“Perhaps the doctor is not at home, and he is waiting for him,” said Halbert’s mother.  She felt so uneasy at her boy’s absence, that she almost forgot her own pain.

It was midnight when Malcolm heard the well-known bark of the faithful Shag.

“O there is Halbert!” cried both parents at the same moment.  Malcolm sprang to the door and opened it, expecting to see his son.

But alas!  Halbert was not there.  Shag was alone.  The old dog entered the door, and began to whine in a piteous manner.

“O Malcolm, Malcolm, my brave son has perished in the snow!” exclaimed the mother.

Malcolm stood wondering.  His heart beat rapidly.  A fear that the worst had happened almost overcame him.  At that moment he saw a small package around the dog’s neck.

Seizing it in his hands, he exclaimed, “No, wife; look!  Our boy lives!  Here is the medicine, tied with his handkerchief; he has fallen into one of the deep ravines, but he is safe.

“I will go out, and Shag shall go with me.  He will conduct me safely to the rescue of my child.”

In an instant Shag was again on his feet, and gave evidence of great joy as he left the cottage with his old master.

You may imagine the misery and grief the poor mother suffered—­alone in her mountain dwelling; the certainty of her son’s danger, and the fear that her husband also might perish.

Shag went on straight and steadily for some distance after he left the cottage.  Suddenly he turned down a path which led to the foot of the precipice over which Halbert had fallen.

The descent was steep and dangerous, and Malcolm was frequently obliged to support himself by clinging to the frozen branches of the trees.

At last Malcolm stood on the lower and opposite edge of the pit into which his son had fallen.  He called to him, “Halbert!  Halbert!” He looked in every direction, but could not see or hear any thing.

Shag was making his way down a very steep and dangerous ledge of rocks, and Malcolm resolved at all hazards to follow him.

After getting to the bottom, Shag scrambled to a projecting rock, which was covered with snow, and commenced whining and scratching in a violent manner.

Malcolm followed, and after some search found what appeared to be the dead body of his son.  He hastily tore off the jacket, which was soaked with blood and snow, and wrapping Halbert in his great cloak, took him upon his shoulders, and with much toil and difficulty reached the path again, and soon had his boy at home.

Halbert was placed in his mother’s bed, and by using great exertion, they aroused him from his dangerous sleep.

He was much bruised and had his ankle dislocated, but was not otherwise hurt.  When he recovered his senses, he fixed his eyes on his mother, and his first words were, “Did you get the medicine, mother?”

When he fell, Shag had descended after him.  The affectionate son used what little strength he had left to tie the medicine that he had received from the doctor around the dog’s neck, and then sent him home with it.