her, she turned round.

"'Will ye aye be my lass yet, Mirren?' and I was proud to see the red
flush rise to her cheeks.

"'How many would that be making, Ronny?' she cried, and came half way
and stopped.

"'Just the one, Mirren,' said I, and opened the gate and came beside
her.

"'Ye will have changed then since last I kent ye.'

"'Indeed, and I think ye're bonnier yoursel', lass, and I would not be
believing that possible,' and we walked to the stable door wi' old
Chance at our heels.

"'They will have surely been teaching you nice talk, the stranger
lassies, Ronny.'

"'Mirren, dear,' said I, and put my hand on her shoulder, 'we will not
be talking that way any more, you and me,' and at the stable door o'
Finlay Stuart's place I put my arm round the shoulders of his proud
lass Mirren, and held her back, and made her look at me.

"'My lass,' said I, 'in a wee while I will be kissing my trysted wife.'

"'Look at the dog, Ronny, first,' said Mirren, but her eyes were
laughing.

"'I will be hearing him without looking away from you,' said I.

"And with that I bent my head to kiss her, but her face was turned away
from me, and even then I was hearing the growling o' the collie, and
wondering where he would be fastening on me. Then with my head quite
close to her, I whispered--

"'Will it not have been any good at all, dear, all my love for you?
Will you be sending me away from you after all?'

"Then as I waited, she said a queer thing--

"'Chance! Chance! _lie down_!' and at that the laughing came on me,
and my own lass turned her dear face to me glowing, and with a look of
mingled pride and shame she looked at me and put her arms round my neck.

"'I will not be a great hand at saying love talk, Ronny,' she
whispered. 'I can just be holding you tight, but take me if ye will be
having so poor a lass, for I will have been loving you all to myself
all the time.'

"And when a wee while was passed and we found ourselves in the stable
(for a lass has always an eye for who may be looking), Mirren Stuart
gave me a look of great scorn, but playfully.

"'It will be as well that one o' us is farmer enough to mind the
beasts,' said she, and went out and took the garron into his stall, for
he had been clean forgot, and stood looking longingly into his stable
and the wind raising a pook o' hair on his tail."

* * * * * *

"Well, when the lassies, Mirren's sisters, were by wi' te