Stories of water-kelpies keep crowding through his mind, and the words and weird music of a song he has heard,-- "Kelpie dwells in a wondrous hall Beneath the shimmering stream; His song is the song of the waterfall, And his light its rainbow gleam. The rowans stoop, And the long ferns droop Their feathery heads in the spray." And now he jumps to his feet. He has recollected himself, he was going for the doctor for poor Nancy, and this is the stream he was looking for. He must seek the ford. He cannot have far to go now. Once over the river, and a run will take him to Dugald's cottage. But stay; what cares he for the ford? He will plunge into the deepest pool, and swim across. He is hot; he is burning; it will cool him. He walks on a little way, and still the kelpie song runs in his brain. The trees seem singing it; the wind keeps singing it; the driving clouds nod to its music. "Where the foam flakes are falling, Falling, falling, falling, Falling for ever and ay--" Ha! here is a deep dark pool at last. Why, yonder is the kelpie himself beckoning to him, and the maiden. "When forest depths were dim, For love of her long golden hair--" The poor dog divines his intention. He rushes betwixt him and the cold black water, uttering a cry that is almost human in its plaintive pathos. Too late. He laughs wildly, and plunges in. Then there is a strange sense of fulness in his head. Sparks crackle across his eyes. "Falling, falling, falling, Foam flakes are--" He remembers no more. But the brave dog has pulled him to the brink, and sits by his side, lifting his chin up towards the sky, and howling most pitifully. Ah! if we only knew how much our faithful dogs love us, and how much they know in times of trouble and anguish, we would be kinder to them even than we are, even now, while sorrow smees far away from us. Presently it appeared to strike even Kooran that giving vent to his grief would result in nothing very practical, so he suddenly ceased to whine. He bent down and licked his master's cold inanimate face. He howled once again after this, as if his very heart were breaking. Then he looked all round him. No help, I suppose, he thought, could come from these cold woods, and no danger. So he emitted one little impatient bark, as if his mind were quite made up as to what he should do, turned tail, and trotted off. CHAPTER EIGHT. KENNETH AND JESSIE. "Will cannot hinder nor keenness foresee What Destiny holds in the darkness for me." Tupper. Scene: Dugald's garden on the cliff top. You have to climb up to it from the road that goes winding through a wooded ravine, up a few steep gravel steps. It is spring-time, and the soft west wind goes sighing through the trees.