Mither
and mysel', and----"

"They are yours. Let no one put you oot o' your right. Willie will
bring the feesh to you--the finest I hae in my nets--and when they are
kippered, he'll go to the town wi' you, and carry your basket."

"That is all I need, Norman, and I am vera gratefu' for your
kindness."

"And I'll be walking through the shed, to see that a' is right. And if
anything is beyont you, sister, you'll send Willie for me."

Christine could not speak, but she put her hand in his, and the look
on her lovely face filled his eyes with tears. "You are wonderfu'
like Mither this afternoon, Christine," he said softly. And both were
silent a little while. When he spoke next, it was of Neil--"Hae ye had
a word frae the lad yet?" he asked.

"Not one, nor from the lass he married. I don't know what to think."

"Weel, it is as easy to think good, as evil. If we dinna thing wrang,
we won't do wrang. Thinking no evil! That is what the Good Book
advises. The puir lad was spoiled i' the making. If he comes back to
any o' us, he will come back to you, Christine. There was the son, wha
left his hame, in the gospels--ye ken how he was treated?"

"Whenever Neil comes hame, Norman, he will hae a loving welcome from
Christine."

"The puir lad made a mistake wi' his marriage. That is the warst of a'
mistakes. No man wins o'er it. It is the bitter drop in a' he eats and
drinks, it is the pebble in his shoe, whether he warks or plays. Neil
willna come hame till sorrow drives him here--then?"

"I'll do all that love can do, Norman."

"And call on me, if you think it needfu'."

The very next day Christine went to see her mother's customers.
The idea of Nancy Baird's stepping into her mother's shoes was
intolerable. "I'll not thole a thing like that! It settles the
question to me! If I didna need the money, I would kipper the
herrin', but I'm needing the money, and the herrin' are my lawfu'
venture." So to the town she went, and even far exceeded her usual
orders. She was much elated by her success, and immediately began
to prepare her mother's place for the work before her. It caused
much talk in the village, but it prevented the Baird woman's taking
unauthorized possession of Christine's place in the curing-shed.

Then while she was waiting and watching for the fish, she got a letter
from Cluny. He was at home again. He was coming to Culraine on
Saturday. He would be there by noon, and he would remain in Culraine
until M