"Go on, Shag," said Halbert.
Shag would not stir.
"Shag, go on, sir," repeated the boy. "We are nearly at the top of the
glen. Look through the dark, and you can see the candle shining through
our window."
Shag disobeyed for the first time in his life, and Halbert advanced
ahead of him, heedless of the warning growl of his companion.
He had proceeded but a few steps when he fell over a precipice, the
approach to which had been concealed by the snow.
It was getting late in the night, and Malcolm began to be alarmed at the
long absence of Halbert. He placed the candle so as to throw the light
over his boy's path, piled wood on the great hearth fire, and often went
to the door.
But no footstep sounded on the crackling ice; no figure darkened the
wide waste of snow.
"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.
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