that she called on Mr. Ross, and told him 
 they were going into the cottage to get a bit of oat-cake ; 
 for Macdonald was already leading the way thither. When 
 they came out of Macdonald's cottage, they found that the 
 photographer had quite completed his work ; so they at 
 once set out for home again. Mary was in an extraordinary 
 state of delight over this vanquishment of her obdurate 
 enemy, and said she should take means to remind him of 
 their compact of goodwill. But young Ross only laughed.
 
 364 bONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 '"Wherefore he called that place Beersheba,'" he said, 
 " ' because there they sware both of them.' " 
 
 The following Saturday was Mary Stanley's birthday. 
 Early in the morning she and Kate, in fulfilment of a 
 long-standing engagement, drove away out to Craiglarig to 
 pay a visit to Mr. Watson, and talk over some matters 
 connected with his farm; and as they stayed for lunch, 
 they did not get back till the afternoon. By that time 
 the mail had come in, and there was an astonishing number 
 of letters and parcels addressed to JMiss Stanley, for she 
 had a large number of friends in the south, who held her 
 in kindly remembrance. She was looking at these and 
 guessing at the senders, when she came to one that was 
 larger and heavier than the others ; moreover, it had not 
 come by post but by hand. Something impelled her to 
 tear oil' the brown wrapper, and behold, here was the 
 Ilhodian dish she had so particularly admired when they 
 were out at Heimra Island. 
 
 "I saw he noticed how long you looked at it," said 
 Kathchen, with smiling eyes. 
 
 Well, she did not look at it long now, beautiful as it 
 was. She had turned again to the wrapper, and she 
 seemed to take a curious interest in studying her own 
 name as she found it there. 
 
 "It is an unusual handwriting, don't you think so, 
 Kiithchen?" she said, slowly, and almost as if she were 
 talking to herself. "Firm and precise. . . . How odd 
 one's own name appears when you see it written for the 
 first time by some one you know ! ... Do you think 
 character can Ije read in handwriting, Kathchen ? . . . 
 firmness — yes, apparently; and precision — well, I don't 
 object to that so much, . . . Ijut don't you think he is a 
 little too — a little ioo confident in himself . . . careless 
 of what others may think ... a little too independent. . . 
 and proud in liis own domain ? "| 
 
 " I don't know about that at all. But I am going to tell 
 you something now, and you may be angiy or not as you 
 please," said Kathchen; and she went up to her friend, 
 and put her hand on her arm: perhaps she wanted to 
 watch the expression of her face : " Mamie," she said, " that 
 man loves you."
 
 A PIOUS PILGRIMAGE 305 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 A PIOUS PILGRIMAGE. 
 
 All things appeared to be going well at Lochgarra : iVIavy 
 was radiant and jubilant, and would pay no heed to 
 Kiithchen's underhand jibes and warnings. Her numerous 
 schemes were thriving all along the line ; she had orders 
 for homespun webs and hand-knitted stockings far beyond 
 what she could execute in the coming winter ; she had been 
 guaranteed two fishing-boats, with their furnishing of nets, 
 for the next season ; she was in treaty for more looms, for 
 which there would be abundant employment ; and to add 
 to all this, the as yet ungarnered harvest — that poor, scat- 
 tered, patchwork harvest, among the sterile rocks — pro- 
 mised a fair return if only the weather would leave it 
 alone. But it was the attitude of the people towards her 
 that warmed her heart. Since her open association with 
 young Donald of Heimra, a miracle had been wrought 
 in this neighbourhood ; the dumb could speak ; men and 
 women who had sulkily turned away from the han-sassun- 
 nach, shaking their heads, now managed to find quite 
 sufficient English to answer her, and would ask her into 
 their cottages, and ofier her of their litte store. Even the 
 sad-faced, silent, morose Peter Grant, of the inn, had been 
 brought to see that there might be something in Miss 
 Stanley's proposals. If* he were to take the April fishing 
 on the Garra at an annual rental of £15, she providing a 
 water-baililF, and if, by advertising in the sporting papers, 
 he were to find two gentlemen who would pay him £25 for 
 the month's salmon-fishing, and use the inn at the same time, 
 would not that serve 1 Peter (committing one illegal act in 
 order to prevent another) could give an occasional glass of 
 whisky to the rosy-cheeked policeman : the placid and easy- 
 going Iain, having little else to do, could now and again 
 stroll down to the bridge of a morning or evening — there 
 would be no fear of poachers at that end of the water. 
 
 But it was over the terrible i-ascal and outlaw, Gillie 
 Ciotach, that she obtained (as she thought) her most signal 
 triumph. She sent for that notorious scamp to thank him 
 
 X
 
 3o6 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 for the couple of lythe he had presented to her ; and one 
 evening the Gillie Ciotach sauntered along towards Loch- 
 garra House, his fisherman clothes as clean as might be, 
 and a brand-new Balmoral set jauntily on his short brown 
 curls. When he arrived at the house, he dismissed a 
 quid of tobacco he had been chewing, wiped his mouth with 
 the back of his hand, and ascended the steps. Barbara 
 received him, and went and told her mistress, who directed 
 her to bring some whiskey into the hall. Then Mary came 
 down. 
 
 " Good-evening ! " said she, rather nervously, to this young 
 fellow with the bold brown eyes and the heavy scar across 
 his forehead, who stood twirling his Balmoral in his fingers. 
 '• Won't you be seated? I hope I have not put you to any 
 inconvenience. The fact is, I wished to thank you for your 
 kindness in leaving the two stenlock for me — I am sorry 
 I was out — and — and perhaps you will take a glass of 
 whiskey — will you help yourself ? " 
 
 For Barbara had brought in a little tray, and placed it 
 on the halL-table, and retired. Now, when the Gillie 
 Ciotach received this invitation, which he had no thought 
 of refusing, he went to the table ; and finding there a 
 tumbler, a wineglass, a decanter, and a carafe of water, 
 and being far too polite to think of drinking by himself, 
 he filled the wineglass with whisky, and half-filled the 
 tumbler with the same fluid, and brought the former, as 
 being the more elegant of the two, to IMiss Stanley. 
 
 "Oh, no, thank you," said she, with an involuntary 
 shu-dder. 
 
 "No, mem?" said he, in great surprise. "Well, well, 
 now ! " but not to waste good liquor he poured the contents 
 of the wine-glass into the tumbler, and took that between 
 his hands as he sate down, nursing it, as it were, while he 
 listened respectfully. 
 
 " But first of all," she said, with a fine effort at jollity 
 and good-comradeship, " I ought to know your real name, 
 you know ; I don't consider nicknames fair — even although 
 they may not be meant to be nicknames. And I wish to 
 be good friends with everybody in the place — and to get 
 to know all about them " 
 
 " Aw, my own name ? " said the Gillie Ciotach, after
 
 A PIOUS PILGRIMAGE 307 
 
 having, -with careful manners, sipped a little of the whiskey, 
 " Aw, it's just Andrew Mac Vean." 
 
 " Very well, then, Andrew, I am very pleased to see you ; 
 and I am sure we shall be friends ; and I wished to say, 
 besides, that I hope everything will go peaceably here, and 
 that there will be no more riotous proceedings, like the 
 assault on the lobster-fishermen at Ru-Minard — ■ — " 
 
 "Aw, God, that was a fine thing!" cried the Gillie 
 Ciotach, with a loud laugh that led Mary to suspect he 
 must have had a glass, or even two, before coming along. 
 "Aw, it was a fine thing, that ! And Miss Stanley has 
 only to send us word, as she did before, and we'll drive the 
 squatters into the sea— them and their traps, and their 
 huts, ahltogether into the sea ! Never mind where they 
 settle ! — ^you send to me, mem, and we will drive the 
 duvvles into the sea, and let them tek their chance of 
 swimminsr the Clinch ! " 
 
 'O 
 
 " But what do you mean ? " she said, angrily. " What 
 word did I send you ? Do you imagine I authorized those 
 mad and cruel proceedings ? I bade Big Archie tell those 
 men what the Fishery Board had said — that they had no 
 right there ; I did not ask you to driA^e the poor men out 
 with sticks and stones, and set fire to their huts with petro- 
 leum. I don't want any such on-goings : why, it is mon- 
 strous that the people should take the law into their own 
 hands, and get the neighbourhood a bad name for rioting." 
 
 " It's the God's truth, mem, and many's the time I was 
 telling them that," said the Gillie Ciotach, solemnly. " But 
 ye see, mem, there's some wild duvvles about here ; and 
 they're neither to hold nor to bind ; but I'll tell them what 
 Miss Stanley says, that there's to be no more fighting ; 
 and if a man is determined to fight, then we'll chist fell 
 him with a chair, and fling him below the table until he 
 gets sober. It's a peaceable neighbourhood : why should 
 there be any fighting in it ? — but for these duvvles ! " 
 
 " I am glad you think so," said Mary, very gratefully. 
 "And then there's another thing^the poaching. Now, 
 is it fair ? I ask you if it is fair " 
 
 " It's a b y shame ! " said the Gillie Ciotach to him- 
 self, as he bent his head to sip a little more whiskey. 
 
 " Because look what I am doing, Andrew," she went on, 
 
 X 2
 
 3o8 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 probably not having heard the penitent exclamation. " I 
 want you to understand. I am having the ground shot 
 over, moderately, by the keepers, and the game sent to 
 Inverness and sold there to pay wages, and the cost of the 
 kennels, and so on ; and in that way I can afford to keep 
 the gillies in employment. And I do think it is hardly 
 fair that there should be poaching. / get no good out of 
 the game — except a bird or two now and again for the 
 house, or a brace or two to send away. Of course, I don't 
 believe that there is very much poaching — for the keepers 
 know their business too well ; but it is disgraceful there 
 should be any " 
 
 " I declare to ye, mem," said the Gillie Ciotach, in tones 
 of the most earnest conviction, "that if I was to come 
 
 across one of them d d scoundrels — I beg your pardon, 
 
 mem — I meant to say there was one or two bad men about 
 here, that mebbe would tek a hare if they found her sitting 
 in her form — or — or a salmon ; and as sure's death, mem, 
 if I was to catch one of them scoundrels, I would bind him 
 hand and foot with a heather rope, and I would fling him 
 down in front of Hector's cottage, and I would say ' Hectoi", 
 off with him to Dingwall ! ' " 
 
 This was almost too much of zeal. 
 
 "Andrew," said she, slowly, and she looked at him, "I 
 have heard it said that even you yourself " 
 
 " Me, mem?" he exclaimed, quick to repel this unspoken 
 accusation. " Me, mem % Aw, Miss Stanley is not going 
 to believe that ! There's a great many liars about here, 
 mem, and there's not one of them I would believe myself ; 
 and tekking away any one's character like that ! I would 
 just like to brek the bones of any one that I heard talking 
 like that about me — begooh, I would shove his teeth down 
 his throat ! " 
 
 " Well, I won't detain you any longer, Andrew," said 
 she — and he drained off the whiskey, and smoothed out 
 the ribbons of his Balmoral. " I am glad to hear that 
 there is to be no more fighting or poaching ; for I want 
 the neighbourhood to have a good name ; and there are 
 plenty of other and better occupations for the young men." 
 
 She went with him to the door. Suddenly something 
 seemed to occur to the Gillie Ciotach.
 
 A PIOUS PILGRIMAGE 309 
 
 - " Would Miss Stanley be caring for two or three sea- 
 trout now and again ? " said he, in a casual kind of way. 
 
 Instantly she lixed her eyes on him. 
 
 " Sea-trout % — where are you getting sea-trout, Andrew ? " 
 she demanded. " Do you mean to say you have a scringe- 
 net?" 
 
 For one brief moment the Gillie Ciotach looked discon- 
 certed and guilty ; but only for a moment. 
 
 " Aw, no, mem. A scringe-net % Is it a scringe-net ? 
 Aw, I'm sure there's no one would use a scringe-net about 
 here ! " he declared, assuming further and further an air of 
 innocence as he went on. " The sea-trout ? — well, mebbe 
 they would be in the herring-nets — and mebbe a happening 
 one would come on to the bait-lines — and — and mebbe the 
 one way or the other ; but if Miss Stanley not wishing to 
 have them " 
 
 " Why, isn't this the very time they go up the rivers to 
 spawn ! " she exclaimed. " And what a shame it would be 
 to take them now ! " 
 
 "Indeed, indeed, and that's the God's truth, mem," said 
 the Gillie Ciotach, with a serious air. " It's at this very 
 moment. And who would tek them ? Who would put a 
 scringe-net round the mouth of the ruvvers at a time of the 
 year like this ? Not a man about here, anyway. Aw, 
 sea-trout % — who would think of tekkin sea-trout now ? 
 Well, good evening, mem ; and I am thanking Miss Stanley 
 for her kindness — yes, yes, indeed." 
 
 And therewith the Gillie Ciotach went down the steps, 
 fumbling in his pocket for his pipe ; while Mary returned to 
 relate the story of this momentous interview to Kiithchen 
 — perhaps with some few judicious reservations. For if 
 all that the Gillie Ciotach professed was not quite to be 
 l^elieved, at least it was something that so desperate a dare- 
 devil had the grace to affect being on the side of virtue ; 
 and Mary chose to flatter herself that, now he had shown 
 himself in a measure amenable, she would sooner or later 
 complete his conversion — to the general quieting of the 
 country-side. 
 
 And of course an account of this, her latest conquest, 
 had to be written out forthwith and despatched to Heimra. 
 Indeed, it was remarkable how constant hajd become the
 
 3IO DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 communication between the island and the shore, now that 
 Donald Ross had returned for a few days to his own home. 
 Big Archie's lugger was continually being requisitioned, to 
 take out a note and wait for an answer ; while Coinneach 
 and Calum, when they came to meet the mail, would be 
 intercepted by the swift-footed Barbara, and entrusted 
 with a message. Kathchen was convinced that the replies 
 that came back from Eilean Heimra were kept and secretly 
 pondered over : more than once she had seen Mary thrust 
 a paper into her pocket when someone had suddenly come 
 upon her. And she noticed that when they two were 
 walking along the shore, her companion's attention would 
 sometimes be so steadily and wistfully fixed on the distant 
 island — which sometimes was dark and misty under trailing 
 clouds of rain, and sometimes shining fair amid a wonder 
 of blue seas and sunlight — that when she was spoken to 
 she would look startled, as if summoned out of a dream. 
 
 One day there arrived, addressed to Miss Stanley, a 
 wooden box that had the name of a well-known London 
 florist printed on the label. The contents were a mass of 
 flowers, all of them white; and Mary herself saw them 
 taken out and carefully placed in water — for the pale 
 wax-like buds of the tuberoses were hardly yet opened. 
 Then she went to Kate Glendinning. 
 
 "Kathchen," she said, rather difiidently, "don't you 
 think it is rather a sad thing, the lonely grave out there ? " 
 
 "Do you mean at Heimra, Mamie?" 
 
 "Yes. It seems so hard that no one has ever a chance 
 of showing sympathy — either with the dead or living. I 
 have sent for some flowers ; do you think we could go out 
 and place them on the grave — without being seen % " 
 
 Kathchen was silent : it did not appear a very feasible 
 project. 
 
 " I have been thinking it over," Mary continued, in the 
 same humbly apologetic, almost shamefaced way — though 
 what there was to be ashamed of Kathchen could not 
 make out. " And, you see, if we landed at the little bay, 
 he would be sure to come down to meet us, and — and we 
 should have to tell him — and — and there are things you 
 can't speak of. I would rather have this done quite 
 unknown — as if it were by the hand of a stranger ; perhaps
 
 A PIOUS PILGRIMAGE 311 
 
 I should like it better if Mr. Ross himself never knew. 
 However, I was wondering if we could not get out to the 
 west coast of the island without being seen, and then if 
 there was a chance of our being able to get up to the 
 top of the cliff that way. What do you think, Kiithchen ? " 
 " Let us go along and ask Big Archie," said Kiithchen, 
 with promptitude : and that suggestion commending itself 
 to her friend, both of them at once went ofF and got ready, 
 and proceeded to walk down through the village. 
 
 Big Archie they found on the beach, screwing the nails 
 into a lobster-box. Kathchen put the matter briefly before 
 him — telling him frankly the object of the expedition, and 
 explaining their reasons for secrecy. The huge, heavy- 
 shouldered fisherman listened attentively, stroking his 
 voluminous beard the while. 
 
 " Well, mem," said he, in his plaintive Argyllshire 
 intonation, " I am thinking it would be easy enough to 
 get out to the island, for we could go round by the norse 
 side. If the wind wass holding as it is now, we wovild lie 
 aweh up the coast there, and if anyone on Heimra wass 
 seeing the lugger, they would think I wass mekkin for the 
 Eddrachilles fishing-banks ; and then, when we were far 
 enough we would put about and run down to the back of 
 the island, and mek in for the shore. I am thinking there 
 would be no diffeekwulty about that — aw, no, mem ; we 
 could get round to the back of the island ferry well ; but 
 it is the next thing that would be the sore thing for leddies 
 to try " 
 
 "You mean climbing up to the top of the cliff"?* said 
 Kathchen. 
 
 " Chist that ! It's a terrible rough place the west side 
 of Heimra," said Gilleasbuig Mor. " And where the big 
 white stone is, it is fearful high." 
 
 "Mamie," said Kathchen, turning to her friend, "wouldn't 
 it be better for you to send Archie out with some young 
 lad who is used to the coast, and they could put the flowers 
 on the grave for you ? " 
 
 " I wish to place them there with my own hand," said 
 Mary, simply. " But you needn't come, Kathchen." 
 
 " Of course I will, though ! " 
 
 " Well, mem," said Big Archie, " I am not sure whether
 
 312 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 you will be able to get to the top that way, but we can go 
 out and see whatever. And if the wind would hold till 
 to-morrow morning, it would be a very good wind, both for 
 going and coming." 
 
 " Very well, then, Archie," said Mary ; " to-morrow 
 morning we shall be ready to start between nine and ten." 
 
 The wind did hold, as it proved ; and long before the 
 young ladies made their appearance Big Archie and his 
 assistant had the lugsail hoisted and the cumbrous craft 
 smai'tened up as much as might be. Then he sent the lad 
 along to Lochgarra House to see if there was anything to 
 be fetched ; but there was only a couple of waterproofs ; 
 when Mary and her friend came out, the foi^mer was herself 
 carrying a small basket, containing the freshly-sprinkled 
 flowers. 
 
 And so they set forth — making away in a north-westerly 
 direction, which would have led anyone to imagine they 
 were either going to certain well-known fishing-banks, or 
 that they intended to pay some visit not at all in the 
 Heimra direction. But when at length they had got well 
 out beyond the most northerly spur of the island. Big 
 Archie altered his course, and bore down south, until they 
 were quite near to these giant ramparts facing the Atlantic 
 main. And already it aj)peared to the two girls that this 
 expedition of theirs was a quite hopeless one. They were, 
 it is true, under the lee of the island, and the water was 
 smooth, so that they could get ashore wherever they 
 wished ; but who could scale those sterile and sombre 
 precipices that, further to the south, rose sheer from 
 water, and seemed to afford not even foothold for a goat ? 
 Even Big Archie was discouraged. 
 
 " No, mem," he said to Miss Stanley, " it is no use going 
 aweh down thei'e to where the big white stone is. There's 
 no luvvin crayture could get up — it's far worse than 
 I wass remembering it. But if we went ashore here where 
 we are, and tried to get up one of them corries, then mebbe 
 we could get along the tojD. Will ye try that, mem ? " 
 
 "Whatever you like, Archie," said she — the aspect of 
 that frowning, lonely, precipitous coast seemed to have 
 overawed her. 
 
 And indeed when they did eventually choose a landing-
 
 A PIOUS PILGRIMAGE 313 
 
 place, and when they began to look around them, the 
 arduous nature of their task became abundantly apparent. 
 First of all there were the tumbled rocks on the shore to 
 be got over or avoided ', then they proceeded up a naiTow 
 watercourse that here cleaved the land into a deep ravine ; 
 and this they ascended for some distance, scrambling up 
 the loose wet shingle and stones. Big Archie led the way, 
 and also he carried the little basket, for the two girls had 
 frequently need of both hands to help them along, especially 
 when they left the water-course, and began to force a path 
 through the stunted birches that lined the sides of the 
 chasm. It was a thicket of short trees, with intertwisted 
 branches ; while underfoot the long heather and bi'acken 
 concealed loose, angular stones perilous to the ankles. 
 Sometimes they had to pause, from absolute want of 
 breath ; and Big Archie, looking back, would also stop. 
 But no one made any suggestion of giving up : there 
 must be light and open space somewhere, if only one could 
 win to the summit. 
 
 So they toiled and toiled on, in silence, starting now 
 a fox, and now a rabbit, until, at length, the stunted trees 
 gave way to bushes, and these in turn gave way to knee- 
 deep heather. It was still difficult to get along; but at 
 least they had reached the open, and were presumably 
 approaching the high plateaus : turning, they could look 
 abroad over the wide Atlantic, the vast plain not showing 
 one single ship. Their own boat, far below, was out of 
 sight, so steep was this ascent they had made. 
 
 Here they rested for a minute or two, after their long 
 and breathless struggle. 
 
 " One thing is quite certain, Mamie," said Kiithchen, 
 in rather a low voice, so that the big fisherman should 
 not overhear, " When Mr. Ross finds these flowers on the 
 grave, he Avill know very well who put them thei^e." 
 
 "I am not sure that I want him to know," Mary 
 answered, in an absent way. " I think I almost wish he 
 were not to know. If he were to consider it merely a 
 little kindness from some stranger — that would be better, 
 it seems to me — it would be quite disinterested " 
 
 "Why, what stranger could have managed to land on 
 Heimra without being seen?" Kathchen asked; and as
 
 314 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 there was no answer to the question, they resumed their 
 difficult progress, getting momentarily higher as they went 
 along the summit of the cliffs. 
 
 But all at once Big Archie, who was some distance in 
 front, halted, ducked his head, and immediately turned and 
 came back. 
 
 " Miss Stanley, mem, Mr. Ross himself is there," said he. 
 
 " Mr. Ross ! " said she, with frightened eyes. 
 
 "Ay. He is sitting on the heather, not far from the big 
 white stone, and he is reading a book," said Big Archie. 
 " He is often up there, mem. I am seeing him often and 
 often when I am going by in the boat." 
 
 Mary turned to her companion, with her face aghast. 
 
 " We must go away back, Kathchen, and at once," she 
 said, in a hurried undertone. " The embarrassment would 
 be too dreadful. If he could image it was some stranger 
 Ijrought the flowers, that would be all right ; but to go 
 up to him — before his face — to make a parade — he would 
 wonder what kind of creatures we were." 
 
 Kathchen hardly knew what to say. She had no more 
 mind to go forward than her friend had; and yet she 
 guessed with what a heavy heart, with what regretful 
 lookings-back, Mary would set out on her voyage home 
 
 agam, 
 
 Let us sit down and rest awhile," she said, at a venture. 
 
 But at this very instant Big Archie returned. 
 
 " Mr. Ross, mem, he has got up, and he is going aweh 
 down the hill," he said, in an eager whisper. 
 
 " You are sure he is not coming this way % " she said 
 quickly. 
 
 " No, no, mem — come a bit forrit, and you will see." 
 
 So they followed, with rather timorous steps and anxious 
 glances, the big fisherman ; and at last they just caught a 
 glimpse of Donald Ross making his way down the hill by 
 the winding pathway leading up to this little plateau. 
 And here was the large white block of marble, with its 
 deep-graven letters of gold shining in the sunlight. Mary 
 regarded this inscription with some curious fancies in her 
 mind. 
 
 "I wish I had known her,'' she murmured, apparently 
 to herself, as she took th'e white flowers out of the basket
 
 A PIOUS PILGRIMAGE 315 
 
 and reverently placed them on the stone. It was a simple 
 ceremony — up here on the lofty crest of this solitary 
 island, between the wide, over-arching sky and the far- 
 extending plain of the sea. 
 
 Then they went back along the silent and lonely cliffs, 
 and got down to the boat in safety ; returning to the 
 mainland, as they hoped, unobserved. Mary Stanley was 
 unusually absorbed and thoughtful during the rest of that 
 day ; and only once did she refer to their visit to Heimra. 
 
 "It seems strange, Kathchen, does it not," she said, 
 musingly, "that he should go away up there to read? . . . 
 Do you think it is perhaps for some sense of companion- 
 ship ? . . . That would be strange, wouldn't it, in a young 
 man ?. . ." And Kathchen did not venture to reply : she could 
 not even conjecture what secret influences, what mysterious 
 cogitations, might not have prompted such a question. 
 
 But Kate herself grew to wonder whether Donald Ross 
 had become aware of that thoughtful little act of kindness 
 and sympathy ; and whether, and in Avhat way, he would 
 make recognition of it. This was what happened. Some 
 two days after their visit to the island JNIary chanced to 
 be standing at one of the windows, when she suddenly 
 called to her companion — 
 
 " Kathchen, there's a boat coming out from Heimra." 
 
 She went quickly and got her binocular telescope, and 
 returned to the window. 
 
 " It's the Sirene ! " she exclaimed. 
 
 " He has seen those flowers," Kate Glendinning said 
 quietly. 
 
 Mary turned to her friend, with something of concern 
 in her look. 
 
 "And if he has, Kathchen, I hope he won't speak of 
 them. Don't you think it would be better — if nothing 
 were said 1 Besides, you don't know that he is coming 
 here at all." 
 
 But there was little doubt ; and, in fact, on getting 
 ashore, young Ross made straight for the house. When 
 he was announced in the drawing-room, Mary happened 
 to be standing near the door — perhaps with the least touch 
 of conscious colour in the beautiful face. He, on the 
 contrary, was pale, and calm, and self-possessed as usual ;
 
 3i6 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 only, when he took her hand in his, he held it for a second. 
 " I thank you," he said, in rather a low voice : that was 
 all — and it was enough. 
 
 But presently it appeared that his visit had some other 
 aim ; for when he sate down they saw that he had brought 
 a small parcel with him j and presently he said — • 
 
 " I am going to ask a favour of you, Miss Stanley ; 
 and I hope you won't refuse. I have brought a little 
 present, if you will be so kiad as to accept it : you may 
 look on it as a souvenir of your visit to Heimra — for per- 
 haps you remember the piece of lace you looked at " 
 
 She remembered very well ; it was the exquisite Spanish 
 mantilla to which Kathchen had drawn her attention. 
 And it was not because this sumptuous piece of work was 
 of great value that she hesitated about accepting it : would 
 it not look like despoiling the dead woman? Instantly 
 he appeared to divine her thought. 
 
 " If my mother were alive," he said, simply, *' she would 
 ask you to take it — and from her, not from me. ' 
 
 So there was no alternative. Mary silently accepted the 
 gift. Nor was there any further word or hint on either 
 side about that pious and secret pilgrimage to Heimra 
 Island j but Donald Ross knew whose hand it was that had 
 placed those flowers on the white grave. 
 
 One evening, about this time, two men were dining 
 together in the Station Hotel, Inverness, in a corner of the 
 long coffee-room ; and these two were Mr. David Purdie, 
 solicitor and agent, and Mr. James Watson, who was on 
 his way through to his sheep farm of Craiglarig. But if 
 they were dining together, their fare was very different ; 
 for while the fresh-complexioned, twinkling-eyed farmer 
 was content with such simple vegetarian dishes as an 
 ordinary hotel could devise at short notice, the Troich 
 Bheag Dhearg was attacking an ample plateful of boiled 
 beef and carrots, while a decanter of port stood near to his 
 elbow. 
 
 "Man, Watson," said the factor, with an expression 
 of impatient disgust on his harsh, ill-tempered features, 
 " I wonder to see ye swallowing that trash ! It's not food 
 for human beings. Have ye been so long among sheep 
 that ye must imitate their very eating ? "
 
 A PIOUS PILGRIMAGE 317 
 
 ** It's live and let live, each in his own way," said the 
 well-contented sheep-farmer ; and then he added : " But tell 
 me this, friend Purdie : if ye object to my eemitating a 
 sheep, what kind o' animal is't you eemitate 1 Por there's 
 only kind one o' crayture I've heard o' that would eat a 
 dead cow — and that's a hoodie crow." 
 
 But this was an incidental remark : presently they re- 
 turned to their main object, which was the condition of 
 Lochgarra. 
 
 " It's just terrible to thinlc of," said the Little Red 
 Dwarf, with his mouth as vindictive as the process of 
 eating would allow; "it's just terrible to think of, the 
 waste and extravagance going forward, on what used to 
 be a carefully-ordex'ed, carefully-kept estate. And the 
 pampering o' they idle, whining, deceitful, ill-thrawn 
 wretches, that would be the better of a cat-o'-nine tails to 
 make them work ! Work 1 Not them ! — if they can get 
 money out o' the proprietors, or out o' the Government, or 
 out o' the rates. And what could ye expect to happen wi' 
 a silly, ignorant woman coming into such a nest of liars, 
 and believing everything she hears ? What could ye expect ? 
 Bom liars every one o' them — ay, from end to end of the 
 West Highlands : there's not a man o' them that would not 
 lie the very soul out o' his body for a dram of whiskey ! " 
 
 " That's an old contention o' yours, friend Purdie," said 
 the farmer ; and then he proceeded, with a twinkle of 
 humour in his eyes : " But I'll just tell ye this, man, 
 that's it's a mercy there's one thing in the West Highlands 
 that will not lie. One thing at least, I tell ye. Among 
 the universal lying, isn't it a mercy there's one thing will 
 not lie — and that's the snow. It's a blessing for the sheep 
 — and for the sheep-farmers." 
 
 " And what am I ? Where am I ? " resumed Mr. Purdie, 
 paying no heed to this little jocosity, for his small, piggish 
 eyes had grown heated with anger and indignation. 
 "What is my poseetion ? I ask ye that. What have I 
 to do wi' the estate except to collect what rent there is 
 left ? It's this fashionable young dame that must come in 
 to manage the place, snipping off here and snipping off 
 there, ordering this and ordering that, building byres and 
 sheds for nothing, and putting advertisements in the papers
 
 3i8 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 about druggets and blankets to sell, as if Lochgarra House 
 was a warehousemen's shop. I tell ye, it's enough to make 
 her uncle turn in his grave. He knew better how to dale 
 wi' they ill-thrawn paupers ! And what will she not 
 give them, after giving them Meall-na-Cruagan ? — and that 
 without consulting any one — no ' by your leave ' or ' with 
 your leave,' but 'this is what I have decided' and 'you 
 can carry it out like a clerk.' Man, Watson, ye were a 
 silly creature to consent to that Meall-na-Cruagan business ! 
 That was but a beginning — where is to be the end 1 "Well, 
 I'll tell ye the end ! She'll snip here, and snip there, until 
 she has divided every acre of ground among the crofters ; 
 and then, when they've resolved among themselves to pay 
 
 no more rent, I suppose they'll be happy. No, d n 
 
 them if they will ! — they'll want her to sell Lochgarra 
 House, and give them the money to buy more stock." 
 And here Mr. Purdie poured himself out a glass of port, 
 and gulped it as a dog grabs at a rat. 
 
 " Ye've never forgiven the folk out there," said Mr. 
 Watson, with an amused and demure air, " since the pro- 
 cession and the burning in effigy. Dod, that was a queer 
 business ! — I heard of it away up in Caithness. But I'm 
 thinking ye might let bygones be bygones ; ye've had them 
 under your thumb a good while now — and — and — well, ye 
 might consider that ye've paid off that score. But as for 
 the young leddy — well, I tell ye, friend Purdie, it's just 
 wonderful what she has done since she cam' to the place. 
 A busy, industrious creature ; ay, and she has a way of 
 talking folk over to her way of thinking ; she seems to get 
 on famously wi' them, though they cannot have too friendly 
 recollections of her uncle. Yes, I will say that for her : an 
 active, well-meaning creature ; and light-hearted as a lintie ; 
 dod, she takes her own way, and gets it too ! But I'm 
 thinking there's a great deal owing to young Mr. Ross — 
 he goes about wi' her just conteenually." 
 
 " Ay," said the factor, with a malignant scowl, " I'm told 
 my young gentleman doesna shut himself up as much wi' 
 his brandy-drinking as he used to do. So he comes over 
 to the mainland sometimes, and goes about wi' her, does 
 he?" 
 
 " Faith, ye may say that," Mr. Watson made answer,
 
 HABETJ 319 
 
 with a laugh. " Theyre just insayperable, as ye might 
 say, any time that he comes ovor from Heimra, and that's 
 often enough." He regarded the factor curiously. *' Purdie, 
 my man, that's going to be a match." 
 
 For a second Purdie looked startled and incredulous, but 
 instantly he lowered his eyes again. 
 
 "It's a match, Purdie, depend on't," Mr. Watson pro- 
 ceeded, still looking at his companion with an odd sort of 
 scrutiny. " And I have been thinking, if such a thing 
 were to come about, it might be a wee bit difficult for 
 you — with young Ross the master at Lochgarra, eh ? What 
 d'ye think 1 Dod, ye'd have to make friends with him and 
 keep a civil tongue besides, or he might be for bringing up 
 old scores." 
 
 Mr. Purdie's dinner did not seem to interest him much 
 after that. He remained plunged in a profound reverie, 
 with his truculent mouth drawn down, the shaggy red 
 eyebrows shading the small irascible eyes that were now 
 gi'own intent and thoughtful. And when at length 
 Mr. Watson haled him off to the smoking-room he did 
 not speak for some considei'able time. Dut by and by 
 he said — 
 
 "Are ye off by the early train to-morrow, Watson ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed." 
 
 " And you go right through ? " 
 
 " Just that." 
 
 "AVell, I think I'll bear ye company," said the Troich 
 Bheag Dhearg, with the heavily down-drawn mouth ex- 
 pi^essing something more than mere decision. " There's a 
 few things I want to see to. And I havena been out to 
 Lochsrarra for some time." 
 
 "O^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 HABET ! 
 
 Mary went singing through the house : her step free ami 
 agile, her face radiant, her eyes shining with good humour 
 and the delight of life. 
 
 " Kiithchen," she said, one morning, " the proofs of the 
 photographs should come to-day, and if they turn out well
 
 320 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 I mean to have the whole of them enlarged, eveiy one of 
 them, to make a handsome series for Mrs. Armour. Don't 
 you think they should be very interesting to those people 
 away over there — ' where wild Altama murmurs to their 
 woe ' ? Woe, indeed ! I wish we could import some of 
 their woeful circumstances into this neighbourhood. Forty 
 bushels of wheat to the acre : what do you say to that ? 
 A hundred and sixty acres of land for two pounds ! I don't 
 like to think of it, Kathchen : to tell you the truth, I just 
 hate to hear Mr. Ross begin and talk about emigration : it 
 all sounds so horribly reasonable, and practicable and right. 
 Sometimes I lie awake convincing myself that the very 
 next day or the next again he will make his appearance 
 with the announcement that he has decided to go back 
 to his original intention, and then— then he will say good- 
 bye to Lochgarra — he and half the people from about 
 here — and be off to the Gilbert Plains or the Lake Dauphin 
 District " 
 
 " You need not be afraid," said Kathchen, quietly. " It 
 is neither wheat-fields nor gold-fields that are likely to 
 allure Mr. Ross. There's metal more attractive nearer 
 home. By the way, Mamie," she continued, with a certain 
 significance, " you remember there was a group taken on 
 the banks of the Comian — and you and INIr. Ross are 
 standing together. When you get the pictures enlarged, 
 are you going to send any copies of that one to your friends 
 in the south ? " 
 
 "Why not ?" said she, boldly. 
 
 "They may draw conclusions," said Kate Glendinning, 
 looking at her. 
 
 " They are welcome to draw a cart-load of conclusions ! " 
 she retorted ; but all the same she changed the subject 
 quickly. 
 
 "Do you know, Kathchen, it is quite wonderful how 
 easily things go forward when Donald Ross is helping 
 me. Look at the wood-carving class — started in a moment, 
 almost ; and that left-handed rascal turning out the 
 cleverest of any of them. And then he is quite of a 
 mind with me about corrugated iron " 
 
 " You mean Mr. Ross, Mamie % " said Kate demurely. 
 
 " Of course. Quite of a mind with me as to corrugated 
 
 •to''
 
 HABET.f 
 
 321 
 
 iron ; and I won't have a square yard of it in the place. 
 If, as he says, thatch takes too much time and labour, 
 then they may have slates for their roofs, in place of the 
 turf that I hope to see the last of before I have done 
 with them; but not an inch of corrugated iron — not an 
 inch. Oh, I tell you we will have Lochgarra smartened 
 up in course of time, and Minard and Cruagan too. And 
 I will never rest, Kathchen, I tell you I will never rest 
 until Lochgarra has taken the first prize at the Inverness 
 Exhibition — I mean for the best suit of men's clothes 
 made from the wool of sheep fed on the croft, and carded, 
 dyed, spun, hand-loom woven, and cut and sewn in the 
 family. There ! It may be a long time yet, but I mean 
 Lochgarra to have it in the end." 
 
 " Oh, but you must not stop at that point," said 
 Kathchen. " There are a whole heap of things to be done 
 before you have finally estabHshed your earthly paradise. 
 You must banish all sickness and illness — but especially 
 rheumatism. You must abolish old age. You must control 
 the climate to suit the crops. Perhaps you could magnetise 
 the herring-shoals, and bring them round this way, and 
 ward off" storms at the same time 1 " 
 
 "Kathchen," said Maiy abruptly, "why does he keep 
 harking back on Manitoba? Don't you tMnk there is a 
 curious tenacity about his mind ? — he does not change 
 plans or opinions quickly. And I know he was resolved 
 on that emigration scheme. Why does he still talk about 
 Manitoba ? If he really has abandoned that project, why 
 does he still keep thinking about Portage, and La Prairie, 
 and Brandon? Of course, I admit that a hundred and 
 sixty acres for two pounds is very tempting ; and forty 
 bushels of wheat to the acre sounds well ; and I have no 
 doubt the emigrants have better clothes, and better food, 
 and better cottages, and that they don't run such risks 
 from floods and rain. But still — still there's something 
 about one's own country " 
 
 "You need not be afraid, Mamie," said Kate Glendinning 
 again. 
 
 Mary went to the window, and remained there for a 
 minute or two, looking absently across the wide plain of 
 the sea.
 
 322 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "After all," she said, "it is a very pleasant and comfort- 
 able thing to have a neighbour. Heimra is a good way 
 off; but all the same, if you knew there was no one living 
 on the island, Lochgarra would be a very different place, 
 wouldn't it, Kathchen % And Manitoba ! Why, I have 
 seen it stated that there is a most serious scarcity of water 
 in a great many of the districts ; and that often they have 
 summer frosts that do incalculable mischief to the grain. 
 So you see it isn't a certainty ! " 
 
 "No, it is not," said Kathchen; "but I will tell you 
 what is, Mamie. It is a certainty, an absolute certainty, 
 that Donald Ross of Heimra will not go to Manitoba, or 
 to any other corner of Canada, so long as Mary Stanley is 
 living in Lochgarra." 
 
 "Kathchen," rejoined Mary, a little proudly, "you will 
 go on talking like that until you believe what you say." 
 
 This same afternoon, shortly after luncheon, Mary left 
 the house alone, which was unusual. She passed down 
 through the village, greeting everyone, right and left, with 
 a fine cheerfulness ; for the weather still held good, and 
 there was a fair chance for the harvest ; while her indi- 
 vidual schemes and industries were doing as well as could 
 be expected. In fact, the only idle pei'son in the place, 
 apart from the aged and infirm, appeared to be John the 
 policeman, and him she found by the bridge that crosses 
 the Garra — no doubt he had been amusing himself by 
 watching for some lively salmon or sea-trout on its way up 
 the river. Iain seemed to have grown plumper and more 
 roseate than ever in these piping times of peace ; and the 
 smile with which he greeted the young proprietress was 
 good-nature itself. 
 
 "John," said she, "I want you to tell me something." 
 
 "Aw, yes, mem," said the amiable John; and then he 
 added : " but the lads hef been keeping very quiet." 
 
 " So I hear," she answered him. " The Gillie Ciotach 
 says he will smash the head of anyone that wants to 
 fight ; and I suppose that is one way to stop qu^arrelling." 
 
 John laughed, showing his milk-white teeth. 
 
 " A very good weh, too, mem. There's not many would 
 like to hef their head brokken by the Gillie Ciotach." 
 
 "It is not about that I want you to give me some
 
 HABET! 323 
 
 information," said Miss Stanley. "I want you to tell me 
 if you have been long in this place. I mean, do yon 
 remember the old castle, up there in the loch, before it was 
 pulled down ? " 
 
 "Aw, yes, mem, yes, indeed," he made answer. "Who 
 does not remember Castle Stanley % " 
 
 " Oh, nonsense with your Castle Stanley ! " she said, 
 angrily. " It never was Castle Stanley, and never will be 
 Castle Stanley. It was Castle Heimra; and if I could 
 have my way it would be Castle Heimra again " 
 
 "Aw, yes, mem," said John, anxious to please, "who 
 would be for calling it Castle Stanley 1 It is not Castle 
 Stanley at ahl ; it's just Castle Heimra, as it always was— 
 ay, before any one can remember." 
 
 "Well, tell me; what size of a place was it before it 
 was pulled down ? Was it a big place ? " 
 
 " Big ! " repeated John, doubtfully, for he did not know 
 which way she wished to be answered. 
 
 "Yes, was it a great ruin?" she went on. "Some of 
 those old castles are mere towers, you know ; and others 
 are great strongholds. What was Castle Heimra like 1 
 Was it as big as Ardvreck 1 " 
 
 Now John had jumped to the conclusion that she wished 
 to have the ancient glories of Castle Heimra magnified. 
 
 "Aw, far bigger nor Ardvreck !" he asserted confidently. 
 " Aw, yes, yes ; far bigger nor Ardvreck. A fearful big 
 place. Castle Heimra — if you had seen the dingeons, and 
 the towers, and the windows, and everything " 
 
 " Oh, bigger than Ardvreck ? " Mary said, with fallen 
 face. And instantly John perceived that he had erred. 
 
 "Aw, no, mem," said he quickly, "Mebbe it was bigger 
 nor Ardvreck at one time — that is a long time ago, before 
 any one about here can remember ; but Castle Heimra ? — 
 aw, no ! — a smahl place, a smahl place, indeed ! There 
 was nothing but the road out to it, when the loch was not 
 too high flooded 3 and then the archway, and the dingeon, 
 and the tower. Castle Heimra ! — aw, it's a smahl place 
 was Castle Heimra." 
 
 " And do you suppose it could be built up again ! " she 
 asked — but rather to see how far his complaisance would 
 carry him. 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " Quite easy !" said John, without a moment's hesitation. 
 
 " Why, how do you know % " she demanded. " Are you 
 a builder ? " 
 
 " The stons are there," John pointed out. " And if they 
 were pulled down, it is easy to put them back. What has 
 been done once can be done twice." 
 
 " Ah, but it would not be Castle Heimra," Mary said to 
 herself, rather sadly, as she went on her solitary way. 
 
 In course of time she came within view of the desolate 
 expanse of mud and stones and rushes that had once been 
 Heimra Loch ; and when she chose out for herself a seat 
 on a heathery hillock close to the road, there before her 
 were the tumbled ruins of the stronghold that had with- 
 stood the storms of centuries only to fall before the 
 withering blast of one man's spite. And as she sate there, 
 alone, in the absolute silence, a kind of desperation came 
 into her mind. In all other directions there was hope for 
 her ; but here there was none. Elsewhere she could labour, 
 and patiently wait for fruition ; but how was she to drag 
 back the past ! The future had abundant and fair possi- 
 bilities within it ; and she was naturally sanguine ; her 
 happiness consisted in action ; and perhaps she was looking 
 forward to the time when she could say to her lover, * ' See, 
 this is what I have striven to do — for your people : is it 
 well or ill?" But as between him and 'her, would there 
 not be ever and always the consciousness of this black deed 
 that could in no wise be recalled or atoned for, that could 
 never be forgiven or forgotten % She was not even allowed 
 to speak j he had declined to hear her shamefaced expres- 
 sions of sorrow. Nay, she began to think he was too 
 proud, too implacable, that he would have no word uttered. 
 And if she went to him and said : ' Donald, do not blame 
 me ! — I had no part in it : I would give my right hand to 
 undo what has been done ' — would not his looks still 
 remain haughty and cold, telling her that she had not 
 ceased to be tlie han-sassunnach — a stranger — the enemy of 
 his race and name 1 
 
 There was a sound of wheels. She started to her feet, 
 for there were tears in her eyes that she had to hide. 
 The approaching vehicle turned out to be the mail-car ; 
 and on it were Mr. Purdie and Mr. Watson, seated beside
 
 HABET! 325 
 
 the driver. Both of them raised their hats to her, and 
 Avould doubtless have driven on, but that she called to 
 the factor; whereupon the mail-car was stopped, and 
 Mr. Purdie descended. 
 
 "Leave my bag at the inn, Jimmie," he said to the 
 driver, who sent his horses on again: then the Troich 
 Bheag Dhearg came along to the spot at which Mary 
 awaited him. 
 
 " I wish to speak to you about one or two things, Mr. 
 Purdie," she said, in a curiously reserved and frigid fashion. 
 " You told me it was under your direction that the loch 
 here was drained. I do not know whether my uncle was 
 acting on the advice or suggestion of any one ; I can 
 hardly believe that so insensate a piece of malice could 
 have entered his head without instigation. And if there 
 was instigation, if this thing was done out of ill-will towards 
 the Rosses of Heimra, then I say it was a cowardly blow — 
 a mean, shameless, and cowardly blow ! " Her lips were 
 a little pale ; but she was apparently quite calm. 
 
 " It was just the thrawn nature of the people about here 
 that brought it on themselves," said the Little Red Dwarf, 
 sullenly. " The Rosses of Heimra had no further concern 
 with the loch and the castle, once the property was sold. 
 They belonged to your uncle : surely it was for him to 
 say what they should be called % Surely he had the right 
 to do what he liked with his own ? " 
 
 "In this instance," said Mary, stUl preserving that 
 somewhat cold and distant demeanour, " what he did has 
 got to be undone as far as that is now possible. I suppose 
 it would be useless to try and rebuild the castle. Even 
 if the stones were put up again, it would hardly be 
 Castle Heimra. But Loch Heimra can be restored to 
 what it used to be ; and since the mischief was done under 
 your direction, Mr. Purdie, you can now take steps to 
 repair it." 
 
 "Bless me, Miss Stanley," the factor protested, "it would 
 be quite useless — perfectly useless ! The loch was never 
 worth anything to anybody. Salmon cannot get up ; and 
 there was nothing in it but a wheen brown trout " 
 
 "It is not the value of the loch I am considering," 
 she rejoined. "I wish to make some reparation, as far
 
 326 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 as I can. And I suppose if those channels you had cut 
 were partially blocked up, the water from the hills would 
 soon fill the lake again. Or you could bring the Connan 
 round in this direction with very little trouble, and let it 
 find its way down to the Garra after going through the 
 loch " 
 
 " The expense. Miss Stanley ! — the expense ! " 
 
 " I tell you I will have this done, if I have to seU Loch- 
 garra House to do it ! " she said — forgetting for a moment 
 her austere demeanour. The factor had no further word. 
 Mary went on "It cannot be a difficult thing to do, any 
 more than the draining was difficult ; and it will give em- 
 ployment to some of the people, when the harvest is in and 
 the fishing season over. So you'd better see about it at 
 once, Mr. Purdie ; and make arrangements. And there is 
 to be no more talk of Loch Stanley or of Castle Stanley 
 either ; this is Loch Heimra ; and if Castle Heimra has 
 been pulled down — shamefully and wickedly pulled down 
 — at least there are the ruins to show where it stood." 
 
 The factor remained darkly silent, his vindictive mouth 
 drawn down, his small eyes morose. And little did she 
 know what gall and wormwood she had poured into his 
 heart, in directing him to employ those very Lochgarra 
 people in this work of restoration. However, he made 
 no further protest : indeed, he endeavoured to assume an 
 air of hopeless acquiescence — it was his business to obey 
 orders, even if she should bring the whole estate to waste 
 and ruin. 
 
 But as they together set out to return to the village, and 
 as she was talking over general business affairs with him, 
 explaining what she had done and what she meant to do, 
 he could not quite conceal his bitter resentment. 
 
 " It seems to me. Miss Stanley, that I am hardly wanted 
 here. A strange condeetion of afiairs. The factor the very 
 last one to be consulted. And when I think of the way 
 ye allow these people to impose on ye — well, maybe, I'm 
 not so much astonished ; for what could one expect ? — you 
 come here an absolute stranger, and you wish to do without 
 them that have experience of the place, and of course you 
 beheve every tale that is told ye. Though I say it who 
 maybe should not, Lochgarra was a well-managed estate;
 
 HABETl 327 
 
 everything actually valued, and in order ; and the tenants, 
 large and small, knowing fine that they had to fulfil their 
 contracts, or take the consequences. But what prevails 
 now ? A system of wholesale charity, as it seems to me. 
 It is giving everything, and getting nothing. I hope. Miss 
 Stanley," he went on, " ye will not mind my speaking 
 warmly; for I've done my best for my employers all my 
 life through ; and I cannot be supposed to like other ways 
 and means — which were never contemplated by the law of 
 the land. If the other propi'ietors were to go on as you 
 are doing, there's three-fourths o' them would be in beg- 
 gary •" 
 
 "It might do them good to try a little of it," said she — 
 which was an odd speech for the owner of a considerable 
 estate. 
 
 " And what has been the result ? " he demanded. " What 
 has been gained by so much sacrifice % " 
 
 " Well," said she, " for one thing, the people are more 
 contented. And they are more friendly towards me. When 
 I came here at first, I was hated ; now I am not so much 
 so. Quite friendly most of them are — or, at least, they 
 appear to be." 
 
 " Ay, trust them for that ! " said the Little Red Dwarf, 
 scornfully. " Trust them for that — the cunningest mon- 
 grels that ever whined for a bone ! Well they know how 
 to fawn and beslaver, when they're expecting more and 
 more. I tell ye. Miss Stanley, ye do not understand 
 these creatures, and it angers me to think that ye are being 
 cheated and imposed on right and left. Getting more boats 
 and nets? — they'll laugh at ye, they'll just laugh at ye 
 when ye ask them to pay up the instalments ! And who 
 is your adviser? — a young man who is in secret league 
 with them — an underhand, conspiring ne'er-do-weel, as 
 cunning as any one of them, and as treacherous " 
 
 " Mr. Purdie," she said — with a sudden change of tone 
 he did not fail to note, " what do you mean ? I — I beg 
 you to be a little more respectful in your language." 
 
 " It's the old story," said the factor, with afiected resig- 
 nation. "Ye may work and work, and do the best for 
 your employers ; and then some stranger is called in, new 
 advice is taJken, and all you have done is destroyed. And
 
 328 DONALD ROSS OF H EI MR A 
 
 I wonder if the people will be any the better off. I wonder 
 what change in their condeetion it will make — what per- 
 manent change, when once you stop putting your hand 
 in your pocket. Improvements ? Oh, yes, yes ; improve- 
 ments are all very fine. But I'm thinking that spending 
 money on free libraries and the like o' that will not help 
 them much in getting in their crops." 
 
 "As for that," she retorted — but with no displeasure, 
 only a little quiet confidence, " I can merely say that I 
 am trying to do my best, in a great many different ways ; 
 and the result, whatever it may be, is a long way off yet. 
 And I live in hope. Of course, there is much more that I 
 should like to do, and do at once ; but I cannot ; for I 
 haven't sufiicient money. I don't deny that there is a great 
 deal still to be amended : I can't work miracles. The 
 people are very poor — and many of them not too indus- 
 trious ) the soil is bad ; the fishing is uncertain ; and com- 
 munication difficult. I dare say there is even a good deal 
 of wretchedness — or rather, what a stranger would regard 
 as extreme wretchedness and misery ; but all that cannot 
 be changed in a moment, even if it turns out that it can be 
 changed at all. And at least there is little sickness ; the 
 poorest cottages have the fresh air blowing around them — 
 they're better than the London slums, at all events. And 
 one must just do what one can ; and hope for the best." 
 
 " I tell ye, ye are going entirely the wrong way to work 
 wi' these people. Miss Stanley," said he, as they were 
 crossing the bi'idge and about to enter the village. " It's 
 my place to tell ye. It's my bounden duty to tell ye. And 
 I say they are just making sport wi' ye. They are born 
 beggars ; work of any kind is an abomination to them ; 
 and you'll find they'll be like leeches — give, give always; 
 and when you've ruined the estate on their behalf, what 
 then?" 
 
 " I don't see any such prospect — not at present," said 
 Mary, cheerfully. 
 
 " Who is likely to know most about them, you or me ? " 
 he went on with dogged persistence. " Who has had 
 most experience of them % Who has had dealings with 
 them for years and years, and learned their tricks? A 
 whining, cringing, useless set, cunning as the very mischief,
 
 HA BET/ 
 
 329 
 
 and having not even an idea of what speaking the truth 
 is. Plausible enough — oh, ay — plausible with a stranger 
 — especially when they expect to get anything." 
 
 "Mr. Purdie," said Mary, interrupting him, "I presume 
 from your name you belong to the south of Scotland. 
 Well, I have been told that the Scotch — the people in 
 the southern half of Scotland— do not understand the 
 Highland character at all ; and cannot understand it, for 
 they have no sympathy with it. I have been told that the 
 English have far more sympathy with the Highland nature. 
 And I am EngKsh." 
 
 "Ay, and who told ye that about the Scotch and 
 the Highlanders ? " he said, suddenly and sharply. 
 
 She hesitated for a second. 
 
 " It is of little consequence," she answered him. " But 
 I would hke to add this — that denunciations of the 
 inhabitants of a whole country-side do not seem to me of 
 much value. I suppose human nature is pretty much the 
 same in Lochgarra as it is elsewhere. And — and — besides, 
 Mr. Purdie — I do not wish to hear evil spoken of a 
 people amongst whom I have many friends." 
 
 She spoke with some dignity. 
 
 " Evil speaking 1 " said he, with lowering eyebrows, " I 
 for one am not given to evil speaking — or the truth might 
 have been told you ere now." 
 
 " The truth ?— what truth ? " she demanded. 
 
 " The truth about one that is too much at your right 
 hand, Miss Stanley, if I may make bold to say so." At 
 this moment they arrived at the door of the inn ; and she 
 paused, expecting him to leave her ; but he said : " No, 
 I will go on with you as far as Lochgarra House. It 
 is time I should open my lips at last. I have been patient. 
 I have stood by. I have heard what has been going on — 
 and I have held my tongue. And why ? — because there 
 are things that it is difficult to speak of to an unmarried 
 young woman." 
 
 Maiy was a trifle bewildered. They were walking along 
 through the village, on this quiet afternoon, with nothing 
 to interrupt the peaceful stillness save the recurrent plash 
 of the ripples on the beach : it was hardly the time or the 
 place to be associated with any tragic disclosui'e. Moreover,
 
 330 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 had she heard aright? Was it of Donald Ross he was 
 speaking ? 
 
 " And I will say this for myself," the factor continued, 
 " that I warned ye about the character of that young man, 
 as plainly as I dared — ay, the very first day ye set foot in 
 the place " 
 
 " You mean Mr. Boss ? " said she, lightly. " Pray spare 
 yourself the trouble, Mr. Purdie. You forget I have had 
 some opportunities of studying Mr. Ross's character, I 
 know him a little. What did you say % — that you had 
 something to tell % Oh, no ; don't give yourself the trouble. 
 I know him a little." 
 
 " You do not know him at all ! " he said, with a 
 vehemence that startled her. " I tell ye there is not one 
 in this place who would dare to teU ye the story ; and 
 would I, unless I was bound to do it ? If there was a 
 married woman at Lochgarra House, it's to her I would 
 go ; and she would tell ye ; but I say it is my bounden 
 duty to speak — and to speak plainly " 
 
 " Mr. Purdie, I do not wish to hear," she said, with 
 some touch of alarm. 
 
 "But ye must hear," he said, with set lips and slow, 
 emphatic utterance. "Ye are bound to hear — and to 
 understand the character of the man ye are publicly 
 associating yourself with. A scoundrel of that kind has 
 no right to be going about with a virtuous and respectable 
 young woman " 
 
 " Mr. Purdie," she said, hurriedly, " I don't want to 
 know — I don't believe — I wouldn't believe " 
 
 " Miss Stanley," he said, with measured deliberation, 
 " ye have some knowledge of that poor half-witted creature 
 they call Anna Chlannach. But did it never occur to ye 
 to ask how she came to lose her reason ? Ay, but if ye 
 had asked, they would not have told ye ; there's not one 
 o' them about here but would lie through thick and thin 
 to screen that scapegrace ; and what then would be the 
 use o' your asking ? But I can tell ye ; and I say it's my 
 bounden duty to speak, if there's none else here to warn 
 ye. And there is my witness — there is the living witness 
 to that scoundrel's licentiousness and wicked cruelty : go 
 to her — ask hei'self — ask her what makes her wander
 
 HABETt 331 
 
 about the shore -watching for him, looking out to Heimra, 
 as if the ill he has done her could now be repaired. The 
 poor lass, betrayed, desei'ted : no wonder she lost her 
 reason — ay, and it's a good thing the currents along this 
 coast are strong, or I'm thinking there might have been 
 a trial for infanticide as well " 
 
 Mary heard no more : she did not know that he was 
 still talking to her ; she did not know that he accompanied 
 her almost to the house, where he left her. For — after the 
 first fierce and indignant denial that involuntarily rushed 
 to her mind — what she saw before her burning eyes was 
 a series of visions, each of them of the most terrible dis- 
 tinctness, and all of them related in some ghastly way to 
 this story she had just been told. What were these things 
 then that seemed to sear her very eye-balls ? She saw the 
 Httle harbour of Camus Bheag; she saw the figure of a 
 young girl rocking herself in an utter abandonment of 
 misery and despair ; she saw piteous hands held out ; she 
 heard that heart-broken wail piercing the silence as the 
 boat made slowly away for Eilean Heimra. And then 
 again she was on the heights above the Garra, and looking 
 down upon the bridge. Those two there ? — she had taken 
 them for lovers — she had called Kathchen's attention — it 
 was a pretty scene. Then the sudden, swift disappearance 
 of the girl into the woods ; and the young man's easy, 
 confident professions : all those things grew manifest before 
 her with an appalling clearness ; a bhnding light burned 
 upon them. Nay, her very first interview with Anna 
 Chlannach came back to startle her : she remembered the 
 poor demented girl wandering among the rocks, all her 
 intelligible talk being about Heimra : she remembered her' 
 being easily persuaded to walk towards the house; she 
 remembered, too, how Anna Chlannach fled in terror the 
 moment she came in sight of the stranger who knew her 
 history. What hideous tale was it that seemed to summon 
 up these scenes, appealing to them for corroboration? 
 What was it they seemed to say was true — true as if 
 written up before her in letters of fire ? 
 
 There was no time for her to reason or think. For here, 
 as it chanced, was this very man — this Donald Ross — 
 coming down the wide steps from her own door. And all
 
 332 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 her soul was in revolt. Her wounded pride — her sense of 
 humiliation— scorched her like flame. How had this man 
 dared to lift his eyes to her? Unabashed he had come 
 into the same room with her — he had breathed the same 
 air — he had touched her hand — a contamination that was 
 a poisoned sting. And the people of Lochgarra, who had 
 seen him and her walking together : were they cognisant 
 of his low amours % They had wagged their heads, perhaps % 
 They had looked the one to the other ? 
 
 " I half-expected to meet you," said Donald Ross. 
 
 There was no answer. But Mary Stanley did not lower 
 her head, or avert her face ; she was too proud for that ; 
 her heart might be beating as though it would burst its 
 prison, but to all outward appearance she was quite un- 
 moved. She passed him, pale and cold and silent ; and he 
 stood on one side looking at her, without a word. She 
 went into the house ; she took no notice of Kathchen, who 
 was still in the hall ; she made for her own room, and locked 
 herself in there — voiceless, tearless, with all the fair fabric 
 of her life, its aims, and dreams, and ideals, its still more 
 secret and trembling hopes, become suddenly and at one 
 blow a tragic desolation of wreckage and ruin. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 "'twas when the seas were roaring." 
 
 It was early morning out at Heimra; the sky compara- 
 tively clear as yet, though there was a squally look about 
 the flying rags of cloud ; the sea obviously freshening up, 
 and already springing white along the headlands. And 
 here at the little landing-slip were Coinneach Breac and 
 Calum, waiting by the side of the yacht's boat, and from 
 time to time conversing in their native tongue. 
 
 "I am not liking the look of this morning," said 
 Coinneach, "with the glass down near half-an-inch since 
 last night. But if the master wishes me to go, then it is I 
 who am ready to go, and I do not care where it is that I 
 may be going. For who knows the anchorages better 
 than himself, and the tides, and the currents, and the 
 navigation % "
 
 "'TWAS WHEN THE SEAS WERE ROARING'' 333 
 
 And then presently he said in a more sombre tone : 
 
 "There is something that I do not understand. Did 
 you look at the master when he was coming away from 
 the mainland last evening ? There has a trouble fallen on 
 him : mark my words, Calum ; for you are a young man 
 and not quick to see such things. And do you know what 
 Martha was telling me when I went up to the house this 
 morning'? — she was telling me that the master was not 
 coming near the house all the night through ; and it is 
 I myself that saw him coming slowly down the hill not 
 more than half-an-hour ago. And if he was up by the 
 white grave all the night through, that is not a good thing 
 for a young man. A grave without a wall round it is not 
 a good thing." 
 
 And then again he said : 
 
 " It is I who would like to know who brought the 
 trouble on the young master ; and last night, as I was 
 lying in my bunk, thinking over this thing and that thing, 
 and wondei"ing what it was that had happened, I was re- 
 membering that the Little Red Dwarf came to Lochgarra 
 yesterday — yes, and he the only stranger that came to 
 Lochgarra yesterday." 
 
 " I wish the Little Red Dwarf were with his father the 
 devil," said Calum, with calm content. 
 
 " And if I thought it was the Little Red Dwarf that 
 was the cause of the master's trouble," said Coiimeach, 
 with his deep-set grey eyes full of a dark hatred, " do you 
 know what I would do, Calum ? I would put the orra-an- 
 donais on him. That is what I would do, ay, this very 
 night. This very night I would take two branches of 
 hawthorn, and I would nail them as a cross, and at twelve 
 o'clock I would put them against his door ; and then I 
 would say this : ' GocVs wrath to be set against tliy face, 
 whether thou art drowning at sea or burning on land ; 
 and a branch of hawthorn between thy heart and thy 
 kidneys ; and for thy soul the lozvermost foor in hell, for 
 ever and eveo'.' He is a powei'ful man, the Little Red 
 Dwarf, and he has wide shoulders ; but how would he fare 
 with the orra-an-donais on his wide shoulders ? " 
 
 But Calimi shook his head. 
 
 "No, no," said the long, loutish, good-humoured-looking
 
 334 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 lad, "I do not thiiik well of such things. They are 
 dangerous things. They are like the bending of a stick ; 
 and who knows but that the stick may fly back and 
 strike you ? But this is what I have in my mind, Coin- 
 neach : if the master wishes, then I would just take the 
 Little Red Dwarf and I would put him in a pool in the 
 Garra, ay, and I would hold his head down until he was as 
 dead as a rat. Aw, Dyeea, there would be no trouble 
 with the Little Red Dwarf after that ! " 
 
 " The master ! " said Coinneach — and there was silence. 
 
 Young Donald ajDpeared somewhat pale and tired ; but 
 otherwise did not seem out of spirits. 
 
 " Well, Coinneach," he said, cheerfully enough, as he came 
 up — and he spoke in the tongue that was most familiar 
 to them — " what do you think of taking the world for your 
 pillow — as they say in the old stories ; and would you 
 set out at this very moment ? " 
 
 " But with you, sir 1 " said Coinneach, quickly. 
 
 " Oh, yes, yes — in the Sirene." 
 
 " I am willing to go wherever Mr. Ross wishes, and 
 at any time, and for any length of time — it is ]\Ir. Ross 
 himself knows that," Coinneach made answer. 
 
 " And you, Calum 1 " 
 
 " It is the same that I am saying," responded the younger 
 lad, with downcast eyes. 
 
 "And where would you like to go, Coinneach, if you 
 have all the woi'ld to choose from?" the young master 
 asked. 
 
 " That is not for me to say — that is for Mr. Ross to say." 
 
 " And if you were never to see Eilean Heimra again 1 " 
 
 "That also to me is indifferent," said Coinneach, with 
 dogged obedience. 
 
 Donald Ross stepped into the boat, and took his seat 
 in the stern. 
 
 " Come away, then, lads ; for if we are to set out on 
 our travels, we must make a hasty start. Did you look at 
 the glass this morning, Coinneach ? And there is a thick 
 bank of cloud rising in the west : we shall not want for 
 wind, I'm thinking, when we get outside. And as for 
 getting under way at a moment's notice, well, we can 
 put in stores and everything else that is wanted when we
 
 "'TWAS WHEN THE SEAS WERE ROARING" 335 
 
 are safe in Portree Harbour, with a little time to spare. 
 For there is wild weather coming, Cohineach, if I am not 
 mistaken ; but anything is better than being storm-stayed 
 at Heimra, when it is to the south you wish to be going." 
 
 And he himself helped the two men to get the vessel in 
 readiness when they had got on board — ordering them, 
 as a preliminary precaution, to take down a couple of reefs 
 in the mainsail. For even here in this sheltered Uttle 
 bay, the omens were inauspicious ; the sky had grown dark 
 and the wind had risen ; there was a low and troubled 
 and continuous murmur from the out-jutting spur on the 
 north. 
 
 " It is an angry-looking day to be leaving Heimra," young 
 Ross said ; " but perhaps there is no one wishing us to 
 remain at Heimra ; and you and I, Coinneach, have been 
 companions before now. And if I am asking you to go 
 away in a hurry, well, there will be time to get all we 
 want at Portree." 
 
 " And what do I want," said Coinneach, " except tobacco ? 
 And it is not even that would hinder me from going 
 wherever Mr. Ross wishes to be going." 
 
 The young master went aft to the tiller. As the yacht 
 slowly crept forward he turned for a moment and glanced 
 towards the island they were leaving. 
 
 " Poor old Martha," he said to himself j " I must try to 
 find another place for her somewhere and get her away ; 
 it would be the breaking of her heart if she were to see 
 strangers come to take possession of Eilean Heimra." 
 
 On Eilean Heimra he bestowed this single farewell 
 glance ; but on Lochgarra none. "When they got outside 
 into the heavily-running seas he did not turn once to look 
 at the distant bay and its strip of cottages, nor yet at 
 the promontory where the sharp gusts of the gale were 
 already ploughing waves along the tops of the larchwoods 
 surrounding Lochgarra House. The affected cheerfulness 
 with which he had addressed the two sailors on setting 
 forth was gone now ; his face was pale and worn ; the 
 mouth stern ; the eyes clouded and dark. But he had 
 his hands full ; for every moment the weather became more 
 threatening. 
 
 "Calum," he called out, "go below and fetch me up
 
 336 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 my oil-skins. We are going to catch something pretty 
 soon." 
 
 And so — amid this wild turmoil of driven skies and 
 black-rolling seas — the Sirene bore away for the south. 
 
 And meanwhile at yonder big building among the wind- 
 swept larches? All the long and terrible night Mary 
 Stanley had neither slept nor thought of sleeping ; she 
 had not even undressed ; she had kept walking up and 
 down her room in a fever of agitation ; or she had sate at 
 the table, her hands clasped over her forehead, striving to 
 shut out from her memory that dire succession of scenes, 
 those haunting visions that seemed to have been burned 
 into her brain. And if they would not go ? — then blindly 
 and stubbornly would she refuse to admit that they lent 
 any air of credibility to this tale that had been told her. 
 Nay, she abased herself ; and overwhelmed herself with re- 
 proaches ; and called herself the meanest of living creatures 
 in that she could have believed, even for one frantic 
 moment, that base and malignant fabrication. Wliy, had 
 she not known all along of the deadly animosity that 
 Purdie, for some reason or another, bore towards young 
 Ross and all his family ? Had she not herself discovered 
 that previous charges against Donald Ross owned no 
 foundation other than a rancorous and reckless spite % 
 And she had taken the unsupported testimony of one 
 who appeared to be out of his mind with malice and 
 hatred against the man who was her lover, as he and she 
 knew in their secret hearts % In one second of unreasoning 
 impulse she had destroyed all those fair possibilities that 
 lay within her grasp ; she had ruined her life ; and wounded 
 to the quick the one that was dearest to her in all the 
 world. And well she knew how proud and relentless he 
 was : he had forgiven much, to her and hers ; but this he 
 would never forgive. It was more than an insult ; it was a 
 betrayal : what would he think of her, even if she could go 
 to him, and make humble confession, and implore his 
 pardon? How could she explain that instant of panic 
 following her first indignant repudiation — then the hapless 
 chance that brought him face to face with her — then the 
 fierce revolt of a maiden soul against contamination — 
 alas ! all in a sudden bewilderment of error, that could
 
 "'TWAS WHEN THE SEAS WERE ROARING" 337 
 
 never be atoned for now. What must he think of her ? — 
 she kept repeating to herself — of her, faithless, shameless, 
 who had spurned his loyal trust in her? If she went 
 and grovelled in the very dust before him, and stretched 
 out her hands towards him, he would turn away from her, 
 remorseless and implacable. She was not worthy of his 
 disdain. 
 
 And nevertheless, upbraid herself as she might, she 
 still beheld before her aching eyes those two figures on 
 the Garra bridge, followed by the swift disappearance of 
 the girl into the woods ; and again she saw her down at 
 the shore, entreating to be taken out to Heimra Island, 
 and piercing the silence with her despair when she was left 
 behind. It was not Purdie who had shown her these 
 things ; it was of her own knowledge she knew them ; they 
 had started up before her, in corroboration of his im- 
 peachment, even as he spoke. But what if she were to 
 accept his challenge ? What if she were to go to Anna 
 Chlannach herself ? He had declared she was his witness 
 — his living witness. If there were any foundation for 
 this terrible story, she would confess the truth : if, as 
 Mary Stanley strove to convince herself, the charge was 
 nothing but a delibei"ate and malevolent invention, she 
 would be able to hurl the black falsehood back in his teeth. 
 He had challenged her to go to Anna Chlannach : to Anna 
 Chlannach she would go. 
 
 And then (as the blue-grey light of the dawn appeared 
 in the window-panes) a sense of her utter helplessness 
 came over her. That poor, half-witted creature knew no 
 word of English. And how was she to appeal to any 
 third person, asking for intervention ? How could she 
 demean herself by repeating such a story, and by admitting 
 even the possibility of its being true 1 Nay more : might 
 not her motives be misconstrued 1 What would the third 
 person, the interpreter, think of these shamefaced inquiries 1 
 That the mistress of Lochgarra House was moved by an 
 angry jealousy of that poor wandering waif 1 That Mary 
 Stanley and Anna Clilannach were in the position of rivals ? 
 Her cheeks burned. Not in that way could she find the 
 means of hui^ling back Purdie's monstrous accusation. 
 
 The white daylight broadened over land and sea ; and 
 
 z
 
 338 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 away out yonder was Heimra Island, shining all the fairer 
 because of the black and slow-moving wall of cloud along 
 the western horizon. What had happened since yesterday, 
 then % She hardly knew : she knew only that her heart 
 lay heavy within her bosom, and that despair instead of 
 sleep seemed to weigh down her eyelids. Was it only 
 yesterday that she had been away up at Loch Heimra, 
 imagining it once more a sheet of water, and pleasing 
 herself with the fancy that some afternoon she would 
 bring her lover along the road with her, to show him what 
 she had done to make meek amends? Yesterday, when 
 she thought of him, which Avas often enough, joy had filled 
 her whole being, and kindness, and gratitude, and well- 
 wishing to the universal world. Yesterday he and she 
 were friends ; and to look forward to their next meeting 
 was to her a secret delight which she could dwell ujDon, 
 even in talking with strangers. But now — this new day : 
 what had it brought hei", that she was so numb, and cold, 
 and hopeless ? And what was this that lay so heavy in 
 her breast ? 
 
 Suddemy she sprang to her feet — her eyes staring. A 
 boat was creeping out from the southernmost headland of 
 Eilean Heimra. It was a small vessel with sails : it was 
 the Sir hie, she made sure. And was he coming ashore 
 now — coming straight to Lochgarra House, as was his 
 wont — coming, in open and manly fashion, to demand an 
 explanation from her ? And even if he were to upbraid 
 her, and shower anger and scorn upon her, what then ? — 
 so long as he showed himself not wholly unforgiving, so 
 long as he allowed her to speak. But as she stood at the 
 window there, intently watching the distant ship, a shud- 
 dering suspicion seemed to paralyse her. The Sirene was 
 not coming this way at all ; it was slowly, gradually, 
 unmistakably making for the south. And no sooner had 
 this fear become a certainty than the world appeared to 
 swim around her. There was to be no explanation, then ? — 
 not even that torrent of bitter and angry reproach ? He 
 was going away — silent, stern, inexorable? This was his 
 answer 1 He would not stoop to demand explanations : he 
 would simply withdraw 1 It was not fit that he should 
 mate or match with such as she.
 
 '''TIVAS WHEN THE SEAS WERE ROARING'' 339 
 
 And at the same moment she caught sight of Big Archie, 
 who was pulling out to his boat. In her terror, and 
 despair, and helplessness, she did not think twice ; her 
 resolution was formed in a moment ; she threw a shawl 
 over her head and shoulders, and fled dowstairs, and out 
 into the open. Quickly she made her way along the beach. 
 
 " Archie ! " she called, in the teeth of the wind. 
 " Archie ! Archie ! I want you ! — come ashore, quick ! " 
 
 The heavy-shouldered and heavy-bearded fisherman, who 
 was still in the smaller boat, paused on his oars for a 
 second ; and then, probably understanding more from her 
 gestures than from her words what she wished, he headed 
 round and made for the beach. And before he had reached 
 the land she had called to him again. 
 
 " Archie, that is the Sirene — going away from Heimra ? " 
 
 " Yes, indeed, mem," said Archie. 
 
 *' You must take me out in your lugger, Archie," she 
 said, in a frenzied sort of way. " There's not a moment to 
 be lost ; even if you can't sail as quick as they can, never 
 mind — we will get some distance after them — they will 
 see us — we can signal to them " 
 
 The bow of the small boat rose on the shingle and 
 seaweed ; Big Archie stepped out and pulled it up a bit 
 further. He did not quite understand at first what was 
 demanded of him ; perhaps he was a trifle scared by the 
 unusual look on Miss Stanley's face — the pallid cheeks, the 
 piteous and anxious eyes ; but when he did comprehend, 
 his answer was a serious and earnest remonstrance. 
 
 " Aw, Dyeea, do you not see what it is^threatening out 
 there ? " said he, quite concerned. 
 
 "I do not care about that," she answered him. " If the 
 Sirene can go out, so can you. And you have the sail up, 
 Archie ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay, indeed," he explained, " bekass I was thinking 
 of going round to Ru Gobhar, to hef a look at the lobster- 
 ti'aps. But when I Avas seeing the bad weather threatening, 
 and the glass down, then I was just going out to the boat 
 to get the sail lowex'ed again and the young lad brought 
 ashore. It is just anything I would do to please Miss 
 Stanley ; but it is looking very, very bad ; and we could 
 not catch up on the Sirene whatever — aw, no ! — it is no 
 
 z 2
 
 340 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 use to tliink my boat could get near to the Sirene, and her 
 a first-class yat and a fine sailer. And Miss Stanley 
 getting very wet, too, for there's a heavy sea outside " 
 
 " Archie," she said, in an imploring voice, " if you are a 
 friend of mine, you will try ! You will try to stop the 
 Sirene — cannot we make some signal to her ? And you 
 said the young lad was in the boat 1 — and the sail is up — 
 we could get away at once " 
 
 " Oh, if you wish it, mem, that is enough for me," he 
 said ; and presently he had got her into the stern of the 
 small boat, had shoved off, and was pulling out to the 
 big, brown-sailed lugger. 
 
 Archie had moorings in the bay, so that they lost no 
 time in setting forth. And at first everything went well 
 enough ; for they had merely to beat out against the swirls 
 of wind that came into the sheltered harbour ; and the 
 water was comparatively smooth. But when they got into 
 the open they found a heavy sea running ; and the lugger 
 began to dip her bows and fling flying showers of spray 
 down to the stern ; while the bank of black cloud in the 
 west was slowly advancing, heralded by torn shreds of 
 silver that chased each other across the menacing sky. 
 Big Archie took off his jacket and ofiered it to Miss 
 Stanley, to shield her from the wet ; but she obstinately 
 refused, and bade him put it on again ; her sole and whole 
 attention was fixed on the phantom-grey yacht down there 
 in the south, that was every other moment hidden from 
 view by the surging crests of the waves. She had to cling 
 to the gunwale, to prevent her being hurled from her seat ; 
 for the lugger was labouring sorely, and staggering under 
 these successive shocks ; but all the same her eyes, though 
 they smarted from the salt foam, were following the now 
 distant Sirene with a kind of wild entreaty in them, as 
 though she would fain have called across the waste of 
 waters. 
 
 " Can they see us, Archie ? — can they see us ? " she cried, 
 " Could not the boy climb up to the mast-head and wave 
 something 1 " 
 
 " Aw, no, mem," said Archie, " they are too far aweh. 
 They are far, too far aweh. And they are not knowing we 
 are looking towards them."
 
 '''TWAS WHEN THE SEAS WERE ROARING" 341 
 
 " But if we keep right on to Heimra 1 " said she, in her 
 desperation. " Surely they will see we are making for the 
 island — they will come back " 
 
 " They would just think it was the Gillie Ciotach going 
 out to look after the lobster-traj^s," said Archie. 
 
 " Not in this weather ! " she urged. " Not in this 
 weather ! They must see it is something of importance. 
 They will see the boat going out to Heimra — they are sure 
 to come back. Archie — they are certain to come back ! " 
 
 " We will hold on for Heimra if you wish it, mem — but 
 there's a bad sea gettmg up," said Archie, with his eye 
 on those tumultuous swift-running masses of water, the 
 crashing into which caused even this heavy craft to quiver 
 from stem to stern. By this time the heavens had still 
 further dai'kened around them — a boding gloom, accom- 
 panied, as it was, by a fitful howling of wind ; while rain 
 was falling in torrents. Not that this latter mattered 
 very much, for they were all of them drenched to the skin 
 by the seas that were leaping high from the lugger's bows ; 
 only that the deluge thickened all the air, so that it 
 became more and more difficult to catch a glimpse of the 
 now fast-receding Sirene. Archie paid but little attention 
 to the yacht ; he seemed to have no hope of attracting her 
 notice ; but he was greatly distressed about the condition 
 of the young mistress of Lochgarra. 
 
 " If I had known, mem — if I had known early in the 
 moarning I would hef brought something to cover you," 
 said he, in accents of deep commiseration. "It is a great 
 peety " 
 
 " Never mind about that, Archie," said she. " Don't 
 you think they must know now that we are making for 
 Heimra ? " 
 
 " They are a long weh aweh," said Big Archie, shaking 
 the salt water from his eyebrows and beard. "And they 
 will be looking after themselves now. It was a stranche 
 thing for Mr. Ross to put out with a storm coming on." 
 
 " Is there any danger, Archie 1 " she said, quickly. 
 " Are they going into any danger 1 " 
 
 Archie was silent for a second. 
 
 " I am not knowing what would mek Mr. Ross start out 
 on a moarning like this," said he. "And where he is going
 
 342 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 I cannot seh. But he is one that knows the signs of the 
 weather — aw, yes, mem ! — and it is likely he will make 
 in for Gaii'loch, or Loch Torridon, or mebbe he will get 
 as far down as the back of Rona Island 
 
 " No, no, Archie, he must see us — he cannot help seeing 
 us ! " she exclaimed. " When we are getting close to 
 Heimra, then he cannot help seeing us — he will understand 
 — and surely he will come back ! " 
 
 And meanwhile the gale had been increasing in fury : 
 the wind moaning low and whistling shrill alternately, the 
 high-springing spray rattling down on the boat with a 
 noise as of gravel. The old lugger groaned and strained 
 and creaked — burying herself — shaking herself — reeling 
 before the ponderous blows of the surge ; but Archie gave 
 it her well ; there was no timorous shivering up into the 
 wind. His two hands gripped the sheet — the tiller under 
 his arm; his feet were wedged firm against the stone 
 ballast ; his mouth set hard ; his eyes clear enough in spite 
 of the driving rain and whirling foam. And now this 
 island of Heimra was drawing nearer — if the Sirene far 
 away in the south had almost vanished. 
 
 " Look now, Archie ! — look now, for I can see nothing," 
 she said, piteously. 
 
 He raised himself somewhat ; and scanned the southern 
 horizon, as well as the heaving and breaking billows 
 would allow. 
 
 "Aw, no, mem, the Sirene is not in sight at ahl — not in 
 sight at ahl now," he said. 
 
 She uttered a stifled little cry, as of despair. 
 
 "Archie," she said, "could you not follow down to 
 Loch Torridon?" 
 
 " Aw, God bless us, mem, the boat would not live long 
 in a sea like this — it is getting worse and worse every 
 meenit " 
 
 " Yery well," said she, wearily, " very well. You have 
 done what you could, Archie : now there is nothing but 
 to get away back home again." 
 
 But that was not at all Big Archie's intention. 
 
 " Indeed no, mem," said he, with decision, " I am not 
 going aweh back to Lochgarra, and you in such a state, 
 mem, when there is a good shelter close by, ay, and a
 
 "'TWAS WHEN THE SEAS WERE ROARING'' 343 
 
 house. It is into Heimra Bay that I am going; and 
 there is the house ; and Martha will hef your clothes dried 
 for you, mem, and give you warm food and such things. 
 And mebbe the gale will quiet down a little in the after- 
 noon, or mebbe to-morrow it will quiet down, and we will 
 get back to Lochgarra ; but it is not weather for an open 
 boat at ahl." 
 
 She made no answer. She did not seem to care. She 
 sate there with eyes fixed and haggard : perhaps it was 
 not the cliffs of Heimra she saw before her, but the wild 
 headlands of Wester Ross, and a lurid and thundering sea, 
 and a small phantom-grey yacht flying for shelter. She 
 appeared to take no notice as they rounded the stormy 
 point with its furious boiling surge, and as they gradually 
 left behind them that roaring waste of waves, escaping into 
 the friendly quietude of the land-locked little bay. She 
 was quite passive in Archie's hands — getting into the small 
 boat listlessly when the lugger had been brought to anchor ; 
 and when she stepped ashore she set out to walk up to the 
 house, he respectfully following. But she had miscalculated 
 her strength. For one thing, she had not tasted food 
 since the middle of the previous day ; nor had she once 
 closed her eyes during the night. Then she was dazed 
 with the wind and the rain ; her clothes clung to her and 
 chilled her to the bone ; the feverish anxiety of the morn- 
 ing had left her nerves all unstrung. Indeed, she could 
 not drag herself up the beach. She went a few steps — 
 hesitated — turned round as if seeking for help in a piteous 
 sort of way — then she sank on to the rocks, and abandoned 
 herself to a passion of grief and despair, from sheer 
 weakness. 
 
 " I cannot go up to the house, Archie," she said, in a 
 half -hysterical fashion, amid her choking sobs, " and — and 
 why should I go — to an empty house? It — it is empty 
 — you — you let the Sirene sail away — but — but never mind 
 that — it is all my fault — more than you know. And I 
 want you to leave me here, Archie — go away back to 
 Lochgarra — there is no one cares what becomes of me — 
 what does it matter to anyone ? I do nothing but harm 
 — nothing but harm — there is no need to care what becomes 
 of me "
 
 344 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 The huge, lumbering, good-hearted fisherman was in a 
 sad plight ; he knew not in the least what to do ; he stood 
 there irresolute, the deepest concern and sympathy in his 
 eyes, himself unable or not daring to utter a word. But 
 help was at hand. For here was Martha, hurrying along 
 as fast as her aged limbs would allow, and bringing with 
 her a great fur rug. 
 
 " Dear, dear me ! " she exclaimed, as she came up. " What 
 could mek Miss Stanley venture out o' the house on a day 
 like this % ' 
 
 And therewith she put the rug round the girl's shoulders, 
 and got her to her feet, and, with many encouragements 
 and consolatory phrases, assisted her on her way up from 
 the shore. 
 
 " I will get a nice warm bed ready for you at once, 
 mem," said the old dame, " with plenty of blankets ; and 
 I will bring you something hot and comfortable for you, 
 for you hef got ferry, ferry wet. Dear, dear me ! — but 
 we'll soon hef you made all right ; for Mr. Rosa would 
 be an angry man, ay, indeed, if he was hearing that Miss 
 Stanley had come to Heimra, and not everything done 
 for her that could be done." 
 
 But when, after struggling through the blinding rain, 
 they reached the porch, and when Martha had opened the 
 front-door, Miss Stanley did not go further than the hall : 
 she sank exhausted into the solitary chair there. 
 
 " Martha," she said, " do not trouble about me. I 
 want to ask you a question. Did Mr. Ross say where he 
 was going when he left in the Sirene this morning ? " 
 
 "No, mem — not a word," Martha answered her, "about 
 where he was going, or when he was coming back. It 
 was a strange way of leaving — and in the face of such 
 weather ; but young people they hef odd fancies come in 
 their head. Think of this, mem, that he never was near 
 the house last night ; he was aweh up the hill ; and I'm 
 feared that he was saying good-bye to his mother's grave, 
 and that it will be long ere we see him back in Heimra 
 again. For he is a strange young man — and not like 
 others. But you'll come aweh now, mem, and get off your 
 wet things : it is Mr. Ross himself would be terrible angry 
 if you were not well cared for in this house."
 
 A MISSION 345 
 
 The day without was sombre and dark ; and the light 
 entering here was wan : perhaps that was the cause of the 
 singular alteration in Mary Stanley's appearance. She — 
 who had hitherto been always and ever the very embodi- 
 ment of buoyant youth, and health, and high spirits— 
 now looked old. And her eyes were as if night had fallen 
 upon them. 
 
 CHAPTER XXy. 
 
 A MISSION. 
 
 All that day the gale did not abate in fury ; nor yet on 
 the next ; and even on the third day Gilleasbuig Mbr still 
 hesitated about trying to get back to Lochgarra, for the 
 sea was running high, and the wind blew in angry gusts 
 and squalls. But on the morning of this third day com- 
 munication with the mainland was resumed ; for shortly 
 after eleven o'clock a lug-sail boat made its appearance, 
 coming round the point into the little bay ; and at a glance 
 Archie knew who this must be — this could be no other 
 than that venturesome dare devil the Gillie Ciotach, who 
 had doubtless been sent out by Miss Glendinning to gain 
 tidings of her friend. Big Archie went down to the slip, 
 to await the boat's arrival. 
 
 And when the Gillie Ciotach, whose sole companion 
 was a little, old, white-headed man called Dugald Maclsaac, 
 came ashore he was in a triumphant mood over his exploit, 
 and had nothing but taunts and jeers for the storm-stayed 
 Archie. 
 
 "Aw, God," said he (in Gaelic) as he fetched out the 
 parcels that had come by the mail for Martha, " there is 
 nothing makes me laugh so much as a Tarbert man when 
 there is a little breeze of wind anywhere. A Tarbert man 
 will hide behind a barn-door ; and if a rat squeaks, his 
 heart is in his mouth. For what is Loch Fyne 1 Loch 
 Fyne is only a ditch. A Tarbert man does not learn 
 anything of the sea ; he runs away behind a door if there 
 is a puff of wind blowing anywhei'e. And have you taken 
 possession of Heimra, Archie 1 Are you going to stay 
 here for ever ? Are you never going back to Lochgarra ? "
 
 346 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 "Andrew," said Big Archie, quite good-naturedly, "you 
 are a clever lad ; but maybe you do not know what the 
 wise man of Mull said : he said : ' The proper time is better 
 than too soon.' " 
 
 " Too soon ? And is it too soon, then, for me to come 
 over 1 " said the young man of the slashed forehead and the 
 bold eye. 
 
 " You ! " said Big Archie. " But who is mindful of you 
 or what becomes of you ? When I go over to Lochgarra, 
 it is a valuable cargo I will have with me. That is what 
 makes me mindful. You? — who cares whether you and 
 your packages of tea go to the bottom ? " 
 
 But the Gillie Ciotach was so elate over this achievement 
 of his that, instead of bandying further words, he stood up 
 to Big Arcliie, and began to spar, dancing from side to 
 side, and aiming cuffs at him with his open hand. The 
 huge, good-humoured giant bore this for a while, merely 
 trying to ward off these playful blows ; but at last — the 
 Gillie Ciotach unwarily offering an opportunity — Archie 
 suddenly seized him by the breeches and the scruff of the 
 neck, and by a tremendous effort of sti^ength heaved him 
 off the slip altogether — heaved him into a bed of seaweed 
 and sand. 
 
 The Gillie Ciotach picked hunself up slowly, and slowly 
 and deliberately he took off his jacket. His brows were 
 frowning. 
 
 " We will just settle this thing now, Archie," said he, 
 stepping up on to the slip again. "We will see who is 
 the better man, you or I. You can catch a quick grip — 
 oh yes, and you have strength in your arms; but maybe 
 in an honest fight you will not do so well " 
 
 " Oh, be peaceable ! — be peaceable ! " said Big Archie. 
 " If you want fighting, go and seek out some of the 
 Minard lads — though that would be carrying timber to 
 Lochaber, as the saying is." 
 
 " Andrew, my son," said the little old man in the boat, 
 " there is the Baintigheama come to the door." 
 
 The Gillie Ciotach glanced towards the porch of the 
 cottage ; and there, sure enough, was Miss Stanley — and 
 also Martha. 
 
 " It is the luck of Friday that is on me," he said, with a
 
 A MISSION 347 
 
 laugh ; " for I am the one that was to stop all the fighting ! 
 Well, come away up to the house, Archie ', you are a 
 friendly man ; and if she asks why I was taking off my 
 jacket, you will swear to her that I was only searching for 
 my pipe. For a lie is good enough for women at any 
 time." 
 
 They got up to the house, and the Gillie Ciotach delivered 
 his parcels, and the newspapers, and one or two letters, and 
 said that Miss Glendinning had sent him over to take back 
 assurances of their safety. 
 
 " But I was telling the lady there was no chance of 
 harm," said he ; " for we saw Miss Stanley go on board, 
 and we saw Archie's lugger standing in for Heimra, and 
 every one knew there would be good shelter from the 
 storm " 
 
 " And the Sirene, Andrew — have you heard anything 
 of the Sirene ? " Mary asked quickly — and her eyes were 
 alert and anxious, if the rest of her features looked tired 
 and worn. 
 
 " Aw, the Sirene, mem ? " said the Gillie Ciotach, con- 
 fidently. " I am sure the Sirene is just as safe as any of 
 us. There's no harm coming to the Sirene, mem, as long 
 as Mr. Ross himself is on board. It's the God's truth I'm 
 telling ye, mem. Mr. Ross he would put in to Loch Broom 
 or Loch Ewe ; and he knows every anchorage to half a 
 fathom ; and, with plenty of chain out, and an anchor- 
 watch, where would the harm be coming to him 1 " 
 
 " You have no doubt of it, Andrew ? " 
 
 " It's as sure as death, mem ! " said the Gillie Ciotach, 
 with an almost angry vehemence. 
 
 She seemed a little reheved. 
 
 " And the sea outside, Andrew — is it very bad ? " 
 
 " It's a bit wild," he admitted ; and then he added, with 
 a cool audacity : " but mebbe Miss Stanley would be for 
 going back with me now, if Archie is too afraid to go out ? " 
 
 "Oh, no, thank: you," said she. "If Archie does not 
 think it safe, I should not think of venturing. I will wait 
 for him — thank you all the same." 
 
 Here there was an awkward pause. Mary left the 
 little group, walking over to the edge of the plateau, to 
 get a better view of the distant and troubled line of
 
 348 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 the sea. The Gillie Ciotach stood twirhng his Glengarry 
 bonnet. Then he said timidly to Martha — 
 
 " Are there any empty casks going back ? " 
 
 "None but yourself, Andrew, my lad," said Martha, 
 with a dai'k smile in her eyes. 
 
 At this he plucked up spirit. 
 
 " There's a way of curing that, as you know, Martha," 
 said he. " And it's many's the time I have come out to 
 Heimra, and I never before had to complain of going away 
 like an empty cask." 
 
 "And yoli need not complain of it now, Andrew, my 
 son," said Martha. " Come away round to the kitchen, 
 and I will get you something — ay, and you will take some- 
 thing down to old Dugald, too. For although the master 
 of the house is not ua his own home, I know his wish ; and 
 it is I who would get the blame if any one wenb away 
 hungry or cold from Eilean Heimra." 
 
 But it was not until the afternoon that Big Archie con- 
 sidered it prudent to cross to the mainland ; and a rough 
 passage they had of it. Mary, however, was on this 
 occasion provided with an abundance of wraps ; and was 
 indifferent to wind, and spray, and rain. Possibly there 
 may have been other reasons for her apathy. 
 
 Kate Glendimiing was down at the slip beside the quay. 
 
 " Mamie," she exclaimed, when her friend landed, " what 
 took you out to Heimra on that wild morning ? I could 
 not beheve it when I was told. And I sent over to know 
 you were safe as soon as I could get any one to go. What 
 is the meaning of all % If you had seen the people watching 
 the boat ! — they did not know what might happen." 
 
 " I cannot explain ; and you must not ask, Kathchen, 
 now or at any time," was her answer. "But tell me, has 
 the gale done much damage % The harvest was looking so 
 
 well in those little patches " 
 
 " Damage 1 " said Kathchen. " It isn't damage, Mamie , 
 it is destruction — devastation — everywhere. Oh, it is 
 pitiable. The corn beaten down — the crofts flooded — well, 
 well, the only thing to be said is that the poor people are 
 not so disheartened as you might expect. Perhaps they 
 are used to such bitter disappointments. I do believe this 
 place is fit only for sheep — and hardly fit for them."
 
 A MISSION 349 
 
 " What can I do, Kathchen," said Mary, with a curious 
 listlessness, " beyond lowering their rent again 1 I suppose 
 that is all I can do. They would not go to Manitoba with 
 me : would they, Kathchen ? Do you think they would 1 
 Would you, now ? " 
 
 "Manitoba?" repeated Kathchen, looking at her. 
 " What has happened, Mamie ? I don't understand the 
 way you speak. Why should you talk about Manitoba, 
 when you were so set against it ? " 
 
 " The climate appeai-s to be so uncertain here," she said, 
 rather wearily, as they were ascending the steps of Loch- 
 garra House; "and — and the people have of late been 
 more friendly towards me ; and I would like to do what 
 I could for them. There is nothing to keep me in this 
 country. I would go away willingly with them — to Canada, 
 or anywhere. But perhaps not you, Kathchen. I could 
 not expect you. All your interests are in this country — 
 or in England, at least. But if I were to sell Lochgarra, 
 I could get money to take them all away to Canada, 
 and buy good land for them, and see them comfortably 
 established ; and then I should have done my duty by 
 them, as I intended to do when I came here at first. 
 And — and I don't think I should care to come back." 
 
 She furtively wiped away the tears from her lashes : 
 Kathchen did not notice. They were passing through the 
 hall now. 
 
 " I cannot understand what you mean, Mamie. What 
 is it ? What has happened ? Did you see Mr. Ross when 
 you were at Heimra 1 I heard that the Sirene had left the 
 morning you went out — and I took it for granted that 
 Mr. Ross had gone with her " 
 
 "Kathchen, to please me," she said, beseechingly, "will 
 you never mention Heimra again 1 Mr. Ross is away — and — 
 and I have been to the island for the last time ; that is ail. 
 
 When they went into the room, she threw herself down 
 on a couch, and put her clasped hands on the arm of it, 
 and hid her face. She was not crying ; she merely seemed 
 overcome with fatigue and lassitude. Kate Glendinning 
 knelt down beside her, and with gentle fingers caressingly 
 stroked and smoothed the beautiful golden-brown hair that 
 had been all dishevelled by the wind.
 
 350 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 " What is it, Mamie % " 
 
 " Tell me about the farms, Kathchen," was the answer, 
 uttered in a hopeless kind of way. " I don't know anything 
 about farm work, except what I have been told since I came 
 here. Are the crops so completely destroyed % Would not 
 fine weather give them another chance % Surely entire ruin 
 cannot have been caused by one gale — gales are frequent 
 on this coast " 
 
 "This one came at a bad time, Mamie," said her com- 
 panion ; " and a great part of the corn will have to be cut 
 and given to the cows. But why should you distress 
 yourself unnecessarily 1 It was none of your fault. You 
 have done everything for these poor people that could be 
 devised. And, as I tell you, they seem used to misfortunes 
 of this kind ; there is no bewailing ; their despondency has 
 become a sort of habit with them " 
 
 " Send for Mr. Purdie : I wish to see him " — this was 
 what came from those closed hands. But the next moment 
 she had thrown herself upright. " No ! " she said fiercely. 
 " No, I will not see Mr. Purdie. With my consent, 
 Mr. Purdie shall never enter this house again." 
 
 "Mr. Purdie left on the very day you went out to 
 Heimra," said Kathchen, gently ; and then she went on : 
 "You are hiding something from me, Mamie. Well, I 
 will not ask any further. I will wait. But I am afi-aid 
 you are very much fatigued, and upset, and I can see you 
 are not well. Now will you be persuaded, Mamie ! If 
 you will only go to bed you will have a far more thorough 
 rest ; and I will bring you something that will make you 
 sleep. Why, your forehead is burning hot, and your hands 
 quite cold ! — and if you were to get seriously ill, that would 
 be a good deal worse for the crofters than the flattening 
 down of their corn ! " 
 
 She was amenable enough ; she consented to be led 
 away ; she was ready to do anything asked of her — except 
 to touch food or drink. 
 
 And yet the next morning she was up and out of the 
 house before anyone was awake, and she was making 
 away for the solitude of the hills. She wished to be alone 
 —and to look at the wide sea. She walked slowly, but 
 yet her sick heart was resolute ; the arduous toil of getting
 
 A MISSION 351 
 
 up the lower slopes and corries, filled with bracken, and 
 rocks, and heather, did not hinder her ; she turned from 
 time to time to look, absently enough, at the ever-broaden- 
 ing plain of the Atlantic, rising up to the pale greenish- 
 turquoise of the sky. And in time she had got over this 
 rough ground, and had reached the lofty and sterile plateaus 
 of peat-bog and grass, where, if it was loneliness she 
 sought she found it. No sign of life : no sound, except the 
 plaintive call of a greenshank from a melancholy tarn : no 
 movement, save that of the silver-grey masses of cloud that 
 came over from the west. But away out yonder was the 
 deserted island of Heimra ; and far in the south were the 
 long black promontories — Ru-Minard, Ru-Gobhar, and the 
 rest — behind which a boat would disappear when it left 
 for other lands. And had she heard of the Fhir-a-Bhata 1 
 Did Kate Glendinning know of the song that is the most 
 familiar, the greatest favourite of all the West Highland 
 songs ; and had she told her friend of the maiden who used 
 to go up the cliffs, day by day, to watch for the coming 
 of her lover ? — 
 
 'I climb the mountain and scan the ocean, 
 For thee, my boatman, with fond devotion: 
 "When shall I see thee ? — to-day ? — to-morrow ? 
 Oh, do not leave me in lonely sorro^v I 
 
 Broken-hearted I droop and languish, 
 And frequent tears show my bosom's anguish : 
 Sliall I expect thee to-night to cheer me ? 
 Or close the door, sighing and weary.' 
 
 This, at least, Kate Glendinning soon began to learn 
 — that nearly every morning now Mary left the house, 
 entirely by herself, and was away by herself, in these 
 desolate altitudes. It was clear she wished for no com- 
 panionship ; and Kathchen did not offer her services. 
 Nor was any reference made to these soHtary expeditions. 
 The rest of the day Mary devoted herself to her usual 
 work — increased, at this time, by her investigations into 
 the extent of the injury done by the gale : as to the rest 
 there was silence. 
 
 And thus it was that Kathchen remained ignorant of 
 this curious fact — that day by day these excursions were 
 gradually being shortened. Day by day Mary Stanley
 
 352 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 found that her strength would not carry her quite so far : 
 she had to be content with a lesser height. And at last 
 she had altogether to abandon that laborious task of breast- 
 ing the hill ; she merely, and wearily enough, walked away 
 up the Minard road — whence you can see a portion of the 
 southern and western horizon ; and there she would sit 
 down on the heather or a boulder of rock — with a strange 
 look in her eyes. 
 
 " Mamie ! " said Kiithchen, one evening — and there was 
 grief in her voice. " Won't you tell me what has hap- 
 pened ! I cannot bear to see you like that ! You are ill. 
 I tell you, you are seriously ill ; and yet you will not say a 
 word. And there is no one here but myself ; I am in 
 charge of you ; I am responsil^le for you ; and how can I 
 bear to see you killing yourself before my eyes % " 
 
 Mary was lying on the couch, her face averted from the 
 light. 
 
 "You are right in one way, Kathchen," she said, rather 
 sadly. " Something has happened. But no good would 
 come of speaking about it ; because it cannot be undone 
 now. And as for being ill, I know what will make me 
 well. It is only sleep I want. It is the sleep that knows 
 no waking that I wish for." 
 
 Kathchen burst out crying, and flung herself down 
 on her knees, and put her arms round her friend. 
 
 " Mamie, I declare to you I will not rest until you tell 
 me what this is ! " she exclaimed passionately. 
 
 Nor did she. And that very evening, after an un- 
 heard-of pleading and coaxing on the one side and despair- 
 ing protest on the other, all those recent occurrences were 
 confided to the faithful Kathchen. She was a little 
 bewildered at first ; but she had a nimble brain. 
 
 "Mamie," she said, with a firm air, "I don't know 
 what doubts, or if any, may still be lingering in your 
 mind \ but I am absolutely convinced that that story of 
 Purdie's is a lie — a wicked and abominable lie. And I can 
 guess what drove him to it ; it was a bold stroke, and it 
 was nearly proving successful ; but it shall not prove 
 successful. I will make it my business to get Donald 
 Ross back to Lochgarra — and then we shall have an 
 explanation." 
 
 'o"-
 
 A MISSION 353 
 
 " Do you think he will come back to Lochgarra ? Then 
 you do not know him," Mary made answer, and almost 
 listlessly. " Do you imagine I have not considered every- 
 thing, night after night, ay, and every hour of the night 
 all the way through 1 He will never come hack to Loch- 
 garra — if it is to speak to me that you mean. I have told 
 you before : it seems a fatality that he and his should 
 receive nothing but injury and insult at our hands, from 
 one member of our family after another ; and never has 
 there been a word in reply — never a single syllable of 
 reproach — but only kindnesses innumerable, and thought- 
 fulness, and respect. Well, there is an end of respect 
 now. How can he have anything but scorn of me 1 If 
 I were to confess to him that I had believed that story — 
 even for one frightened moment — what could he think of 
 me 1 Why, what he thinks of me now — as a base creature, 
 ignoble, ungrateful, unworthy — oh ! do you imagine I 
 cannot read what is in that man's heart at this moment ? " 
 
 " Do you imagine I cannot 1 " said Kathchen, boldly. 
 " I have not been blind all these months. What is in 
 that man's heart, Mamie, is a passionate love and devo- 
 tion towards you ; and there is no injury, and no insult, 
 he would not forgive you if he thought that you — that you 
 — ^well, that you cared for him a little. Oh, I know both 
 you and him. I know that you are wilful and impulsive ; 
 and I know that he is proud, and sensitive, and reserved ; 
 but I think — I think — well, Mamie, no more words ; but 
 I am going to have my own way in this matter, and you 
 must let me do precisely what I please." 
 
 And that was all she would say meanwhile. But next 
 day was a busy day for Kate Glendinning. Pirst of all 
 she went straight to the Minister and demanded point-blank 
 whether there were, or could be, any foundation for that 
 story about Anna Chlannach ; and the Minister — not 
 directly, of course, but with many lamentations, in his 
 high falsetto, over the wickedness of the human mind in 
 harbouring and uttering slanders and calumnies — answered 
 that he had known Anna Chlannach all her life, and that 
 she had been half-witted from her infancy, and that the 
 tale now told him was an entire and deplorable fabrica- 
 tion. Indeed, he would have liked to enlarge on the theme, 
 
 2 A
 
 354 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 but Kate was in a hurry. For she had heard in passing 
 through the village that the Gillie Ciotach was about to 
 go over to Heimra, with the parcels and letters that had 
 come by the previous day's mail ; and it occurred to her 
 that here was a happy chance for herself. 
 
 " Now, Andrew," she said, when she was seated com- 
 fortably in the stern of the lugger, " keep everything 
 smooth for me. I haven't once been sea-sick since I came 
 to Lochgarra, and I don't want to begin now." 
 
 " Aw, is it the sea-seeckness ? " said the Gillie Ciotach. 
 " Well mem, when you feel the seeckness coming on, just 
 you tell me, and I will give you something to mek you 
 all right. Ay, I will give you a good strong glass of 
 whiskey ; and in a moment it will make the seeckness jump 
 out of your body." 
 
 " Whiskey % " said Kathchen. " Do you mean to say you 
 take a bottle of whiskey with you every time you put 
 out in a boat ? " 
 
 " Aw, as for that " said the Gillie Ciotach — and he was 
 clearly casting about for some portentous lie or another — 
 " I was saying to Peter Grant that mebbe the young leddy 
 might have the sea-seeckness ; and Peter he was saying to 
 me, ' Tek a smahl bottle of whiskey with you, Andrew, and 
 then she will hef no fear of the sea-seeckness.' And it 
 was just for yourself, mem, I was bringing the whiskey." 
 
 " And a pretty character you seem to have given me 
 at the inn ! " said Kathchen, as she contentedly wrapped 
 herself up in her rugs. 
 
 Martha had seen the boat on its way into the harbour ; 
 she had come out to the door of the cottage ; a visitor was 
 welcome in this solitary island. 
 
 " Martha," she said, as soon as she had got within, 
 " have you heard any news of late ? — can you tell me 
 where the Sirene is now ? " 
 
 "Yes, indeed, mem," said the old Highland dame with 
 wondering eyes. " But do you not know that the Siretie 
 is at the bottom of the sea ? Was the master not writing 
 to Miss Stanley about it ? " 
 
 " We have not heard a word," Kathchen exclaimed. 
 
 "Dear, dear me now!" said Martha. "That is a 
 stranche thing."
 
 A MISSION 355 
 
 " But tell me — tell me about it," said Kathchen anxiously. 
 " There was no one drowned?" 
 
 " No, no," said Martha, with much complacency. " There 
 was plenty of time for them to get into the boat. And 
 the master not writing to Miss Stanley at the same time 
 he was writing to me — that is a stranche thing. But this 
 was the weh of it, as he says ; that it was an ahfu' dark 
 night, the night of the first day of the gale ; and they 
 were mekkin for shelter between Scalpa and Skye, and 
 they had got through the Caol-Mor, and were coming near to 
 an anchorage, when they ran into a trading schooner that 
 was lying there without a single light up. Without a single 
 light, and the night fearful dark : I'm sure the men should 
 be hanged that would do such a thing to save a little oil." 
 
 " And where is Mr. Ross, now ? " asked Kathchen. 
 
 " Just in Greenock. He says he will trj'' to get a place 
 for Coinneach and for Calum, and will not troul:)le with 
 a yatany more for the present. Ay, indeed," Martha went 
 on, with a bit of a sigh, " and I'm tliiixking he will not be 
 coming back soon to Heimra, when he says he will not 
 trouble with a yat, and when he could have a yat easy 
 enough with the insurance money " 
 
 " Is he at a hotel in Greenock 1 " 
 
 " Ay, the Tontine Hotel," the old woman said. " And 
 I am not liking what he says— that he is waiting for a 
 friend, and they are going away from Greenock together. 
 I am not liking that at ahl. There's many a one sailed 
 away from the Tail of the Bank that never came back 
 again. And he says, if it is too lonely here for me and 
 the young lass Maggie, we are to go over to Lochgarra and 
 get lodgings ; but how could I be leaving the house to the 
 rain and the damp ? Ay, lonely it is, except when Gillie 
 Ciotach comes out to look after the lobster traps " 
 
 " Well, Martha," said her visitor, " this time the Gillie 
 Ciotach is going straight back again ; for I'm rather in a 
 hurry. And don't you move over to the mainland until 
 you hear further. I will come and see you sometimes if you 
 are so lonely." And therewithal the industrious Kate hied 
 her back to the lobster boat, and set out for Lochgarra 
 again. 
 
 Mary was lying on a sofa, her head half hidden by the 
 
 2 A 2
 
 356 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 cushion. She had been attempting to read ; but her arm 
 had fallen supinely by her side, and the book was half 
 closed. 
 
 "Mamie," said Kate Glendinning, entering the room 
 noiselessly, and approaching the sofa, " I have a favour 
 to beg of you ; but please to remember this ; that I have 
 ■waited on you — and worried you — all this long time ; and 
 I have never asked you for an hour's holiday. Now I am 
 going to ask you for two or three days ; and if you give 
 me permission I mean to be off by the mail-car to-morrow 
 morning. May I go ? " 
 
 The pale cheek flushed — and the fingers that held the 
 book trembled a little. But she affected not to understand. 
 
 " Do as you wish, Kathchen," said she, in a low voice. 
 
 Well, this was an onerous, and difficult, and delicate 
 task that Kate had undertaken ; but she had plenty of 
 courage. And her setting-forth was auspicious : when the 
 mail-car started away from Lochgarra the dawn was giving 
 every promise of a pleasant and cheerful day for the long 
 drive. It is true that as they passed the Cruagan crofts 
 her face fell a little on noticing here and there traces of 
 the devastation that had been wrought by the gale ; but 
 she had heard that things were mending a little in con- 
 sequence of the continued fine weather ; and she was 
 greatly cheered to hear the driver maintain that the people 
 about this neighbourhood had little cause to grumble ; 
 matters had been made very easy for them, he declared, 
 since Miss Stanley came to Lochgarra. And so on they 
 drove, hour after hour, by Ledmore, and Oykel Bridge, and 
 Invercassley, and Rosehall, until the afternoon saw her 
 safely arrived at Lairg. Then the more tedious railway 
 journey — away down to Inverness ; on through the night 
 to Perth ; breakfast there, and on again to Glasgow ; from 
 Glasgow down to Greenock. It was about noon, or some- 
 thing thereafter, that she entered the dismal and rainy 
 town. 
 
 Foi'tune favoured her. The Tontine Hotel is almost 
 opposite the railway station, so that she had no diflSculty 
 in finding it \ and hardly had she got within the doorway 
 when she met Donald Ross himself crossing the hall, and 
 apparently on his way into the street. When he made out
 
 A MISSION 357 
 
 who this was (her face was in shadow, and he did not at 
 first recognise her) his eyes looked startled, and he threw 
 an involuntary glance towards the door to see if there was 
 any one accompanying her. But the girl was alone. 
 
 " Mr. Ross," said Kiithchen, rather nervously — for she 
 had not expected to encounter him just at once — "I wish 
 to speak with you " 
 
 " Oh, come in here, then," said he, with a certain coldness 
 of manner, as if he were about to face an unpleasant 
 ordeal that was also useless ; and he led the way into the 
 coffee-room, where, at this time of the day, there was no 
 one, not even a waiter. 
 
 Nervous Kathchen distinctly was ; for she knew the 
 terrible responsibility that lay on her ; and all the fine 
 calmness she had been calculating on in her communings 
 with herself in lonely railway-carriages seemed now to 
 have fled. But perhaps it was just as well ; for in a some- 
 what incoherent, but earnest, fashion, she plunged right 
 into the middle of things, and told him the whole story — 
 told him of the factor's circumstantial and malisrnant 
 slander, of Mary's momentary bewilderment, of the luckless 
 meeting, and of her subsequent bitter remorse and despair. 
 At one portion of this narrative his face grew dark, and 
 the black eyes burned with a sullen fire. 
 
 " I have a long account to settle with Purdie," said he, 
 as if to himself, "and it is about time the reckoning was 
 come." 
 
 But when she had quite finished with her eager explana- 
 tions, and excuses, and indirect appeals, what was his reply? 
 Why, not one word. She looked at him — in blank dismay. 
 
 " But, Mr. Ross ! — Mr. Ross ! " she said piteously. 
 
 There was no response ; he had received her communica- 
 tion — that was all. 
 
 " I have told you everything ; surely you understand ; 
 what — what message am I to take ? " Kathchen exclaimed, 
 in trembling appeal. 
 
 " I have heard what you had to say," he answered her, 
 with a studied reserve that seemed to Kathchen's anxious 
 soul nothing less than brutal, " and of course I am sorry 
 if there has been any misunderstanding, or any sufiering, 
 anywhere. But these things are past. And as for the
 
 358 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 present, I do not gather that you have been commissioned 
 by Miss Stanley to bring one solitary word to me — one 
 expression of any kind whatsoever. Why should I return 
 any reply ? — she has not spoken one word." 
 
 " Oh, you ask too much ! " Kathchen exclaimed, in hot 
 indignation. " You ask too much ! Do you think Mary 
 Stanley would send for you? She is as proud as your- 
 self — every bit as proud ! And she is a woman. You are 
 a man : it is your place to have the courage of yielding — 
 to have the courage of offering forgiveness, even before it 
 is asked. If I were a man, and if I loved a woman that 
 I thought loved me, I would not stand too much on my 
 dignity, even if she did not speak. And what do you 
 want — that she should say she is sorry % Mr. Ross, she is 
 ill ! I tell you, she is ill. Come and judge for yourself 
 what all this has done to her ! — you will see only too 
 clearly whether she has been sorry or not. And that 
 superstition of hers, about there being a fatality attending 
 her family — that they cannot help inflicting injury and 
 insult on you and yours — who can remove that but your- 
 self % No," she said, a little stiffly, " I have no message 
 from Maiy Stanley to you ; and if I had, I would not 
 deliver it. And now it is for you to say or do what you 
 think best." 
 
 " Yes, yes ; yes, yes," he said, after a moment's delibera- 
 tion. " I was thinking too much of the Little Red Dwai'f ; 
 I was thinking too much of that side of it. I will go back 
 to Lochgarra, and at once. And this is Thursday ; the 
 steamer will be coming down from Glasgow to-day ; that 
 will be the easiest way for us to go back." 
 
 There was a flash of joy and triumph — and of gratitude 
 — in Kiithchen's sufficiently pretty eyes. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYI. 
 
 THE BANABHARD. 
 
 The big steamer was slowly and cautiously making in for 
 Lochgarra Bay — slowly and cautiously, for though the 
 harbour is an excellent one after you are in it, the entrance 
 is somewhat difficult of navigation j and Donald Ross and
 
 THE BANABHARD 359 
 
 Kate Glendiiming were seated in the after part of the boat, 
 passing the time in talking. And of course it was mostly 
 of Miss Stanley they spoke. 
 
 "For one thing, you ought to remember," said Kathchen, 
 "the amount of prejudice against you she has had to over- 
 come. If you only knew the character she received of you 
 the very first evening we arrived here ! I wonder if you 
 would recognise the picture— a terrible outlaw living in a 
 lonely island, a drunken, thieving, poaching ne'er-do-well, 
 a malignant conspirator and mischief-maker : Mr. Purdie 
 laid on the colours pretty thickly. By the way, I wish 
 you would tell me the cause of that bitter animosity Mr. 
 Purdie shows against you and all your family " 
 
 " It is simple enough — but it is not worth speaking 
 about," he said, with a certain indifference. It was not 
 of Purdie, nor of Purdie's doings, that he was thinking at 
 the moment. 
 
 " But I want to know — I am curious to know," Kathchen 
 insisted. 
 
 "It is simple enough, then," he repeated. "When 
 the old factor died — old Maclnnes — I hardly remember 
 him, but I fancy he was a decent sort of man — when he 
 died, my father appointed this Purdie, on the recommenda- 
 tion of a friend, and without knowing much about him. 
 Well, Purdie never did get on at all with the people about 
 here. He was an ill-tempered, ill-conditioned brute, to 
 begin with ; spiteful, revengeful, and merciless ; and of 
 course the people hated him, and of course he came to 
 know it, and had it out with them whenever he got the 
 chance. You see, my father was almost constantly abroad 
 and Purdie had complete control. My mother tried to 
 interfere a little ; and he resented her interference ; I think 
 it made him all the more savage. And at last the discon- 
 tent of the people broke out in open revolt. Purdie hap- 
 pened to have come over to Lochgarra ; and when they 
 heard of it, the whole lot of them — from Minard, and 
 Cruagan, and everywhere — came together in front of the 
 inn, and there was no end of howling and hooting. Purdie 
 escaped through the back-garden, and took refuge with 
 the Minister ; but the crowd followed him to the Minister's 
 cottage, and burnt his effigy in front of the door — oh, I
 
 36o DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 don't know what tliey didn't do. Only, it got into the 
 papefs ; it was a public scandal ; and my father, coming 
 to hear of it, at once deposed the two-penny-halfpenny 
 tyrant. That is all the story. But no doubt his being 
 ignominiously dismissed was a sore thing for a man of his 
 nature — the public humiliation, and all the rest of it " 
 
 " But how did he get back to his former position ? " 
 Kiithchen demanded. 
 
 " Miss Stanley's uncle put him back when he bought 
 the estate," Donald Pi,oss said, quietly. " I fancy he had 
 an idea that Purdie was the right kind of man for this 
 place, especially as he himself had to be absent a good 
 deal. Yes, I will say this for Purdie — he is an excellent 
 man of business ; he will squeeze out for you every penny 
 of rent that is to be got at ; and he has no sort of hesitation 
 about calling in the aid of the sheriff. And of course he 
 came back more malevolent than ever; he knew they had 
 rejoiced over his downfall ; and he was determined to make 
 them smart for it. As for his honouring me with his hatred, 
 that is quite natural I suppose. It was my father who sent 
 him into disgrace ; and then — then the people about here 
 and I are rather friendly, you know ; and they had a great 
 regard for my mother ; and all that taken together is 
 enough for Purdie. We were in league with his enemies ; 
 and they with us." 
 
 " I can imagine what he thought," said Kiithchen, medita- 
 tively, " when he saw the new proprietress taking you into 
 her counsels, and adopting a new system, and interfering 
 with him, overriding his decisions at every turn. He made 
 a bold stroke to sever that alliance between her and you ; 
 but it failed ; and now he is sorry — very sorry — exceedingly 
 sorry, I should think." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " he asked, fixing his eyes upon 
 her. 
 
 "Perhaps I should leave Mary herself to tell you," 
 she answered hun. " But that is of little consequence : it 
 cannot be a secret. Very well : she has ordered Mr. 
 Pui'die to prepare a statement of his accounts ; and his 
 factorship ceases at Michaelmas. It was the last thing she 
 told me before I left LochgaiTa." 
 
 Donald Ross laughed.
 
 THE BANABHARD 361 
 
 " I had intended to have a word with Purdie," said he, 
 " but it seems the Baintighearna has been before me." 
 
 The arrival of the steamer is always a great event at 
 Lochorarra ; there were several well-known faces on the 
 quay. Here were the Gillie Ciotach, and Big Archie, and 
 the Minister, and Peter Grant, the innkeeper ; and here 
 also was Aima Chlannach. The poor lass was in sad dis- 
 tress ; she was crying and wringing her hands. 
 
 "What is the matter, Aima?" said Donald Ross, in 
 Gaelic, as he stepped from the gangway on to the pier. 
 
 " I am wishing to go out to Heimra," said the Irish- 
 looking girl with the dishevelled hair and streaming eyes. 
 
 " Why so % " he asked. 
 
 " It is to find my mother," she made answer, with many 
 sobs. " When I was sleeping my mother came to me, and 
 said I was to come out to Heimra for her, and to brink her 
 back, but when I offer the money to the men they laugh at 
 me " 
 
 " Anna," said he, gently, " you must not think of going 
 out to Heimra. If you were not to find your mother there, 
 that would be great sorrow for you. If she is coming for 
 you, you must wait patiently " 
 
 " But I am going out in the steamer % " said the girl, 
 beginning to cry afresh. 
 
 " The steamer % " he said. " The steamer does not call 
 at Heimra, not at any time." 
 
 " But it is Mr. Boss has the mastery," * she pleaded. 
 " It is everyone that must obey Mr. Ross ; and the steamer 
 will take me out to Heimi'a if he tells the captain." 
 
 " Now, Anna," he said, trying to reason with her, " listen 
 to what I am telling you. How can a great boat like that 
 go into the small harbour of Eilean Heimra % And I have 
 no authority over the captain, nor has any one : it is to 
 Stornoway he is going now, and to no other place. So 
 you must wait patiently ; and I think you should go and 
 live with the Widow MacVeari, and help to do little things 
 about the croft. Por it is not good for a young lass to be 
 without an occupation." 
 
 Anna Chlannach turned away weeping silently, and 
 
 * T'lgliearnas — lordship, or dominion.
 
 362 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 refusing to be comforted ; while young Ross was imme- 
 diately tackled by the Minister who had a long tale to 
 tell about some Presbytery case in Edinburgh, 
 
 What now occurred it is difficult to describe consecutively, 
 for so many things seemed to happen at once, or within the 
 space of a few breathless seconds. The captain had dis- 
 charged his cargo {Kate Glendinning and Donald Ross, 
 with their bodyguard of Coinneach and Calum, were the 
 only passengers), and was getting under weigh again ; 
 and to do this the more easily he had signalled down 
 to have the engines reversed, while keeping the stern hawser 
 on its stanchion on the pier, so that the bow of the boat 
 should gradually slew round. It was to the man who was 
 in charge of this massive rope that Anna .Chlannach, seeing 
 the steamer was beginning to move, addressed her final 
 and frantic appeal — nay, she even seized him by the arm, 
 and implored him, with loud lamentations, to let her go 
 on the boat. The man, intently watching the captain on 
 the bridge, tided to shake her off; grew more and more 
 impatient of her importunity ; at last he said savagely — 
 
 " To the devil with you and your mother ! — I tell you 
 your mother is dead and buried these three years ! " 
 
 At this Anna Chlannach uttered a piercing shriek — she 
 seemed to reel under the blow, in a wild horror — then, 
 with her hands raised high above her head, she rushed to 
 the end of the quay, and threw herself over, right under 
 the stern-post of the steamer. Donald Ross, startled by 
 that despairing ciy, wheeled round just in time to see her 
 disappear ; and in a moment he was after her, heedless of 
 the fact that the steamer was still backing, the powerful 
 screw churning up the green water into seething and hissing 
 whirlpools. But the captain had seen this swift thing 
 happen ; instantly he recognised the terrible danger ; he 
 rapped down to the engine room " Full speed ahead ! " — 
 while the man in charge of the hawser, who had not seen, 
 taking this for a sufficient signal, slipped the noose off 
 the post, and let the ponderous cable drop into the sea. 
 
 " The raven's death to you, what have you done ! " Archie 
 MacNichol cried, as he ran quickly to the end of the quay, 
 and stared over, his eyes aghast, his Hps ashen-grey. 
 
 The river, nothing visible but the seething and foaming
 
 THE BANABHARD 363 
 
 "Water, with its million million bells of air showing white in 
 the pellucid green. Had the girl been struck down by the 
 revolving screw ? Had Donald Eoss been knocked sense- 
 less by a blow from the heavy cable ? Big Archie pulled 
 off his jacket and flung it aside. He clambered over the 
 edge of the quay, and let himself down until he stood on 
 one of the beams below. His eyes — a fisherman's eyes — 
 were searching those green deeps, that every moment showed 
 more and more clear. 
 
 All this was the work of a second, and so was Archie's 
 quick plunge into the sea Avhen he beheld a dark object 
 rise to the surface, some half-dozen yards away from him — 
 the tangled black hair and the wan face belonging to a 
 quite listless if not lifeless form. It needed but a few 
 j)Owerful strokes to take him along — then one arm was 
 placed under the apparently inanimate body — while with 
 the other he began to fight his way back again to the pier. 
 Of course, bearing such a burden, it was impossible for 
 him to drag himself up to his former position ; he could 
 only cling on to one of the mussel-encrusted beams, waiting 
 for the boat that the people were now hurriedly pushing 
 off from the shore. And if, while bravely hanging on 
 there, he looked back to see if there was no sign of that 
 other one, then he looked in vain : the corpse of the 
 hapless Anna Chlannach was not found until some two 
 days thereafter. 
 
 Meanwhile, this was what was taking place at Lochgarra 
 House. Barbara had come to tell her young mistress, who 
 was lying tired and languid on the sofa, of the arrival of 
 the steamer. 
 
 " Go to the window, Barbara," said she, rather faintly, 
 "and — and tell me who are coming ashore. Maybe you 
 can make them out ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, indeed, mem," said Barbara, who had been 
 famous for her eyesight, even among the keepers and 
 stalkers, when she was parlour-maid up at Glen Orme. 
 
 She went to the window. 
 
 "There is Miss Glendinning, mem," said Barbara, in her 
 soft-spoken way; "and glad I am of that : it is not good 
 for Miss Stanley to be so much alone. Yes, and INIr. Ross 
 coming ashore too — no, he is going back down the gang-
 
 364 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 way — maybe he is going on to Stornoway ? — no, no, I 
 think he is only calling something to Coinneach Breac, and 
 the lad Calum — and they are carrying a portmanteau. 
 And there is Anna Chlannach going from the one to the 
 other on the quay — yes, and IMr. Ross now speaking to 
 her — and Miss Glendiiming speaking to the Minister. 
 And now Mr. Ross speaking to the Minister — and — and 
 Miss Glendinning watching the steamer — ay, just waiting 
 to see her go aweh . . . Oh, mem !— oh, mem ! — there is 
 something happening on the quay ! " exclaimed Barbara, 
 in terrified accents. " The people are running — and I am 
 not seeing Mr. Ross anywhere — and they are shoving out 
 
 a boat from the shore " 
 
 "What is it!— what is it, Barbara! Tell me! — tell 
 
 me ! " 
 
 " Oh, mem, do not be afraid," cried Barbara, even amidst 
 her own wild alarm. " There's a boat going out — oh, yes, 
 they are pulling hard — they will be at the end of the quay 
 in a moment or two — and the people are all looking over — 
 oh, yes, yes, mem, if anyone is in the water, they have 
 found him — and — and the boat — now the boat has gone 
 by the end of the quay, and I am not seeing it any more- 
 yes, yes, it is there now — and they are coming this way, 
 mem — they will be coming into the slip — oh, yes — I am 
 sure they have got the one that was in the water — and 
 Big Archie in the stern of the boat, mem — and the people 
 now running to meet them at the slip — now it is Big 
 Archie that is lifting the one out of the stern of the 
 
 boat " Suddenly Barbara uttered a plaintive cry, 
 
 " Oh, Dyeea, it is the young master himself ! " 
 
 "What do you say? Mr. Ross? What has happened, 
 Barbara ? " She struggled to her feet, pale and shudder- 
 ing ; and Barbara was at her side in at instant. " Quick, 
 Barbara ! — come with me ! — help me ! — I must go down to 
 the slip — your arm, Barbara — help me ! — quick, quick " 
 
 And so, with trembling limbs and dazed eyes — dazed by 
 the fear of some dread unknown thing — she managed to 
 cross the hall and get down the steps and across the road. 
 It was but a short distance to the slip. The little crowd 
 made way on her approach : and there, lying extended on 
 the stone, she beheld the senseless body of her lover, while
 
 THE BANABHARD 365 
 
 the big fisherman, kneehng, was making such examination 
 as was possible. Big Archie rose at once. 
 
 " Oh, he will be ahl right directly, mem — I'm sure of 
 it ! — he has been struck on the back of the head — mebbe 
 by the keel of the steamer " 
 
 She paid no heed to him — no, nor to any who were 
 standing there. She threw herself on her knees beside the 
 prostrate figure ; with her warm hands she pushed back 
 the coal-black tangled hair ; she bent down close to him ; 
 she spoke to him, almost in a whisper — but with a passionate 
 tenderness that might have thrilled the dead. 
 
 " Donald ! — speak to me ! — tell me I have not killed 
 you ! — I sent you away — yes — but my heart has cried for 
 you to come back — speak to me ! — speak to me ! — Donald ! 
 — do you not hear me % — Donald " 
 
 Was it the touch of her warm, trembling fingers about 
 his face, or was it the low-breathing, piteous cry of her 
 voice that seemed to stir his pulses and call him slowly 
 back to life ? The eyelids opened wearily — to find this 
 wonderful vision hanging over him, and they seemed to rest 
 there and understand. 
 
 " Mo-lua I " * he murmured. 
 
 She did not know the meaning of the phrase ; but the 
 look in his eyes was enough. She held his hand as they 
 
 carried him up to the house. 
 
 ***** 
 
 It was on a clear and white-shining morning in the 
 following spring that Donald Ross and his newly-wedded 
 bride were walking arm in arm through the budding larch- 
 woods, the sun Avarm on the green bracken, on the golden 
 furze, and on the grey rocks. She was angry with him ; 
 though the anger did not show much in her dimpled and 
 fresh-tinted cheeks, nor yet in her eyes, where the love- 
 light lay only half-concealed by the modest lashes. 
 
 "It is a pestilent language ! " she was saying, with 
 frowning brows. " I do believe the heavens and the earth 
 shall pass away before I become thoroughly acquainted 
 with that awful grammar ; and iinless, as Barbara says, 
 I ' have the Gaelic,' how am I to get into proper relation- 
 
 * Mo-luaiclh — My dearest one, or my most-prized one.
 
 366 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 ship with the people about here 1 — yes, and how am I to 
 be sure that you are not stealing away their hearts from 
 me ? Oh, it is a very pretty trick, the stealing away of 
 hearts — you are rather clever at it," said she, with downcast 
 and smiling eyes. 
 
 ^^ Mo-ghaol,'" said he (and there were some Gaelic phrases, 
 at least, of which she had by this time got to know the 
 meaning well enough), " I thought you were going to let 
 me be your interpreter." 
 
 " Why do you not begin, then 1 Where are the verses 
 that Mrs. Armour sent 1 " she said. " You promised you 
 would write out a translation for me." 
 
 " And so I have," he answered her — yet with some 
 apparent unwillingness. " I have written out a transla- 
 tion, in a kind of way, because you insisted on it. But it 
 is a shame. For the Gaelic is a most expressive language ; 
 and all the subtlety and grace of the original escape when 
 you come down to a literal rendering in English. Besides, 
 what skill have I in such things ? If you like, I will 
 send it to the editor of the Celtic Magazine, and ask him 
 to get it properly translated — he has printed some of 
 Mrs. Armour's pieces before now — in Gaelic, of course " 
 
 " I want your version — none other," she said, impera- 
 tively. 
 
 " Very well, very well ; I will read it to you," said he, 
 taking a sheet of paper ivom. his pocket. " Here is a seat 
 for you." 
 
 It was a rock mostly covered by soft green moss ; and 
 when she had seated herself, he threw himself down on the 
 bracken by her side, ^leaning his head against her knee. 
 And this is what the old dame out there in Canada had 
 sent them as her humble wedding gift — perhaps, as to the 
 form of it, with some recollection of the song of the Princess 
 Deirdri influencing her unequal Knes : — 
 
 I am far from the land of my fathers. 
 
 I sit and mourn because of the great distance. 
 
 My old age brings me no comfort. 
 
 Since I am far from my own land. 
 
 My eyes strain across the loide ocean. 
 I see the lofty hills, and the peahs, and the glens; 
 J see the carries where the wide-antlered deer loander. 
 Joyful to me ivas my youth there.
 
 THE BANABHARD 367 
 
 1 zee the ivoods, deep sheltered ; 
 
 I see the rivers flowing hy the rochs ; 
 
 I see the sandy bays, and the headlands; 
 
 I see the sun [^setting'] behind Eilean Heimra. 
 
 Ru-Minard, O Ru-Minard ! — 
 
 Tlie promontory facing the great waves : 
 
 Often as a girl have I sate and watched the ships, 
 
 Singing to myself on Ru-Minard. 
 
 LochSeimra, Loch-Heimra ! — 
 Pleasant its shores, tvith the many birches ; 
 Sweet were the youtliful moments I spent watching 
 For one that I used to meet by Loch-Heimra. 
 
 Lochgarra, Loch gar r a ! — 
 
 The fair town — the Town of the Big House — 
 
 " I wonder if the Americans know the meaning of Balti- 
 more ? " he said ; and then he went on again — 
 
 Dear to me were my friends, happy the hours 
 We spent together at Lochgarra. 
 
 But to-day there is no more of mourning; 
 To-day my old age is comforted; 
 To-day I lift up my voice, I send a message 
 Across the sea to the dear one of my heart. 
 
 Well I remember him, the young boy fearless; 
 Fearless on the land, fearless on the sea; 
 Clinging the crags seehing the ravens' nests. 
 Proud was I of Young Donald 
 
 " There are some more verses about me," he again 
 interpolated. " I will skip them." 
 
 "You shall not," she said. " Not a single word." 
 
 " Oh, how can I read all this about myself !" he protested. 
 
 " Well, then, give me the paper," said she, and she }eant 
 over and took it from him. Nor did she return it. She 
 read right on to the end— though not aloud — 
 
 My eyes have beheld him come to man's estate. 
 Proudly I name him : Donald, son of John, son of Roderick. 
 Of the ancient Clan Anrias, high he holds his head. 
 Joyful were my eyes when I beheld him. 
 
 Swift and alert, firm-sinewed as a man. 
 Laughing and light-hearted : dangerous to his foe. 
 Strong as an eagle to choose his mate, 
 Strong likewise to defend her. 
 
 Bold-eyed and resolute ; confident at the helm ; 
 Long-enduring ; scornfid of danger. 
 Small his possessions, but rich-cliambered his mind: 
 Wealth has he other than Eilean Heimra.
 
 368 DONALD ROSS OF HEIMRA 
 
 I see the people as they go along the road : 
 Their regard is turned upon Yoimg Donald; 
 There is deep love in their hosom for him ; 
 They wish him many days and prosperity. 
 
 I see her whom he has chosen : 
 
 The lady of the Big House near to the trees: 
 
 The fair mistress, the beautiful one, 
 
 TJie generous daughter of the Saxon. 
 
 Mild of speech, smiling pleasantly: 
 My heart icas warm towards her ; 
 Much did I hear of the hindness 
 Of the generous, open-handed maiden. 
 
 Tall of stature, graceful in step as a young fawn; 
 Glad was I when I gazed on her ; 
 I regarded her many beauties, and I said — 
 Well has young Bonald chosen his mate. 
 
 Now I hear the sound of rejoicings ; 
 
 I hear the festivities wide-echoing ; 
 
 Across the ocean I hear the shouts of the wedding: 
 
 Hail to the young chief of Clan Anrias ! 
 
 The wine-cup is lifted by many hands; 
 
 The bride and bridegroom are smiling among their friends; 
 
 To-night the bonfires tvill blaze on the hills; 
 
 I hear the loud sound of the pipes. 
 
 No gifts have I for the home-coming; 
 
 No amulet of secret virtue; 
 
 But the voice of the woman-bard* is welcome to her chief; 
 
 Young Donald will not despise what I send. 
 
 Salutations and blessings I send : 
 Sappy may his days be with his love : 
 Long years, many friends, a ivarm hearth — 
 These are the things I wish for him. 
 
 For her also the same: 
 
 For her, the chosen one, the fair-haired one, the beautiful Saxon ; 
 
 Many years, and love through all of them. 
 
 For the bride of Young Donald of Ueimra ! 
 
 She carefully folded the paper and pvit it in her pocket. 
 
 "This is to be mine," she said. "For if young Donald 
 despises that message from across the sea, Young Donald's 
 wife does not." 
 
 * Banabhard. 
 
 THE END.
 
 The following is a complete list of the new Balf-Grmen Edition 
 of Mr. Black's Novels, and the probable order of their 
 monthly isfive beginning January 1892. 
 
 A Daughter cl Eeth. (Eeady.) 
 The Strange Adventures of a 
 
 Phaeton (Eeady.) 
 A Princess of Thule. (Beady.) 
 In Silk Attire (Heady.) 
 Silmeny. (Ready.) 
 Madcap Violet. (Ready.) 
 Three Feathers. (Ready. "^ 
 The Maid of Killeena. (Ready.) 
 Gieaa Pastures and Piccadilly 
 
 (Jleady.) 
 Macleod of Dare. (Ready.) 
 Lady Silverdale's Swoetheatt 
 
 (Ready.) 
 White Wings. (Ready.) 
 Sunrise. (Ready.) 
 The Prfautiful Wretch. 
 
 (Ready.) 
 
 Shandon BeUs. (Beady.) 
 Adventures in Thule. (Ready.) 
 Yolande. (Ready.) 
 Judith Shakespeare. (Ready.) 
 The Wise Women of Inverness. 
 
 (Ready.) 
 White Heather. (Ready.) 
 Sabiua Zembra. (Rea'hj.) 
 In. Far Lochaber. (Ready.) 
 The Strange Adventures of a 
 
 Houss-Boat. (Ready.) 
 Ths Penance of John Logau. 
 
 (Ready ) 
 Princo Fortunatus. (Ready.) 
 Donald Eoss of Heimra. 
 
 (Ready.) 
 Stand Fast! Craig-Royston. 
 
 London: SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & COMPANY, LiMrrED, 
 
 St. Ijuxstak's House, Fictteu L.^.Mi.
 
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