t take the place of it; and
after tea, one of them brought two volumes of ballads of all sorts,
some old, some new, some Scotch, some English, and put them into
Annie's hands, asking her if that book would do. The child eagerly
opened one of the volumes, and glanced at a page: It sparkled with the
right ore of ballad-words. The Red, the colour always of delight, grew
in her face. She closed the book as if she could not trust herself to
look at it while others were looking at her, and said with a sigh:

"Eh, mem! Ye wonna lippen them _baith_ to me?"

"Yes, I will," said Miss Cowie. "I am sure you will take care of them."

"_That--I--will_," returned Annie, with an honesty and determination of
purpose that made a great impression upon Mr Cowie especially. And she
ran home with a feeling of richness of possession such as she had never
before experienced.

Her first business was to scamper up to her room, and hide the precious
treasures in her _kist_, there to wait all night, like the buried dead,
for the coming morning.

When she confessed to Mr Bruce that she had had tea with the minister,
he held up his hands in the manner which commonly expresses amazement;
but what the peculiar character or ground of the amazement might be
remained entirely unrevealed, for he said not a word to elucidate the
gesture.

The next time Annie went to see the minister it was on a very different
quest from the loan of a song-book.

CHAPTER XXIV.

One afternoon, as Alec went home to dinner, he was considerably
surprised to find Mr Malison leaning on one of the rails of the
foot-bridge over the Glamour, looking down upon its frozen surface.
There was nothing supernatural or alarming in this, seeing that, after
school was over, Alec had run up the town to the saddler's, to get a
new strap for one of his skates. What made the fact surprising was,
that the scholars so seldom encountered the master anywhere except in
school. Alec thought to pass, but the moment his foot was on the bridge
the master lifted himself up, and faced round.

"Well, Alec," he said, "where have _you_ been?"

"To get a new strap for my skatcher," answered Alec.

"You're fond of skating--are you, Alec?"

"Yes, sir."

"I used to be when I was a boy. Have you had your dinner?"

"No, sir."

"Then I suppose your mother has not dined, either?"

"She never does till I go home, sir."

"Then I won't intrude upon her. I did mean to call this afternoon