your age. I beg at least that Mr. Stewart would
come here; my business with him opens a very wide door."

"What does the man want with me?" cried Alan when he had read. "What he
wants with you is clear enough--it's siller. But what can he want with
Alan Breck?"

"O, it'll be just an excuse," said I. "He is still after this marriage,
which I wish from my heart that we could bring about. And he asks you
because he thinks I would be less likely to come wanting you."

"Well, I wish that I kennt," says Alan. "Him and me were never onyways
pack; we used to girn at ither like a pair of pipers. 'Something for my
ear,' quo' he! I'll maybe have something for his hinder-end before we're
through with it. Dod, I'm thinking it would be a kind of a divertisement
to gang and see what he'll be after! Forbye that I could see your lassie
then. What say ye, Davie? Will ye ride with Alan?"

You may be sure I was not backward, and, Alan's furlough running towards
an end, we set forth presently upon this joint adventure.

It was near dark of a January day when we rode at last into the town of
Dunkirk. We left our horses at the post, and found a guide to Bazin's
inn, which lay beyond the walls. Night was quite fallen, so that we were
the last to leave that fortress, and heard the doors of it close behind
us as we passed the bridge. On the other side there lay a lighted
suburb, which we thridded for a while, then turned into a dark lane, and
presently found ourselves wading in the night among deep sand where we
could hear a bullering of the sea. We travelled in this fashion for some
while, following our conductor mostly by the sound of his voice; and I
had begun to think he was perhaps misleading us, when we came to the top
of a small brae, and there appeared out of the darkness a dim light in a
window.

"_Voila l'auberge a Bazin_," says the guide.

Alan smacked his lips. "An unco lonely bit," said he, and I thought by
his tone he was not wholly pleased.

A little after, and we stood in the lower story of that house, which was
all in the one apartment, with a stair leading to the chambers at the
side, benches and tables by the wall, the cooking fire at the one end of
it, and shelves of bottles and the cellar-trap at the other. Here Bazin,
who was an ill-looking, big man, told us the Scottish gentleman was gone
abroad he knew not where, but the young lady was above, and he would
call her down to us.

I took from my breast that kerchief