red to Hamish
that Angus Dhu should neither "make nor meddle" in their affairs. They
must cling together, and do the best they could, till Allister should
come home, whatever Angus Dhu might say.

That her mother might yield to persuasion on this point, she thought
possible; for the widow had lost courage, and saw only the darker side
of their affairs. But Shenac stoutly declared that day to Hamish that
no one should be suffered to persuade her mother to the breaking of her
heart. No one had a right to interfere in their affairs further than
should be welcome to them all. For her part, she was not afraid of
Angus Dhu, nor of Elder McMillan, nor of any one else, when it came to
the question of breaking up their home and sending them, one here and
another there, away from the mother.

Shenac felt very strong and brave as she said all this to Hamish; and
yet when, as it was growing dark that night, she saw Elder McMillan
opening their gate, her first impulse was to run away. She did not,
however, but said to herself, "Now is the time to stand by my mother,
and help her to resist the elder's efforts to get little Hugh away from
us." Besides, she could not go away without being seen, and it would
look cowardly; so she placed herself behind the little wheel which the
mother had left for a moment, and when the elder came in she was as busy
and as quiet as (in his frequently-expressed opinion) it was the bounden
duty of all young women to be.

Now, there was nothing in the whole round of Shenac's duties so
distasteful to her as spinning on the little wheel. The constant and
unexciting employment for hands and mind that spinning afforded, and
perhaps the pleasant monotony of the familiar humming of the wheel,
always exerted a soothing influence on the mother; and one of the first
things that had given them hope of her recovery after the shock of the
burning of the house was her voluntary bringing out of the wheel. But
it was very different with Shenac. The strength and energy so
invaluable to her in her household work or her work in the fields were
of no avail to her here. To sit following patiently and constantly the
gradual forming and twisting of the thread, did not suit her as it did
her mother; and watchful and excited as she was that night, she could
hardly sit quiet while the elder went through his usual salutations to
her mother and the rest.

He was in no haste to make known his errand, if he had one, and