midnight
He said little on the subject , and as long as he was able , gave himself up with the delight of a child to watching the few flowers in his garden ; but still one solemn , waylaying thought made these few last weeks of life peculiarly hushed and sacred . Ronald had been sent for , and the old man , with the clear prescience that sometimes comes before death , divined much and foresaw much he did not care to speak about -- only that in some subtle way he made Margaret perceive that Ronald was to be cared for and watched over , and that to her this charge was committed . Before the summer was quite over Peter Sinclair went away . In his tarrying by the eternal shore he became , as it were , purified of the body , and one lovely night , when gloaming and dawning mingled , and the lark was thrilling the midnight skies , he heard the Master call him , and promptly answered , `` Here am I. '' Then `` Death , with sweet enlargement , did dismiss him hence . '' He had been considered a rich man in Orkney , and , therefore , Ronald -- who had become accustomed to a Glasgow standard of wealth -- was much disappointed . His whole estate was not worth over six thousand pounds ; about two thousand pounds of this was in gold , the rest was invested in his houses in Kirkwall , and in a little cottage in Stromness , where Peter 's wife had been born . He gave to Ronald £ 1800 , and to Margaret £ 200 and the life rent of the real property .