ore "church went in." In the center of the
group stood Ranald and Don, with Murdie, Don's eldest brother, a huge,
good-natured man, beside them, and Peter Ruagh, with his cousin Aleck,
and others of the clan. Ranald was standing, pale and silent, with his
head thrown back, as his manner was when in passion. The talk was mainly
between Aleck and Murdie, the others crowding eagerly about and putting
in a word as they could. Murdie was reasoning good-humoredly, Aleck
replying fiercely.

"It was good enough for him," Mrs. Murray heard Don interject, in a
triumphant tone, to Murdie. But Murdie shut him off sternly.

"Whisht, Don, you are not talking just now."

Don was about to reply when he caught sight of Mrs. Murray. "Here's the
minister's wife," he said, in a low tone, and at once the group parted
in shamefaced confusion. But Murdie kept his face unmoved, and as Mrs.
Murray drew slowly near, said, in a quiet voice of easy good-humor, to
Aleck, who was standing with a face like that of a detected criminal:
"Well, we will see about it to-morrow night, Aleck, at the post-office,"
and he faced about to meet Mrs. Murray with an easy smile, while Aleck
turned away. But Mrs. Murray was not deceived, and she went straight to
the point.

"Murdie," she said, quietly, when she had answered his greeting, "will
you just come with me a little; I want to ask you about something."
And Murdie walked away with her, followed by the winks and nods of the
others.

What she said Murdie never told, but he came back to them more
determined upon peace than ever. The difficulty lay, not with the
good-natured Peter, who was ready enough to settle with Ranald, but with
the fiery Aleck, who represented the non-respectable section of the
clan McRae, who lived south of the Sixteenth, and had a reputation for
wildness. Fighting was their glory, and no one cared to enter upon a
feud with any one of them. Murdie had interfered on Ranald's behalf,
chiefly because he was Don's friend, but also because he was unwilling
that Ranald should be involved in a quarrel with the McRaes, which he
knew would be a serious affair for him. But now his strongest reason for
desiring peace was that he had pledged himself to the minister's wife
to bring it about in some way or other. So he took Peter off by himself,
and without much difficulty, persuaded him to act the magnanimous part
and drop the quarrel.

With Ranald he had a harder task. That young man was prepar