women of
Culraine cared whether Neil Ruleson won his degree or not. Such
pleasure as they felt in his success was entirely for his father's
sake.

And Margot was content that it should be so. She was not heart-pleased
with Neil, and not inclined to discuss his plans with her neighbors.
She noticed also that Neil's father had nothing to say about his son's
success, and that if the subject was introduced, it was coldly met and
quickly banished.

It hurt Christine. Her life had been so intermingled with Neil's
hopes and plans, she could not let them drop unnoticed from her
consciousness. "Why do you say naething anent Neil, Mither?" she
asked one wet morning, when the boats were in harbor, and Ruleson had
gone down to the new schoolhouse.

"Weel, Christine, I hae said a' there is to say."

"Were you really disappointed, Mither?"

"In a way."

"But Neil succeeded."

"In a way."

"What way, Mither?"

"His ain way. He has been vera successful i' that way, sin' the day he
was born. A wee, shrunken, puny infant he was, but he hes been a bit
too much for us all--and there's seven big men in our family, forbye
mysel' and Christine. Whiles I had a glimmering o' the real lad, but
maistly I did the lad's way--like the rest o' us."

"You said he was kind to you and Feyther."

"He hed to be. It's a law, like the laws o' the Medes and Persians,
in Aberdeen, that lads takin' honors should pay great attention to
their feythers and mithers. Some were auld and poor--far poorer than
fisher-folk ever are--they had worked, and starved, and prayed for
their lads, and they were going about Aberdeen streets, linked on
their lads' arms, and all o' them like to cry wi' joy. Neil had to do
like the lave, but I let his feyther gae his lane wi' him. I wasna
carin' to mak' a show o' mysel'."

"Then you shouldna blame Neil, Mither."

"Should I not? I do, though."

"What did he do wrang?"

"He did little right, and that little he had nae pleasure in. I know!
He should hae spent the evening wi' his feyther and mysel', and told
us what plans he had made for the future, but he went to the Raths'
and left us alane. He had promised all along to come hame wi' us, and
spend a few weeks wi' the boats--your feyther is short-handed since
Cluny Macpherson went awa'--and there's little doing in the law
business during July and August, but he said he had an invite to the
Raths' house on the Isle of Arran, and with them he has gane."

"I'm so