Her eyes flashed and burned ; crimson spots glowed in her cheeks . `` I shall tell you the story of the Sherman girls , and how Betty Sherman won a husband , '' she said . We gasped . Was the Story Girl crazy ? Or had she forgotten that Betty Sherman was Mr. Campbell 's own great-grandmother , and that her method of winning a husband was not exactly in accordance with maidenly traditions . But Mr. Campbell chuckled again . `` An excellent test , '' he said . `` If you can amuse ME with that story you must be a wonder . I 've heard it so often that it has no more interest for me than the alphabet . '' `` One cold winter day , eighty years ago , '' began the Story Girl without further parley , `` Donald Fraser was sitting by the window of his new house , playing his fiddle for company , and looking out over the white , frozen bay before his door . It was bitter , bitter cold , and a storm was brewing . But , storm , or no storm , Donald meant to go over the bay that evening to see Nancy Sherman . He was thinking of her as he played ` Annie Laurie , ' for Nancy was more beautiful than the lady of the song . ` Her face , it is the fairest that e'er the sun shone on , ' hummed Donald -- and oh , he thought so , too ! He did not know whether Nancy cared for him or not . He had many rivals . But he knew that if she would not come to be the mistress of his new house no one else ever should . So he sat there that afternoon and dreamed of her , as he played sweet old songs and rollicking jigs on his fiddle . `` While he was playing a sleigh drove up to the door , and Neil Campbell came in . Donald was not overly glad to see him , for he suspected where he was going .
Neil Campbell , who was Highland Scotch and lived down at Berwick , was courting Nancy Sherman , too ; and , what was far worse , Nancy 's father favoured him , because he was a richer man XXXXX Donald Fraser .
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