a long spell without speaking. 'I don't know when
I've enjoyed myself so much; I've got quite out of the way of being
happy lately, and hardly know the taste of it. How lovely it would be
if you and Jim could always stay at home like this, and we could do our
work happy and comfortable together, without separating, and all this
deadly fear of something terrible happening, that's never out of my
mind. Oh! Dick, won't you promise me to stop quiet and work steady at
home, if you--if you and Jim haven't anything brought against you?'

She bent forward and looked into my face as she said this. I could see
her eyes shine, and every word she said seemed to come straight from her
heart. How sad and pitiful she looked, and we felt for a moment just as
we did when we were boys, and she used to come and persuade us to go on
with our work and not grieve mother, and run the risk of a licking from
father when he came home.

Her mare, Lowan, was close alongside of my horse, stepping along at her
fast tearing walk, throwing up her head and snorting every now and then,
but Aileen sat in her saddle better than some people can sit in a chair;
she held the rein and whip together and kept her hand on mine till I
spoke.

'We'll do all we can, Aileen dear, for you and poor mother, won't we,
Jim?' I felt soft and down-hearted then, if ever I did. 'But it's too
late--too late! You'll see us now and then; but we can't stop at home
quiet, nor work about here all the time as we used to do. That day's
gone. Jim knows it as well as me. There's no help for it now. We'll have
to do like the rest--enjoy ourselves a bit while we can, and stand up to
our fight when the trouble comes.'

She took her hand away, and rode on with her rein loose and her head
down. I could see the tears falling down her face, but after a bit she
put herself to rights, and we rode quietly up to the door. Mother was
working away in her chair, and father walking up and down before the
door smoking.

When we were letting go the horses, father comes up and says--

'I've got a bit of news for you, boys; Starlight's been took, and the
darkie with him.'

'Where?' I said. Somehow I felt struck all of a heap by hearing this.
I'd got out of the way of thinking they'd drop on him. As for Jim,
he heard it straight enough, but he went on whistling and patting the
mare's neck, teasing her like, because she was so uneasy to get her
head-stall off and run after the others.

'Why, in