The letter stated that, although the writer had made up his mind to extend his explorations towards another part of the Alps, he was also actuated by other motives; the strange impressions he felt, and the proofs which had come to his knowledge that a white captive was among the Warrigals, caused a great amount of anxiety to him, believing as he did that the captive was his long lost Bella McKay.
The faithful overseer could read no longer, and his fond wife burst into tears, embracing her little one, she exclaimed—"It must be true, Donald! I thought as much! Do'nt you remember Ni Ruari's prophecy? Takawarrant told me this very day that there was a white woman like me among the Warrigals! Alas, they are both lost now." Donald, who concurred in these opinions, gave expression to his grief in the same manner, fondling his little boy in his arms. The faithful servants having now no doubt but that their master and mistress had fallen victims to the savages, were rocking themselves in their chairs, with their moistened eyes buried in their children's curly locks.
How long this outburst of sorrow would continue it is hard to conjecture, but it was interrupted by Mary feeling two soft hands laid on her shoulders, when, suddenly raising her head, she beheld two dark eyes gazing affectionately in her own. "It is her! It's her own beautiful eyes! I would swear to them!" And rising up, the affectionate and overjoyed Mary was locked in the fond embrace of her long lost mistress.
The scene which ensued is impossible to describe. Mary Munro was seized with her old fit of delight. She danced round the room, giving utterance to her joy, exclaiming, "She is as beautiful as ever! The sun has made her more charming than ever, only for that frightful fur dress."
After the last remark, Mary conducted Bella to her own room, and brought from her wardrobe the largest and best dress she had, which she offered to her as a substitute for her squirrel-skin robe, which, when cast off, caused no little amusement to them. Nor did Bella's change of dress lessen their merriment, it being far too short for her.
