orn. Nae man can prophecee hoo it 'ill end, but
ae thing is certain, a'll no see deith tak a Drumtochty man afore his
time if a' can help it.

"Noo, Bell ma wumman, yir near deid wi' tire, an' nae wonder. Ye've dune
a' ye cud for yir man, an' ye'll lippen (trust) him the nicht tae
Drumsheugh an' me; we 'ill no fail him or you.

"Lie doon an' rest, an' if it be the wull o' the Almichty a'll wauken ye
in the mornin' tae see a livin' conscious man, an' if it be ither-wise
a'll come for ye the suner, Bell," and the big red hand went out to the
anxious wife. "A' gie ye ma word."

Bell leant over the bed, and at the sight of Saunders' face a
superstitious dread seized her.

"See, doctor, the shadow of deith is on him that never lifts. A've seen
it afore, on ma father an' mither. A' canna leave him, a' canna leave
him."

[Illustration: "BELL LEANT OVER THE BED"]

"It's hoverin', Bell, but it hesna fallen; please God it never wull.
Gang but and get some sleep, for it's time we were at oor work.

"The doctors in the toons hae nurses an' a' kinds o' handy apparatus,"
said MacLure to Drumsheugh when Bell had gone, "but you an' me 'ill need
tae be nurse the nicht, an' use sic things as we hev.

"It 'ill be a lang nicht and anxious wark, but a' wud raither hae ye,
auld freend, wi' me than ony man in the Glen. Ye're no feared tae gie a
hand?"

"Me feared? No, likely. Man, Saunders cam tae me a haflin, and hes been
on Drumsheugh for twenty years, an' though he be a dour chiel, he's a
faithfu' servant as ever lived. It's waesome tae see him lyin' there
moanin' like some dumb animal frae mornin' tae nicht, an' no able tae
answer his ain wife when she speaks.

"Div ye think, Weelum, he hes a chance?"

"That he hes, at ony rate, and it 'ill no be your blame or mine if he
hesna mair."

While he was speaking, MacLure took off his coat and waistcoat and hung
them on the back of the door. Then he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt
and laid bare two arms that were nothing but bone and muscle.

"It gar'd ma very blood rin faster tae the end of ma fingers juist tae
look at him," Drumsheugh expatiated afterwards to Hillocks, "for a' saw
noo that there was tae be a stand-up fecht atween him an' deith for
Saunders, and when a' thocht o' Bell an' her bairns, a' kent wha wud
win.

"'Aff wi' yir coat, Drumsheugh,' said MacLure; 'ye 'ill need tae bend
yir back the nicht; gither a' the pails in the hoose and fill them at
the spring, a