ace the cattle through
the woods with the sure instinct of a sleuth-hound, could distinguish
Spotty's tracks from Cherry's, and might have found his own little
heifer's in the midst of the public highway. But his skill did not
help to make him any more expeditious, for he often forgot his errand
and would lie full length upon the ground, gazing up into the restless,
swishing, green sea above, and dreaming wonderful dreams. Callum
declared he was a lazy little beggar and ought to be cowhided to make
him move, though where one could be found to perform that necessary
operation the MacDonald family were not prepared to say.

That he did not altogether develop into a little savage was entirely
due to Granny's tender care. Nowhere was the influence of her
beautiful character felt so strongly as by the little grandson. She,
who could command her grown-up sons by her mere presence, and who was
slowly but surely transforming Big Malcolm's wild nature, was quietly
moulding the boy's character. Scotty early learned the great lessons
of life, the lessons of truth and right, and was well grounded in the
knowledge of the things that are eternal. He could read the Bible
before he ever entered school, and could repeat the Shorter Catechism
with a rapidity that sometimes alarmed Granny, as savouring of
irreverence. He learned a verse of Scripture by heart every evening of
his life, and the Sabbath was a grand review day.

Sunday was always a red-letter day in Scotty's life, for he generally
had Granny to himself. Not that the others were away; for Big Malcolm,
who generally ruled his household rather laxly, sternly forbade Sabbath
visiting. But the boys wandered off to the barn or the woods after
morning prayers, and Big Malcolm dozed, or smoked, or read his Bible.
And then Granny and her boy would climb the little hillock beside the
house and sit under the Silver Maple. This was a fine position, for
one could see Lake Oro, stretched out there blue and sparkling in its
ring of forest, and far away to the south, a glittering string of
diamonds and turquoise where Lake Simcoe lay smiling in the sun, and
now and then, where a clearing opened the view, the blue flash of the
river. And there, with the soft rustle of the green and silver canopy
above, and around the scent of the clover and the basswood blossoms,
Scotty lay with his head in Granny's lap and heard wonderful stories of
One who sat on a hill and spoke to the multitud