"It is a little crumbly!" confessed Ian. "--That reminds me, Alister, we must have a bout at the old walls before long!--Ever since Alister was ten years old," he went on in explanation to Christina, "he and I have been patching and pointing at the old hulk--the stranded ship of our poor fortunes. I showed you, did I not, the ship in our coat of arms--the galley at least, in which, they say, we arrived at the island?" "Yes, I remember.--But you don't mean you do mason's work as well as everything else?" exclaimed Christina. "Come; we will show you," said the chief. "What do you do it for?" The brothers exchanged glances. "Would you count it sufficient reason," returned Ian, "that we desired to preserve its testimony to the former status of our family?" A pang of pleasure shot through the heart of Christina. Passion is potent to twist in its favour whatever can possibly be so twisted. Here was an indubitable indication of his thoughts! He must make the most of himself, set what he could against the overwhelming advantages on her side! In the eyes of a man of the world like her father, an old name was nothing beside new money! still an old castle was always an old castle! and that he cared about it for her sake made it to her at least worth something! Ere she could give an answer, Ian went on. "But in truth," he said, "we have always had a vague hope of its resurrection. The dream of our boyhood was to rebuild the castle. Every year it has grown more hopeless, and keeps receding. But we have come to see how little it matters, and content ourselves with keeping up, for old love's sake, what is left of the ruin." "How do you get up on the walls?" asked Mercy. "Ah, that is a secret!" said Ian. "Do tell us," pleaded Christina. "If you want very much to know,--" answered Ian, a little doubtfully. "I do, I do!" "Then I suppose we must tell you!" Yet more confirmation to the passion-prejudiced ears of Christina! "There is a stair," Ian went on, "of which no one but our two selves knows anything. Such stairs are common in old houses--far commoner than people in towns have a notion of. But there would not have been much of it left by this time, if we hadn't taken care of it. We were little fellows when we began, and it needed much contrivance, for we were not able to unseat the remnants of the broken steps, and replace them with new ones." "Do show it us," begged Christina. "We will keep it," said Alister, "for some warm twilight. Morning is not for ruins. Yon mountain-side is calling to us. Will you come, Mercy?" "Oh yes!" cried Christina; "that will be much better! Come, Mercy! You are up to a climb, I am sure!" "I ought to be, after such a long rest." "You may have forgotten how to climb!" said Alister. "I dreamed too much of the hills for that! And always the noise of London was changed into the rush of waters." They had dropped a little behind the other pair. "Did you always climb your dream-hills alone?" asked Alister.