you have yet to see about here? I was to
take you in the _Umpire_ to Skye; and we had many a talk about the
Lewis, too."

"Thank you very much," said she, demurely. "I am sure you have been most
kind to us; but--the fact is--I think we must leave on Tuesday."

"On Tuesday!" said he; but it was only for an instant that he winced.
Again he roused himself--for he was talking in the presence of his
mother and the cousin Janet--"You have not been quite fair to us," said
he cheerfully; "you have not given yourself time to make our
acquaintance. Are you determined to go away as you came--the Fionaghal?
But then, you know, Fionaghal came and stayed among us before she began
to write her songs about the Western Isles; and the next time you come
that must be for a longer time, and you will get to know us all better,
and we will not frighten you any more by taking you on the sea at night
or into the cathedral ruins. Ah!" said he, with a smile lighting up his
face--but it was a constrained gayety altogether. "Do I know now why you
are hurrying away so soon? You want to avoid that trip in the _Umpire_
to the island where I used to think I would like my grave to be--"

"Keith!" said Lady Macleod, with a frown. "How can you repeat that
nonsense! Miss White will think you are mad!"

"It was only an old fancy, mother," said he, gently. "And we were
thinking of going out to one of the Treshnish islands, anyway. Surely it
is a harmless thing that a man should choose out the place of his own
grave, so long as he does not want to be put into it too soon."

"It will be time for you to speak of such things thirty years hence,"
said Lady Macleod.

"Thirty years is a long time," said he; and then he added, lightly, "but
if we do not go out to the Treshnish islands, we must go somewhere else
before the Tuesday; and would you go round to Loch Sunart now? or shall
we drive you to-morrow to see Glen More and Loch Buy? And you must not
leave Mull without visiting our beautiful town--and capital--that is
Tobermory."

Every one was quite surprised and pleased to find Macleod taking the
sudden departure of his sweetheart in this fashion; it showed that he
had abundant confidence in the future. And if Miss White had her own
thoughts about the matter, it was at all events satisfactory to her that
outwardly Macleod and she were parting on good terms.

But that evening he happened to find her alone for a few moments; and
all the forced cheerfulnes