"Aunt Jeannie," she began, "are ye no weary? Let me milk ane o' the coos."
"Na, Alice, I am a'maist dune. Gang and talk wi' your cousins yonder; they are greetin' aboot their grandfaither. I hae but noo tauld them that he must soon dee."
Alice went to the rear of the cottage: there on a pile of sticks sat two fine little lads, whom Davie had quite naturally named Wullie and Jamie. They saw their cousin approaching, and tried to dry their tears on the back of their hands. She sat down between them and put her arm around Jamie, while Wullie dropped his head in her lap and sobbed out,
"Grandfaither is going to dee, Alice. He is gaen awa frae us, and they will pit him in a box and nail him doun, and pit him in the groun', and he wunna win oot till the resurrection morn, mither says, and we canna mak oot when that will be. Then there will be naebody to pat oor heids when we come to the ingle. Grandmither aye knits, and she never pats oor heids, and says, 'Puir wee lads! puir wee lads!'"
"Grandfaither is going to dee, Alice."
"My puir wee lads," said Alice, "ye will hae freends left to you still. Do ye no ken that grandfaither wearies to be awa wi' his Faither in heaven? Ye canna understand all aboot it noo, Wullie, but ye will some time. Grandfaither is an auld man, and he canna get the pleasure oot o' the warld that you can. He canna rin aboot the green fields here; but yonder where he is gaen he will be made young again, and then he will walk in the green fields o' the heavenly warld, and never graw auld ony more. Sae dry your tears, that is a wee man; grandfaither wouldna like ye to greet sae sairly."
Now they heard footsteps, and, looking up, the lads saw their father coming down the home-path with quickened steps, for he was anxious to know how his father was. As he neared the door he slackened his pace and entered the cottage as noiselessly as possible. He stepped to the bedside and gazed on his father; as he turned away a heavy sigh escaped him.
After Alice had comforted her little cousins she hastened home, and her mother came. The twilight had deepened into night; the cottage door was closed and the candle lighted. In the room were now gathered all the children except Jamie, and of him all were thinking.
"I think your faither is nearer his end than we thought," said the mother. "I ken weel Jamie would like to be here."