exhausted the ready money that had been left by my father or
procured by the sale of the small boat and various articles of
furniture from the old home. To make matters worse--and this it was
that suggested the discussion--Jessie had been down in Stromness on
the previous evening, and there ascertained that the price paid for
straw-plaiting, which was never very high, was to be greatly
reduced.

"I'm sure we're ill enough off already without them cutting us down
at such a rate," said my mother, as she took a sip of tea from her
saucer. "If it had not been for what the dominie brought from
Edinburgh for Hal's silver, we'd have been most hard pressed this
while back. But what we're to do when the winter comes round, I
dinna ken. It's certain we'll not have meal enough to serve us; and
there's the rent to pay, and clothes to get, and nothing coming in
at all."

"Well, mother," said Jessie, "dinna take on so ill about it. We're
not more hard pressed than our neighbours. Look at Janet Ross with
all her bairns, and her rent owing for three terms; and auld Betty
Matthew, at the Croft, who hasna a penny forbye what she gets at
the kelp burning. We have our two bonnie cows, and a score of good
sheep, and all our hens."

"We have all that," replied my mother. "But I'm thinking the sheep
must be sold at Martinmas, or we'll not have much of a living for
winter."

"Then, if you sell the sheep, Halcro will need to go to the
fishing," said Jessie.

"He'll need to get work somewhere. The lad canna aye be idle; and
there's nothing but the fishing for him, I doubt, if he doesna gang
to the piloting with Carver Kinlay."

"No, not that," I said. "I'd rather burn kelp than have anything to
do with him."

So it was agreed that our sheep were to be sold, and that I must
find work of some sort whereby to help the family.

Now, in the afternoon, when they found I did not come back to tea,
they surmised that I had already gone to look for employment at
Kirkwall, and they waited impatiently for my return. After tea my
mother went to the byre to attend to the cows, and Jessie stood for
a long time at the door looking out for me. Seeing no sign of me,
nor of the sheep, she walked in the direction of the North Hill,
there to get a wider prospect. She looked towards every likely
quarter, but the last place she thought of looking at was Kinlay's
clover field. There were some sheep grazing there, but Jessie never
imagined that they were