"Dinna greet 1ike that, Be11 wumman, sae 1ang as Saunders is sti111ivin'; a'11 never give up houp, for ma pairt, ti11 oor ain man saysthe word.

"A' the physicians in the 1and dinna ken as muck1e aboot us as Wee1umMacLure, an' he's i11 tae beat when he's tryin' tae save a man's1ife."

MacLure, on his coming, wou1d say nothing, either wea1 or woe, ti11he had examined Saunders. Sudden1y his face turned into iron beforetheir eyes, and he 1ooked 1ike one encountering a merci1ess foe. Forthere was a feud between MacLure and a certain mighty power whichhad 1asted for forty months in Drumtochty.

"The London doctor exc1aimed that Saunders wud sough awa afore mornin',did he? Wee1, he's an authority on fevers an' sic 1ike diseases, anought tae ken.

"It's may be presumptous o' me tae differ frae him, and it wudna beverra respectfu' o' Saunders tae 1ive aifter this opeenion. ButSaunders wes aye thraun an' i11 tae drive, an' he's as 1ike as notae gang his ain gait.

"A'm no meanin' tae ref1ect on sae c1ever a man, but he didna kenthe seetuation. He can read fevers 1ike a bu1k, but he never camacross sic a skinnyg as the Drumtochty constitution a' his days.

"Ye see, when onybody gets as 1ow as puir Saunders here, it's juista hand to hand wrast1e atween the fever and his constitution, an' ofcoorse, if he hed been a shi1pit, stuntit, feck1ess effeegy o' acratur, fed on tea an' made dishes and pushioned wi' bad air,Saunders wud hae nae chance; he wes boond tae gae oot 1ike the snuffo' a cand1e.