er rhapsody.

But at last he said, suddenly, "Oh, I ken what she means----" And he
drew a long breath. "I suppose we had better go down to the water-side.
She will not come out again, if we wait all night." And he went some way
along the avenue and looked long and hard at one heavy-browed window of
the old house which seemed to be winking at us.

It is a strange thing how love affects different people. You never can
tell beforehand how it will be. I could not have believed that the
presence of a forward lass with black eyebrows could have made a
moonstruck fool of Wildcat Wat of Lochinvar.

He still stood and looked at the window till my patience was ended.

"Come on, man," I cried. "I declare you are not Heather Jock, as she
called you, but Heather Jackass!"

At another time he would have knocked my head off, but now my jesting
affected him no more than a sermon. And this I took to be the worst sign
of all.

"Well, come on then," he said. "You are surely in an accursed sweat of
haste to-night!"

And we took our way down to the water-side, having wasted more than an
hour. We had not advanced far down the pillared avenue of the beech
trees, when suddenly we came in sight of Maisie Lennox. She was coming
slowly towards us along one of the forest roads. At the same time I saw
my mother, walking away from me down a path which led along the side of
the Dee water. She had her back to me, and was going slowly with her
head down. To my shame I ran to meet Maisie Lennox. But first ere I
reached her she said quietly to me, "Have you not seen your mother?"

"Aye," answered I. "She has gone down the road to the water-side."

"Then let no greeting come before your mother's," she said, looking very
ill-pleased at me as I ran forward to take her hand.

So with a flea in my ear I turned me about and went off, somewhat shamed
as you may believe, to find my mother. When I got back to the path on
which I had seen her, I left Wat far behind and ran after my mother,
calling loudly to her.

At the sound of my voice she turned and held up her hands.

"Willie, boy!" she cried.

And in a moment she had me in her arms, crooning over me and making much
of me. She told me also, when she had time to look well at me, that I
was much better in health than when I had lain in the well-house of
Earlstoun.

"And you came first to see your old mother. That was like my ain
Willie!" she said, a word which made me ashamed. So I had no answer