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In spite of his splendid nerve Ranald's voice shook a little. Harry gazed at him in amazement. "I will give your note to Maimie," he said, "but you will be back here if I know myself. I'll see father about this." "Now, Harry," said Ranald, rising and putting his hand on his shoulder, "you are not going to mix up in this at all; and for my sake, old chap, don't make any row at home.
During the last weeks, his life had come to move about a center, and that center was Maimie; and now that she was going away, there would be nothing left. Nothing, that is, that really mattered. But the question he was revolving in his mind was, would she forget all about him. He knew he would never forget her, that was, of course, impossible, for so many things would remind him of her.
An awful sense of her peril came upon Maimie, too late she remembered that she was a lost child in a place where no human must be between the locking and the opening of the gates, she heard the murmur of an angry multitude, she saw a thousand swords flashing for her blood, and she uttered a cry of terror and fled. How she ran! and all the time her eyes were starting out of her head.
The reason she felt no more fear was that it was now night-time, and in the dark, you remember, Maimie was always rather strange. They were now loath to let her go, for, "If the fairies see you," they warned her, "they will mischief you, stab you to death or compel you to nurse their children or turn you into something tedious, like an evergreen oak."
Then she heard clang, then from another part clang, then clang, clang far away. It was the Closing of the Gates. Immediately the last clang had died away Maimie distinctly heard a voice say, 'So that's all right. It had a wooden sound and seemed to come from above, and she looked up in time to see an elm-tree stretching out its arms and yawning.
"We are delighted to see you," she cried, going forward to Ranald with hands outstretched; "you are become quite a hero in this town." "Quite, I assure you," said the lieutenant, in a languid voice, but shaking Ranald heartily by the hand. Then Maimie came forward and greeted him with ceremonious politeness and introduced him to Mr.
"Build a house round her," they cried, and at once everybody perceived that this was the thing to do; in a moment a hundred fairy sawyers were among the branches, architects were running round Maimie, measuring her; a bricklayer's yard sprang up at her feet, seventy-five masons rushed up with the foundation stone and the Queen laid it, overseers were appointed to keep the boys off, scaffoldings were run up, the whole place rang with hammers and chisels and turning lathes, and by this time the roof was on and the glaziers were putting in the windows.
Magnificently Lisette responded, and swept up to the door with such splendid dash that the whole household greeted her with waving applause. As the colt came to a stand, Maimie stepped out from the buckboard, and turning toward Ranald, said in a low, hurried voice: "O, Ranald, that was splendid, and I am so happy; and you will be sure to come?"
Ranald found himself wondering how the young fop would look sitting in a pool of muddy water. How insufferable the young fellow's manners were! He sat quite close to Maimie, now and then whispering to her, evidently quite ignorant of how to behave in church. And Maimie, who ought to know better, was acting most disgracefully as well, whispering back and smiling right into his face.
"Oh, auntie, I cannot tell," cried Maimie, putting her face in her hands. "If Ranald were De Lacy would you love him?" "Oh yes, yes, how happy I would be!" Then Mrs. Murray rose. "Maimie, dear," she said, and her voice was very gentle but very firm, "let me speak to you for your dear mother's sake. Do not deceive yourself. Do not give your life for anything but love.
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