A Doctor of the Old School | Page 8

be borne, but it's a sair wull for me, an' a'm no
ungratefu' tae you, doctor, for a' ye've dune and what ye said the nicht,"
and Tammas went back to sit with Annie for the last time.

Jess picked her way through the deep snow to the main road, with a
skill that came of long experience, and the doctor held converse with
her according to his wont.
"Eh, Jess wumman, yon wes the hardest wark a' hae tae face, and a'
wud raither hae ta'en ma chance o' anither row in a Glen Urtach drift
than tell Tammas Mitchell his wife wes deein'.
"A' said she cudna be cured, and it wes true, for there's juist ae man in
the land fit for't, and they micht as weel try tae get the mune oot o'
heaven. Sae a' said naethin' tae vex Tammas's hert, for it's heavy
eneuch withoot regrets.
"But it's hard, Jess, that money wull buy life after a', an' if Annie wes a
duchess her man wudna lose her; but bein' only a puir cottar's wife, she
maun dee afore the week's oot.
"Gin we hed him the morn there's little doot she would be saved, for he
hesna lost mair than five per cent, o' his cases, and they 'ill be puir
toon's craturs, no strappin women like Annie.
[Illustration: "IT'S OOT O' THE QUESTION, JESS, SAE HURRY
UP"]
"It's oot o' the question, Jess, sae hurry up, lass, for we've hed a heavy
day. But it wud be the grandest thing that was ever dune in the Glen in
oor time if it could be managed by hook or crook.
"We 'ill gang and see Drumsheugh, Jess; he's anither man sin' Geordie
Hoo's deith, and he wes aye kinder than fouk kent;" and the doctor
passed at a gallop through the village, whose lights shone across the
white frost-bound road.
"Come in by, doctor; a' heard ye on the road; ye 'ill hae been at
Tammas Mitchell's; hoo's the gudewife? a' doot she's sober."
"Annie's deein', Drumsheugh, an' Tammas is like tae brak his hert."

"That's no lichtsome, doctor, no lichtsome ava, for a' dinna ken ony
man in Drumtochty sae bund up in his wife as Tammas, and there's no
a bonnier wumman o' her age crosses our kirk door than Annie, nor a
cleverer at her wark. Man, ye 'ill need tae pit yir brains in steep. Is she
clean beyond ye?"
"Beyond me and every ither in the land but ane, and it wud cost a
hundred guineas tae bring him tae Drumtochty."
[Illustration: ]
"Certes, he's no blate; it's a fell chairge for a short day's work; but
hundred or no hundred we'll hae him, an' no let Annie gang, and her no
half her years."
"Are ye meanin' it, Drumsheugh?" and MacLure turned white below
the tan. "William MacLure," said Drumsheugh, in one of the few
confidences that ever broke the Drumtochty reserve, "a'm a lonely man,
wi' naebody o' ma ain blude tae care for me livin', or tae lift me intae
ma coffin when a'm deid.
"A' fecht awa at Muirtown market for an extra pound on a beast, or a
shillin' on the quarter o' barley, an' what's the gude o't? Burnbrae gaes
aff tae get a goon for his wife or a buke for his college laddie, an'
Lachlan Campbell 'ill no leave the place noo without a ribbon for Flora.
"Ilka man in the Klldrummie train has some bit fairin' his pooch for the
fouk at hame that he's bocht wi' the siller he won.
"But there's naebody tae be lookin' oot for me, an' comin' doon the road
tae meet me, and daffin' (joking) wi' me about their fairing, or feeling
ma pockets. Ou ay, a've seen it a' at ither hooses, though they tried tae
hide it frae me for fear a' wud lauch at them. Me lauch, wi' ma cauld,
empty hame!
"Yir the only man kens, Weelum, that I aince luved the noblest
wumman in the glen or onywhere, an' a' luve her still, but wi' anither
luve noo.

"She had given her heart tae anither, or a've thocht a' micht hae won her,
though nae man be worthy o' sic a gift. Ma hert turned tae bitterness,
but that passed awa beside the brier bush whar George Hoo lay yon sad
simmer time. Some day a'll tell ye ma story, Weelum, for you an' me
are auld freends, and will be till we dee."
MacLure felt beneath the table for Drumsheugh's hand, but neither man
looked at the other.
"Weel, a' we can dae noo, Weelum, gin we haena mickle brichtness in
oor ain names, is tae keep the licht frae gaein' oot in anither hoose.
Write the telegram, man, and