ether. But he did not tell her that he made
an errand round behind the camp lest Mr Maxwell should see the tears
that came rushing to his eyes; nor did he tell her anything that was
said after that.

Indeed, there was but a word or two about the Lord and Master, whose
claims to a loving loyalty are supreme, words which Davie never forgot,
and only alluded to long afterward, when he and Katie found it easier to
talk together about such things. And that the minister had not put
their friendship in jeopardy, Katie plainly saw.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

MR FLEMING'S TROUBLES.

A few days after the minister's talk with Davie, the squire and Miss
Elizabeth came to pay a visit at Ythan Brae. The squire's visits were
rare now, and his coming gave them all pleasure; and as the day was
fine, and the old man expressed a wish to go to the sugar-place, they
lost no time after dinner in setting out.

The squire and Mr Fleming went in Mr Holt's buggy, as far as it could
be taken, but Mrs Fleming went, with Miss Elizabeth and Katie, the near
way through the fields. It was an afternoon long to be remembered.
Katie could not tell which she liked best, the walk up the hill with
these two, or the walk home again with Davie when he told her of Mr
Maxwell's talk with him in the wood. It was pleasant sitting in the
sunshine too, and listening to the old squire, and grannie, and them
all, and if there had been nothing else to delight her, it would have
been enough to see Davie behave so well. For Davie did not think so
much of Miss Elizabeth's friendship as Katie did, and did not as a
general thing take so much pains as she thought he ought to do to be
polite to her friend. But to-day Davie, in his sister's opinion, was
kind and "nice" to them all. They heard the sharp ring of his axe as
they went up through the pasture, and when they came in among the trees
they heard him singing merrily to himself. He made much of grannie,
whose first visit it was for the season, and when he heard that his
grandfather and Mr Holt were coming by the road, he went off with great
strides, like a young giant, to meet them before they should reach a
certain hole in the wood road which was deeper than it looked, and where
possibly they might have to alight and leave the buggy. By and by he
came back with them, carrying the squire's great coat, which he had
found heavy in coming up the hill. Then with some boards and an old
buffalo-skin and quilt fro