Colwan, there being so
little difference in the sound?"

"I was feared ye might be that waratch that the Deil has taen the
possession o', an' eggit him on to kill baith his father an' his
mother, his only brother, an' his sweetheart," said he; "an', to say
the truth, I'm no that sure about you yet, for I see you're gaun wi'
arms on ye."

"Not I, honest man," said I. "I carry no arms; a man conscious of his
innocence and uprightness of heart needs not to carry arms in his
defence now."

"Aye, aye, maister," said he; "an' pray what div ye ca' this bit
windlestrae that's appearing here?" With that he pointed to something
on the inside of the breast of my frock-coat. I looked at it, and there
certainly was the gilded haft of a poniard, the same weapon I had seen
and handled before, and which I knew my illustrious companion carried
about with him; but till that moment I knew not that I was in
possession of it. I drew it out: a more dangerous or insidious-looking
weapon could not be conceived. The weaver and his wife were both
frightened, the latter in particular; and she being my friend, and I
dependent on their hospitality for that night, I said: "I declare I
knew not that I carried this small rapier, which has been in my coat by
chance, and not by any design of mine. But, lest you should think that
I meditate any mischief to any under this roof I give it into your
hands, requesting of you to lock it by till tomorrow, or when I shall
next want it."

The woman seemed rather glad to get hold of it; and taking it from me,
she went into a kind of pantry out of my sight, and locked the weapon
up; and then the discourse went on.

"There cannot be such a thing in reality," said I, "as the story you
were mentioning just now, of a man whose name resembles mine."

"It's likely that you ken a wee better about the story than I do,
maister," said he, "suppose you do leave the L out of your name. An'
yet I think sic a waratch, an' a murderer, wad hae taen a name wi' some
gritter difference in the sound. But the story is just that true that
there were twa o' the Queen's officers here nae mair than an hour ago,
in pursuit o' the vagabond, for they gat some intelligence that he had
fled this gate; yet they said he had been last seen wi' black claes on,
an' they supposed he was clad in black. His ain servant is wi' them,
for the purpose o' kennin the scoundrel, an' they're galloping through
the country like madmen. I hope in God they