"Steady, lass, steady, dinna plunge; it's a drift we're in, but ye're no sinkin'; ... up noo; ... there ye are on the road again. "Eh, it's deep the nicht, an' hard on us baith, but there's a puir wumman micht dee if we didna warstle through; ... that's it; ye ken fine what a'm sayin'. "We 'ill hae tae leave the road here, an' tak tae the muir. Sandie 'ill no can leave the wife alane tae meet us; ... feel for yersel', lass, and keep oot o' the holes. "Yon's the hoose black in the snaw. Sandie! man, ye frichtened us; a' didna see ye ahint the dyke; hoo's the wife?" After a while he began again: "Ye're fair dune, Jess, and so a' am masel'; we're baith gettin' auld, an' dinna tak sae weel wi' the nicht wark. "We 'ill sune be hame noo; this is the black wood, and it's no lang aifter that; we're ready for oor beds, Jess; ... ay, ye like a clap at a time; mony a mile we've gaed hegither. "Yon's the licht in the kitchen window; nae wonder ye're nickering (neighing); ... it's been a stiff journey; a'm tired, lass ... a'm tired tae deith," and the voice died into silence. Drumsheugh held his friend's hand, which now and again tightened in his, and as he watched, a change came over the face on the pillow beside him. The lines of weariness disappeared, as if God's hand had passed over it; and peace began to gather round the closed eyes. The doctor has forgotten the toil of later years, and has gone back to his boyhood. "The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want," he repeated, till he came to the last verse, and then he hesitated. "Goodness and mercy all my life Shall surely follow me. "Follow me ... and ... and ... what's next? Mither said I wes tae haed ready when she cam. "'A'll come afore ye gang tae sleep, Wullie, but ye 'ill no get yir kiss unless ye can feenish the psalm.' "And ... in God's house ... for evermore my ... hoo dis it rin? a' canna mind the next word ... my, my-- "It's ower dark noo tae read it, an' mither 'ill sune be comin'." Drumsheugh, in an agony, whispered into his ear, "'My dwelling-place,' Weelum." "That's it, that's it a' noo; wha said it? "And in God's house for evermore My dwelling-place shall be. "A'm ready noo, an' a'll get ma kiss when mither comes; a' wish she wud come, for a'm tired an' wantin' tae sleep. "Yon's her step ... an' she's carryin' a licht in her hand; a' see it through the door. "Mither! a' kent ye wudna forget yir laddie, for ye promised tae come, and a've feenished ma psalm. "And in God's house for evermore My dwelling-place shall be. "Gie me the kiss, mither, for a've been waitin' for ye, an' a'll sune be asleep." The grey morning light fell on Drumsheugh, still holding his friend's cold hand, and staring at a hearth where the fire had died down into white ashes; but the peace on the doctor's face was of one who rested from his labours. V THE MOURNING OF THE GLEN