WHITE HEATHER. 



diligence, and yet without success. White Heather is 

 not so frequently met with in the North as in the West 

 Highlands, and yet in Sutherlandshire it is not an 

 absolute rarity; many a time had she come across a 

 tuft of it in her wanderings over the moors. But now, 

 search as she might, she could not find the smallest bit ; 

 and time began to press, for this was the morning for 

 the mail to go south if she missed it she would have 

 to wait for two more days. And as half-hour after 

 half-hour went by she became more anxious and 

 nervous and agitated; she went rapidly from knoll to 

 knoll, seeking the likeliest places ; and all in vain. 



"It was a question of minutes now. She could 

 hear the mail cart on the road behind her; soon it 

 would pass her and go on to the inn, where it would 

 remain but a brief while before setting out again for 

 Lairg. And, presently, when the mail cart did come 

 along and go by, then she gave up the quest in despair, 

 and in a kind of bewildered way set out for home. Her 

 heart was heavy and full of its disappointment, and 

 her face was paler a little than usual, but at least her 

 eyes told no tales. 



"And then, all of a sudden, as she was crossing 

 the Mudal Bridge, she caught sight of a little tuft of 

 gray away along the bank and not far from the edge 

 of the stream. At first she thought it was merely a 

 patch of withered Heather; and then a wild hope 

 possessed her. She quickly left the bridge and made 

 her way toward it ; and the next moment she was joy- 

 fully down on her knees, selecting the whitest spray she 

 could find. And the mail cart it would still be at 

 the inn the inn was little more than half a mile off. 

 166 



