But they never saw her again.
They searched high and they searched low. They went to the neighbours, thinking to find her somewhere off among them; though, as they well knew, it was the last thing she thought of doing, idling and ceilidhing[10] away from home of an evening. The neighbours came, and helped, and there wasn’t a spot about the place but they searched, calling and whistling and shouting for her; out all night with lanterns and candles. Every one had a great wish for Christina. Why wouldn’t they! she that was so good and kind. But she was not to be found.
They kept up the search, for days and days, thinking it might be that some kind of weakness had come over the poor girl, and that they would come on her somewhere, and she in a faint.
But not a sign of her ever they found.
Some thought it was what she might have slipped into the lake, when she was turning out the cows after milking them, for it was down towards the water they were driven of an evening. And that lake, it was well known, had no bottom to it, in places; and it was supposed that the water drained away through underground channels ... and if any one chanced to get drawn into one of them ... well, there was no more to be known of that person.
And more were of the opinion that she might have fallen into one of the swallyin’-holes I mentioned. And anything that goes in there never comes out any more.
It nearly killed Nelly, the fright and awfulness of losing Christina that way. She fretted and pined, till the half of her wasn’t in it. And Jim as bad, for he was as fond of Christina as Nelly was; just in the same way, too; as if she was his sister.
For many a long day, after Jim and Nelly were married, and living on there in the old home, they would talk of Christina, and think maybe she’d be coming back to them, just walk in on the door.... For they always thought it wasn’t dead she was at all, only “away” with the Good People in the old rath, at the top of the hill behind Greenan-more.
The door was always left open, and the fire strong, and food ready, at night, and in particular on Hallow Eve, the way she could come in there, if she had a mind to.