Maggie stood up and filled her lungs, then gave a joyous and long-sustained coo-ee in a high soprano, which reverberated among the hills.
"Dod!" said McLean, "that's Maggie. She's found Elsie, God be praised!" And he rode off at breakneck speed in the direction whence the coo-ee came.
"Holy Moses! fwhat's that?" said Pat, who had been beating along at the foot of the hill on the other side. "Miss Elsie's found herself, bedad! an' here have I been sarchin' all noight, loike a shtuck pig, shquealin' out from toime to toime as if I wor hurt."
Pat gave a wild coo-ee, then whistled through his fingers with a shrill blast. Alec was the first to come up to Maggie, who was on her knees, chafing and rubbing her sister's hands. He knelt beside Elsie, pulled off her boots, and rubbed her feet till he felt a little glow come into them.
Her father then came. He took off his coat and wrapped it round her shoulders. In a short time, under their united efforts, a faint colour tinged her cheeks, and she soon opened her eyes; but only for a moment, for she saw Alec, and shut them. She thought she was dreaming.
She gradually regained her senses, and whispered, "Father! Maggie! Where am I? What is the matter? Am I hurt?"
"No, no, darling! you're not hurt. You are in the arms of your own Maggie, and father is here. See, he is holding you up!"
Bond now arrived, and pressed forward. He had studied medicine for two years, but had never passed an examination, so he abandoned his intention of becoming a doctor.
"I'm a bit of a doctor, you know," he said. "I'll soon tell you all about the case. Let me see—let me see. Pulse a little weak; heart ditto." He moved her arms and legs gently. "How's that?" he said to her. "No bones broken? Any pain anywhere? How are we now?"
"I feel better," she said. "I must have fainted."