Kenneth was all aglow when he reached Nancy's hut, and his face wet and hot. His hair and the fringes of the plaid and even his eyebrows were covered with ice. He shook the plaid and his bonnet, and folded the former under the porch for Kooran to lie on. Then he opened the latch and entered. All was dark. Not a blink of fire was on the hearth, and long white lines across the floor showed him where the snow had been sifting in through the holes that did duty as windows. Kenneth's heart suddenly felt as cold and heavy as lead. "Nancy," he cried, "Nancy, oh! Nancy." There was a feeble answer from the bed in the corner. He advanced towards it. There were two shining lights there, the cat's eyes. Poor pussy was on the bed watching by her dying mistress. He felt on the coverlet and found Nancy's hand there. It was cold, almost hard. "Nancy," he said, "it is Kennie, your own boy Kennie; don't be afraid." It did not take long for Kenneth to light a roaring fire on the hearth. As soon as it burned up he held the iron lamp over it to melt the frozen oil; then he hung it up. The water in a bucket was frozen, and even some milk that stood on a little table near Nancy's bed was solid. The inside of that cot was dreary in the extreme, but Kenneth soon made it more cheerful. Poor old Nancy smiled her thanks and held out her hand to her boy, as she always called Kennie. He chafed it while he entreated her to tell him how she felt. "Happy! happy! happy!" she replied, "but, poor boy, you are shaking." Kenneth was, and he felt his heart so full that tears would have been a relief, but he wisely restrained himself. He melted and warmed the milk, and made her drink some. Then, at her own request, he raised her up in the bed. "Dinna be sorry," she said, "when poor auld Nancy's in the mools. It is the gate we have a' to gang. But oh! dear boy, it's the gate to glory for poor Nancy. And so it will be for you, laddie, if you never forget to pray. Prayer has been the mainstay and comfort o' my life; God has always been near me, and He's near me now, and will see me safe through the dark waters o' death. Here's a little Bible," she said. "It was Nancy's when young. Keep it for her sake, and oh! never forget to read it. "Now, laddie, can you find your way to Dugald's? Send him here. There is an aulder head on his shoulders than on yours, and I have that to say a man should hear and remember." "I'll go at once," said Kenneth, "and come back soon, and bring the doctor too, Nancy. I won't say good-night, I'll be back so soon." Kenneth gulped down his tears, patted her hand, and rushed away. "Come on, Kooran," he cried. "Oh! Kooran, let us run; my heart feels breaking." He took his way across the moor in a different direction from that in which he had come. The storm had abated somewhat. The wind had gone down, and the moon shone out now and then from a rift in the clouds.