o come out and blow the moment the sun would be out of sight, Annie, who was helping to fasten up the cows for the night, drawing iron chains round their soft necks, saw a long shadow comi

a little man; and that this little man was no other than her father'

n the smoothest voice he could find, fum

awtie? Are ye verra wee

ly to any of these q

ae brocht ye

her, and walked on to the open door of the house, which, as a cousin, he considered himself privileged to enter

rough which, however, he could not prevent a certain hardness from cropping out plentif

wing her hand from her cousin's, she turned again to the pot hanging over the fire. "No man daur

rget. Richt or wrang,

t gait til a puir lone body like me, that maun slave for my bread whan I'

is safe eneuch. But I hae a bonny business doun yonner, and it micht be bette

the bank, t

ye, Marget? I

hat fo

y dinna see ae egg i' the nest, they hae no her

' lay awa' at yer leisu

hat ill. The faimily's

' the chop for a' that

bawbee. But what are

rg

e and aunt-auld John

oo, and they want someb

ovided for; Praise

Marget, with bitterness, o

ome o' the bairn

to tak' her in, and lat her gang to the schuil. It'

l that cost

lassie's able to pay f

thae times, woman. An' it's a pity to tak fra

aybe. Bairns

mething comin' o' 't? That wad be seven pun' ten i' the year, an' the

d her head and

it siller, whan he can get it frae the ba

. I'll tell ye what-I'll gie her five per cent. for her siller; and for the bit interest, I'll tak her in wi' my ain bair

character of being somewhat mean, she did not regard that as the worst possible fault, or one likely to operate for the injury of the child. So she told her cousin that she would

ndid increase of capital for his business; while he hoped to keep the girl upon less than the interest would come to. And then, if anything should happen to her-seeing she was not over vigorous-the result was worth waiting for; whereas-if she throve-he had sons growing up, one of whom might

at it himsel'." He agreed, however, with his mistress, that it would be better to keep Annie in ignorance of her destiny as long as possible; a consideration which sprung from the fact that her aunt, now that she was on the