this land that it
will be coming upon. For there will be the drink and the fighting, and
there will be no minister, and no house of the Lord, for we will be in
the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.

"Yes, we must be praying, praying night and day, and maybe that the
Lord in His mercy will be sending us a minister; for if He will not be
visiting us in His mercy, He will be coming in His wrath, and who shall
stand in the day of His judgment?"

Weaver Jimmie flung one leg over the other nervously. Long Lauchie
sighed, and Store Thompson murmured, "Undeniable, undeniable." But Big
Malcolm sat staring at the speaker as if fascinated. Praying Donald's
life of stern piety, and his knowledge of the laws governing human
action, had often enabled him to foresee events, and had given him the
reputation of a prophet. The memory of the scene in which he had so
lately taken part came over Big Malcolm with overwhelming force.

"It is the true word," he whispered, as though smitten with a sudden
fear. "Och, and it will be Malcolm MacDonald that will be visited in
wrath for his sins, whatever!"

"Ye're richt, Donald," said Store Thompson, at length, "what wi' the
whuskey an' the wild goin's on this place is jist in a bad state. But
it's thae Eerish. Man," he continued emphatically, "thae Eerish,
whether Catholic or Protestant, are jist a menace to the country, aye,
jist yon, jist a menace, like!"

"It is the Oa that will be as bad as the Flats," said Praying Donald
relentlessly. "They will be forsaking their God and be following after
their own evil desires!"

Long Lauchie suddenly opened his eyes. He was in the habit of seizing
upon a remark and retiring with it slowly, repeating it over and over
in a lessening whisper until he was lost in the echoing caverns of
imagination, and was wont to emerge from these absent fits suddenly
with the air of a diver who comes to the surface with a great treasure.
He came to life at this moment, his eyes wide open, his manner alert;
"Eh, it will be a fulfilment o' the prophecy o' Jeremiah, 'Out of the
north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.'
Eh, eh, out o' the north--the north--it would perhaps be meaning the
Oa," he whispered fearfully to Weaver Jimmie. "Out of the north--the
north----" His voice gradually died away and he was lost in meditation.

"This place is not like the auld land," said old Sandy Hamilton,
moodily. "Man, we werna