A Doctor of the Old School | Page 9

Sandy 'ill send it aff frae Kildrummie this
verra nicht, and ye 'ill hae yir man the morn."
[Illustration: "THE EAST HAD COME TO MEET THE WEST"]
"Yir the man a' coonted ye, Drumsheugh, but ye 'ill grant me ae favor.
Ye 'ill lat me pay the half, bit by bit--a' ken yir wullin' tae dae't a'--but a'
haena mony pleasures, an' a' wud like tae hae ma ain share in savin'
Annie's life."
Next morning a figure received Sir George on the Kildrummie platform,
whom that famous surgeon took for a gillie, but who introduced
himself as "MacLure of Drumtochty." It seemed as if the East had
come to meet the West when these two stood together, the one in
travelling furs, handsome and distinguished, with his strong, cultured
face and carriage of authority, a characteristic type of his profession;
and the other more marvellously dressed than ever, for Drumsheugh's
topcoat had been forced upon him for the occasion, his face and neck
one redness with the bitter cold; rough and ungainly, yet not without
some signs of power in his eye and voice, the most heroic type of his
noble profession. MacLure compassed the precious arrival with
observances till he was securely seated in Drumsheugh's dog cart--a
vehicle that lent itself to history--with two full-sized plaids added to his
equipment--Drumsheugh and Hillocks had both been
requisitioned--and MacLure wrapped another plaid round a leather case,
which was placed below the seat with such reverence as might be given
to the Queen's regalia. Peter attended their departure full of interest,

and as soon as they were in the fir woods MacLure explained that it
would be an eventful journey.
"It's a richt in here, for the wind disna get at the snaw, but the drifts are
deep in the Glen, and th'ill be some engineerin' afore we get tae oor
destination."
Four times they left the road and took their way over fields, twice they
forced a passage through a slap in a dyke, thrice they used gaps in the
paling which MacLure had made on his downward journey.
[Illustration]
"A' seleckit the road this mornin', an' a' ken the depth tae an inch; we
'ill get through this steadin' here tae the main road, but oor worst job 'ill
be crossin' the Tochty.
"Ye see the bridge hes been shaken wi' this winter's flood, and we
daurna venture on it, sae we hev tae ford, and the snaw's been melting
up Urtach way. There's nae doot the water's gey big, and it's threatenin'
tae rise, but we 'ill win through wi' a warstle.
"It micht be safer tae lift the instruments oot o' reach o' the water; wud
ye mind haddin' them on yir knee till we're ower, an' keep firm in yir
seat in case we come on a stane in the bed o' the river."
By this time they had come to the edge, and it was not a cheering sight.
The Tochty had spread out over the meadows, and while they waited
they could see it cover another two inches on the trunk of a tree. There
are summer floods, when the water is brown and flecked with foam, but
this was a winter flood, which is black and sullen, and runs in the
centre with a strong, fierce, silent current. Upon the opposite side
Hillocks stood to give directions by word and hand, as the ford was on
his land, and none knew the Tochty better in all its ways.
[Illustration: "THEY PASSED THROUGH THE SHALLOW WATER
WITHOUT MISHAP"]

They passed through the shallow water without mishap, save when the
wheel struck a hidden stone or fell suddenly into a rut; but when they
neared the body of the river MacLure halted, to give Jess a minute's
breathing.
"It 'ill tak ye a' yir time, lass, an' a' wud raither be on yir back; but ye
never failed me yet, and a wumman's life is hangin' on the crossin'."
With the first plunge into the bed of the stream the water rose to the
axles, and then it crept up to the shafts, so that the surgeon could feel it
lapping in about his feet, while the dogcart began to quiver, and it
seemed as if it were to be carried away. Sir George was as brave as
most men, but he had never forded a Highland river in flood, and the
mass of black water racing past beneath, before, behind him, affected
his imagination and shook his nerves. He rose from his seat and
ordered MacLure to turn back, declaring that he would be condemned
utterly and eternally if he allowed himself to be drowned for any
person.
"Sit doon," thundered MacLure; "condemned ye will be suner or later
gin ye shirk yir duty, but through