390 THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 



gone," said one of the brothers, "we fear he has 

 missed his way." "And," added the other, "it is 

 useless to search more to-night ; one might as well 

 look for a needle in a bundle of hay and expect to 

 recover it, as hope to find a lost wanderer on the hill 

 or moor to-night." 



"And if ye found him," Breeta cried wildly, "it 

 would be of no use. He will come in by this door 

 never mair unless carried ! I hae seen his Finis ! 

 Oh puir man ! puir man ! Lord hae mercy on his 

 soul ! " And Breeta conducted herself generally as a 

 loving wife, and as an inconsolable widow should. 



Yaspard could not stand the sight of her grief, and 

 he went out to hide his own emotion. As he stood 

 under the shelter of the cottage eaves a strange train 

 of thought suddenly brought back to his mind the 

 light he had seen in the ruined Ha'. He was an 

 intelligent young man, and had seen enough of the 

 world beyond his mystery-girdled native land, to 

 scoff at the superstitious fancies of his countrymen. 

 Although he had talked to himself on board ship of 

 Satan lighting a lure in the deserted habitation, he 

 yet believed that it was no fiend, but a man who 

 did so; and in the instant that the recollection of 

 what he had seen flashed back on his mind, he 

 thought also, "it must have been James Gertson 

 who lit that signal. It must have been the old 

 man, long suspected of following the savage pursuit 

 of 'wrecking,* who had sought refuge in the old 

 Ha'." 



