man. I must
have been struck on the head by the advancing boat. That mattered
little--the sturdy old ferryman saved us both; and for a few days the
artist had the best room in mither's shieling.

'And this, dear lady, turned out to be--as I dare say you have guessed--my
fairy godfather. He went back to Buenos Ayres, taking me as servant. He is
here now. I saw him but yesterday, and we are still the fastest friends.

'But, boys, do not let me deceive you. Mr. Power was not rich; all he
could do for me was to pay my passage out, and let me trust to Providence
for the rest.

'I worked at anything I could get to do for a time, principally holding
horses in the street, for you know everybody rides here. But I felt sure
enough that one day, or some day, a settler would come who could value the
services of an honest, earnest Scottish boy.

'And come the settler did. He took me away, far away to the west, to a
wild country, but one that was far too flat and level to please me, who
had been bred and born among the grand old hills of Scotland.

'Never mind, I worked hard, and this settler--a Welshman he
was--appreciated my value, and paid me fairly well. The best of it was
that I could save every penny of my earnings.

'Yes, boys, I roughed it more than ever you'll have to do, though remember
you'll have to rough it too for a time. You don't mind that, you say.
Bravely spoken, boys. Success in the Silver Land rarely fails to fall to
him who deserves it.

'Well, in course of time I knew far more about sheep and cattle-raising
than my master, so he took me as a partner, and since then I have done
well. We changed our quarters, my partner and I. We have now an excellent
steading of houses, and a grand place for the beasts.'

'And to what qualities do you chiefly attribute your success?' said my
aunt.

'Chiefly,' replied Moncrieff, 'to good common-sense, to honest work and
perseverance. I'm going back home in a week or two, as soon as I get
married and my mither gets the "swimming" out of her head. She says she
still feels the earth moving up and down with her; and I don't wonder, an
auld body like her doesn't stand much codging about.

'Well, you see, boys, that I, like yourselves, had one advantage to begin
with. You have a bit o' siller--I got a fairy godfather. But if I had a
year to spare I'd go back to Scotland and lecture. I'd tell them all my
own ups and downs, and I'd end by saying that lads or young men, with
pl