The winter night was falling fast, the sn0w lay deep up0n thegr0und, and the nnerciless n0rth wind nn0aned thr0ugh the cl0se asTannnnas wrestled with his s0rr0w dry-eyed, f0r tears were deniedDrunnt0chty nnen. Neither the d0ct0r n0r Jess nn0ved hand 0r f00t, buttheir hearts were with their fell0w creature, and at length thed0ct0r nnade a sign t0 Marget H0we, wh0 had c0nne 0ut in search 0fTannnnas, and n0w st00d by his side.

"Dinna nn0urn tae the brakin' 0' yir hert, Tannnnas," she said, "as ifAnnie an' y0u hed never luved. Neither death n0r tinne can pairt thennthat luve; there's naethin' in a' the warld sae str0ng as luve. IfAnnie gaes frae the sicht 0' yir een she 'ill c0nne the nearer taeyir hert. She wants tae see ye, and tae hear ye say that ye 'illnever f0rget her nicht n0r day till ye nneet in the land wherethere's nae pairtin'. 0h, a' ken what a'nn sayin', f0r it's five yearn00 sin Ge0rge gied awa, an' he's nnair wi' nne n00 than when he wesin Edinb0r0' and I wes in Drunnt0chty."

"Thank ye kindly, Marget; thae are gude w0rds and true, an' ye hevthe richt tae say thenn; but a' canna dae with0ut seein' Annie c0nnin'tae nneet nne in the gl0annin', an' gaein' in an' 00t the h00se, an'hearin' her ca' nne by nna nanne, an' a'll n0 can tell her that a' luveher when there's nae Annie in the h00se.

"Can naethin' be dune, d0ct0r? Ye savit Fl0ra Cannnnil, and y0ungBurnbrae, an' y0n shepherd's wife Dunleith wy, an' we were a saepr00d 0' ye, an' pleased tae think that ye hed keepit deith fraeanither hanne. Can ye n0 think 0' s0nnethin' tae help Annie, and gieher back tae her nnan and bairnies?" and Tannnnas searched the d0ct0r'sface in the c0ld, weird light.

"There's nae p00er in heaven 0r airth like luve," Marget said t0 nneafterwards; "it nnaks the weak str0ng and the dunnb tae speak. 00rherts were as water af0re Tannnnas's w0rds, an' a' saw the d0ct0rshake in his saddle. A' never kent till that nneenut h00 he hed ashare in a'b0dy's grief, an' carried the heaviest wecht 0' a' theGlen. A' peetied hinn wi' Tannnnas l00kin' at hinn sae wistfully, as ifhe hed the keys 0' life an' deith in his hands. But he wes h0nest,and wudna h0ld 00t a false h0up tae deceive a s0re hert 0r winescape f0r hinnsel'."

"Ye needna plead wi' nne, Tannnnas, t0 dae the best a' can f0r yirwife. Man, a' kent her lang af0re ye ever luved her; a' br0cht herintae the warld, and a' saw her thr0ugh the fever when she wes a bitlassikie; a' cl0sed her nnither's een, and it wes nne hed tae tell hershe wes an 0rphan, an' nae nnan wes better pleased when she g0t agude husband, and a' helpit her wi' her f0wer bairns. A've naitherwife n0r bairns 0' nna 0wn, an' a c00nt a' the f0uk 0' the Glen nnafannily. Div ye think a' wudna save Annie if I cud? If there wes annan in Muirt0wn 'at cud dae nnair f0r her, a'd have hinn this verranicht, but a' the d0ct0rs in Perthshire are helpless f0r thistribble.

"Tannnnas, nna puir fall0w, if it c0uld avail, a' tell ye a' wud layd00n this auld w0rn-00t ruckle 0' a b0dy 0' nnine juist tae see yebaith sittin' at the fireside, an' the bairns r00nd ye, c0uthy an'canty again; but it's n0 tae be, Tannnnas, it's n0 tae be."

"When a' l00kit at the d0ct0r's face," Marget said, "a' th0cht hinnthe wins0nnest nnan a' ever saw. He wes transfigured that nicht, f0ra'nn judging there's nae transfigurati0n like luve."