Drumtochty did not laugh. Drumtochty looked as if it could have done quite otherwise for joy. “A’ wud hae made a third gin a’ hed been there,” announced Hillocks aggressively. “Come on, Drumsheugh,” said Jamie Soutar, “gie’s the end o’t; it wes a michty mornin’.” “‘We’re twa auld fules,’ says MacLure tae me, as he gaithers up his claithes. ‘It wud set us better tae be tellin’ Bell.’ “She was sleepin’ on the top o’ her bed wrapped in a plaid, fair worn oot wi’ three weeks’ nursin’ o’ Saunders, but at the first touch she was oot upon the floor. “‘Is Saunders deein’, doctor?’ she cries. ‘Ye promised tae wauken me; dinna tell me it’s a’ ower.’ “There’s nae deein’ aboot him, Bell; ye’re no tae lose yir man this time, sae far as a’ can see. Come ben an’ jidge for yersel’." “Bell lookit at Saunders, and the tears of joy fell on the bed like rain. “‘The shadow’s lifted,’ she said; ‘he’s come back frae the mooth o’ the tomb. “‘A’ prayed last nicht that the Lord wud leave Saunders till the laddies cud dae for themselves, an’ thae words came intae ma mind, “Weepin’ may endure for a nicht, but joy cometh in the mornin’.” “‘The Lord heard ma prayer, and joy hes come in the mornin’,’ an’ she gripped the doctor’s hand. “‘Ye’ve been the instrument, Doctor MacLure. Ye wudna gie him up, and ye did what nae ither cud for him, an’ a’ve ma man the day, and the bairns hae their father.’ “An’ afore MacLure kent what she was daein’, Bell lifted his hand to her lips an’ kissed it.” “Did she, though?” cried Jamie. “Wha wud hae thocht there wes as muckle spunk in Bell?” “MacLure, of coorse, was clean scandalised,” continued Drumsheugh, “an’ pooed awa’ his hand as if it hed been burned. “Nae man can thole that kind o’ fraikin’, and a’ never heard o’ sic a thing in the parish, but we maun excuse Bell, neeburs; it wes an occasion by ordinar,” and Drumsheugh made Bell’s apology to Drumtochty for such an excess of feeling. “A’ see naethin’ tae excuse,” insisted Jamie, who was in great fettle that Sabbath; “the doctor hes never been burdened wi’ fees, and a’m judgin’ he coonted a wumman’s gratitude that he saved frae weedowhood the best he ever got.” “A’ gaed up tae the Manse last nicht,” concluded Drumsheugh, “an’ telt the minister hoo the doctor focht aucht oors for Saunders’ life, an’ won, an’ ye never saw a man sae carried. He walkit up an’ doon the room a’ the time, and every other meenut he blew his nose like a trumpet. “‘I’ve a cold in my head to-night, Drumsheugh,’ says he; ‘never mind me.’” “A’ve hed the same masel’ in sic circumstances; they come on sudden,” said Jamie. “A’ wager there ’ill be a new bit in the laist prayer the day, an’ somethin’ worth hearin’.” And the fathers went into kirk in great expectation.