have done
well by the land, and will yet, and give you what is just and right for
the use of it till your brother comes. But for what am I saying all
this to children like you? It is your mother that must decide it."

Accordingly, before the mother the matter was laid; but it was not the
mother who decided it. Shenac could hardly sit still while he spoke of
the time that might pass before Allister should come home. But when he
went on to say that, unless they had more help, the boys and Shenac
could not manage more land than they had already, she felt that it was
true. Hamish thought so too, and said heartily to Angus Dhu that the
land would be better under his care till Allister should come.

Dan was indignant. He felt himself equal to anything, and declared
that, with two men at his disposal, he could make the farm look like a
different place. But the rest had less faith in Dan than he had in
himself. He did not conceal his disgust at the idea of creeping on
through another summer in the old, quiet way, and talked of leaving it
to Hamish and Shenac and seeking work somewhere else. But they knew
very well he would never do that, now that Allister might be home among
them any day; and he did not. There was no pulling down of the fence,
however. It stood as firm as ever; but it was not an eyesore to Shenac
now.

The spring passed, and the summer wore away slowly, for there was no
more word of Allister. Shenac did not weary herself with field-work, as
she had done the last two years; for she felt that they might get help
now, and, besides, she was needed more in the house. Her mother had
allowed herself to think that only a few weeks would pass before she
should see her first-born, and the waiting and suspense told upon her
sadly. It told upon Shenac, too. In spite of her declaration to
Hamish, she did feel anxious and discouraged many a time. Hamish was
ill again, not always able to see to things; and Dan was not proving
himself equal to the emergency, now that he was having his own way
out-of-doors. That would not matter much, if Allister were come. He
would set all things right again, and Dan would not be likely to resist
his oldest brother's lawful authority.

But if Allister did not come soon? Shenac shrank from this question.
If he did not come soon, she would have something else to think about
besides Dan's delinquencies. Her mother could not endure this suspense
much longer. It was wearin