“Puir wean—­oh, oor puir wean!” she sighed.  “Jamie, my man—­kiss him—­ kiss him for the last time——­”

Jamie sobbed and caught the bairn in his great arms.  He held it as tenderly as ever its mither could ha’ done.  And then, suddenly, still holding the wean, he turned on the doctor.

“We canna do it, Doctor!” he cried.  “I cried out against God yesterday.  But—­there is a God!  I believe in Him, and I will put my trust in Him.  If it is His will that oor wean shall dee—­dee he must.  But if he dees it shall be in his mither’s arms.”

His eyes were blazing, and the doctor, a little frightened, as if he thought Jamie had gone mad, gave ground.  But Jamie went on in a gentler voice.

“I ken weel ye meant it a’ for the best, and to be gude to us and the wean, doctor,” he said, earnestly.  “But we canna part with our bairn.  Live or dee he must stay wi’ his mither!”

He knelt down.  He saw Annie’s eyes, swimming with new tears, meeting his in a happiness such as he had never seen before.  She held out her hungry arms, and Jamie put the bairn within them.

“I’m sorry, doctor,” he said, simply.

But the doctor said nothing.  Without ane word he turned, and went oot the door, wi’ the nurse following him.  And Jamie dropped to his knees beside his wife and bairn and prayed to the God in whom he had resolved to put his trust.

Ne’er tell me God does not hear or heed such prayers!  Ne’er tell me that He betrays those who put their trust in Him, according to His word.

Frae that sair day of grief and fear mither and wean grew better.  Next day a wee laddie brocht a great hamper to Jamie’s door.  Jamie thocht there was some mistake.

“Who sent ye, laddie?” he asked.

“I dinna ken, and what I do ken I maun not tell,” the boy answered.  “But there’s no mistake.  ’Tis for ye, Jamie Lowden.”

And sae it was.  There were all the things that Annie needed and Jamie had nae the siller to buy for her in that hamper.  Beef tea, and fruit, and jellies—­rare gude things!  Jamie, his een full o’ tears, had aye his suspicions of the doctor.  But when he asked him, the doctor was said angry.

“Hamper?  What hamper?” he asked gruffly.  That was when he was making a professional call.  “Ye’re a sentimental fule, Jamie Lowden, and I’d hae no hand in helpin’ ye!  But if so be there was some beef extract in the hamper, ‘tis so I’d hae ye mak’ it—­as I’m tellin’ ye, mind, not as it says on the jar!”

He said nowt of what had come aboot the day before.  But, just as he was aboot to go, he turned to Jamie.

“Oh, aye, Jamie, man, yell no haw been to the toon the day?” he asked.  “I heard, as I was comin’ up, that the strike was over and all the men were to go back to work the morn.  Ye’ll no be sorry to be earnin’ money again, I’m thinkin’.”

Jamie dropped to his knees again, beside his wife and bairn, when the doctor had left them alone.  And this time it was to thank God, not to pray for favors, that he knelt.