lly, "she isn't a hundert years auld, but
she's auld, and she was proke, and ta wint whustled when she plew, but
she's chust mended, and to-morrow--ah, to-morrow!"

"Yes; we're going fishing," said Kenneth, who was enjoying Max's
shrinking way.

"Chust going to fush," said the old man, who was gazing searchingly at
Max. "And she likes ta music and ta pipes? She shall hear them then."

"Yes, get them mended, Donald; we want to hear them again."

"P'raps she could chust make enough music the noo."

Kenneth laughed as he saw Max's horror, for the old man began hastily to
twist up the wax end with which he had been binding one of the cracked
pipes; but he laid his hand on his shoulder.

"No, no; not this morning. Get them all right, Donald."

"Yes; she was ketting them all right," he muttered, and he began with
trembling fingers to unfasten the waxed thread.

At a sign from his companion, Max hurriedly followed him to the doorway.

"We'll go up on the top another time," said Kenneth. "There's such a
view, and you can walk nearly all round the tower, only you have to be
careful, or over you go."

Max gave a horrified glance up the crumbling staircase, and then
followed Kenneth, who began to descend with all the ease of one long
accustomed to the dark place.

"Take care here!" he kept on saying, as they came to the awkward places,
where Max felt as if he would give anything for a candle, but he
mastered his timidity, and contrived to pass over the different gaps in
the stairs safely.

"How does that old man manage?" he asked, as he drew breath freely at
the bottom.

"Manage? Manage what?"

"Does he always stay there?"

"What! Old Donald? Why, he cuts up and down there as quickly as I
can."

"Then he is not always there?"

"Not he. Too fond of a good peat fire. He lives and sleeps at Long
Shon's. But come along."

He hurried Max out of the quadrangle and down toward the narrow neck of
rock which was uncovered by the falling tide, and then along by a sandy
path, which passed two or three low whitewashed bothies, from whose
chimneys rose a faint blue smoke, which emitted a pungent, peculiar
odour.

Suddenly a thought occurred to Kenneth as they were passing one of the
cottages, where a brown-faced, square-looking woman in a white mutch sat
picking a chicken, the feathers floating here and there, and a number of
fowls pecking about coolly enough, and exhibiting not the slightest
alarm at their