Part 38 (2/2)

'”My dear sir,” he said to me, ”I cannot conceive of such folly”--superstitious folly, he called it--”as that which your young friend Murdoch M'Criuilty of Let hi found in the box and in the vault was on the finger of Duncan--villain he is, at all events--on the night he threatened to shoot hiive up all claim to the estates of Coila; but till he does so, or until you bringwhere I am”'

'Then let him,' said my mother quietly

'Nay, but,' said Townley, 'I do not _mean_ to let him It has becoht done to in to see land'

'Yes?'

'I believe I do I waited and watched untiringly Good Gilmore, who still lives in Coila, watched forwas certain--naain at the castle He did He went to beg money from the M'Rae The M'Rae is a man of the world; he saw that this visit of Duncan's was but the beginning of a never-ending persecution He refused Duncan's request point-blank Then the s The M'Rae, he hinted, had better not ed to him for the house and position he occupied, but the same hand that _did_ could _undo_ At this juncture the M'Rae had si the bell, and the ex-poacher had to retire foiled, but threatening still It was on that same day I confronted hi, which, as I placed it on inal Even this did not overawe hied to a dead man, and pretended I knew more than I did, he turned pale He was silent for a tiered h I am, I felt inclined at that moment to throttle theking's evidence on hi the whole was a conspiracy, and would we save hial penalty of the confessed crime?

'I assure you, Mrs M'Crimman, that till then I had leaned towards the belief that, scoundrel though this Duncan be, some little spark of huht be inclined to do justice for justice's sake I dare say he read ed too that for the ti I was powerless to act Could he have killed me then, I knoould have done so Once more he was silent for a time He did not dare to repeat his first question, but he put another, ”Have you any charge to _?” He placed a terribly-” I looked at hi to do with the death of old Mawsie, and if the ring of which I had the facsied to aested to hie police calmly past theof the little inn where we sat He knocked, and beckoned to hi that verily the man before me was cleverer by far than I On the entrance of the policeentleman, policees against me in private which now in your presence I dare hi to me--”The ball is with you,” he said And what could I reply? Nothing I do believe that at that very e policeman noticed and pitied , entle very different If Mr Townley ainst you it is no doubt because he is not prepared with proofs

But, Duncan, boy, if you like to relen for a few days, I'ainst you myself”

'I left the rooh foiled, Duncan did not consider himself beaten I had him watched therefore, and followed by a detective I wanted to find out his next ht it would be He had heard of our poor chief M'Crimman's death, remember Well, a day or two after our conversation in the little inn at Coila, Duncan presented himself at the M'Rae's advocate's office and so pleaded his case--so begged and partially hinted at disclosures and confessions--that this solicitor, not possessed of the extraordinary pride and independence of the M'Rae--'

'A pride and independence, Mr Townley,' said my aunt, 'which the M'Raes take from their relatedness to our family'

'That is true,' saidto say,' continued Townley, 'that Duncan so far overcaht it would be for his client's interest to accede in part to his demands, or rather to one of them--viz, to pay him a sum of money to leave the country for ever But this e and was about to sail for some--any--country, not nearer than the United States of America, Mr Moir's--the advocate's--clerk was to see him on board shi+p, and see him sail'

'And did he sail?' said my aunt, as Townley paused and looked at her

'Yes, in a passenger shi+p, for Buenos Ayres'

'I see it all now,' said ainst him there for conspiracy or crime committed at home'

'Yes, and he thinks still further: he thinks that he will be more successful with dear Murdoch than he ith either the M'Rae orthe first to break the silence

'What a depth of well-schemed villainy!' was the remark she made

Moncrieff had listened to all the conversation without once putting in a word Now all he said was--

'Dinna forget, Miss M'Crimman, the words o' the immortal Bobbie Burns:

”The best laid scherief and pain For promised joy”'

To the fear and fever consequent upon the depredations committed by the Indians there succeeded a calht alone before He took pains to find out whether, as had been currently reported, our Argentine troops had been victorious all along the frontier line He found that the report, like erated If a foe retires, a foe is beaten by the army which _sees_ that foe retire This seeic of the war-path In the present instance, however, the Indians belonged to races that lived a no When they chose to advance in this particular year there was not a sufficient number of cavalry to oppose thees knew precisely on what part of the stage to enter, and they did not think it incuentine troops Indeed, they, like sensible savages, rather avoided a conflict than courted one It was not conflict but cattle they were after principally; then if at any tiy directed retreat, why, they simply turned their horses' heads to the desert, the pampas, or mountain wilds, and the troops for a time had seen the last of theeneral, for fancied security never sent hiain, he thought, and his _estancias_ were big prizes for Indians to try for, especially as there was plenty to gain by success, and little to lose by defeat

I have said that our Coila Villa was some distance from the fortified Moncrieff houses It was now connected with the general rampart and ditches It was part and parcel of the whole systeht rest assured it would be defended, if ever there was any occasion