, and he will be missed in the country;
no time to set his house in order--weel prepared Godward, no doubt,
which is the root of the matter--but left us behind a tangled hesp to
wind, Steenie.--Hem! hem! We maun go to business, Steenie; much to do,
and little time to do it in."

Here he opened the fatal volume. I have heard of a thing they call
Doomsday-book--I am clear it has been a rental of back-ganging tenants.

"Stephen," said Sir John, still in the same soft, sleekit tone of
voice--"Stephen Stevenson, or Steenson, ye are down here for a year's
rent behind the hand--due at last term."

_Stephen._ "Please your honour, Sir John, I paid it to your father."

_Sir John._ "Ye took a receipt then, doubtless, Stephen; and can produce
it?"

_Stephen._ "Indeed I hadna time, an it like your honour; for nae sooner
had I set doun the siller, and just as his honour Sir Robert, that's
gaen, drew it till him to count it, and write out the receipt, he was
ta'en wi' the pains that removed him."

"That was unlucky," said Sir John, after a pause. "But you maybe paid it
in the presence of somebody. I want but a _talis qualis_ evidence,
Stephen. I would go ower strictly to work with no poor man."

_Stephen._ "Troth, Sir John, there was naebody in the room but Dougal
MacCallum the butler. But, as your honour kens, he has e'en followed his
auld master."

"Very unlucky again, Stephen," said Sir John, without altering his voice
a single note. "The man to whom ye paid the money is dead--and the man
who witnessed the payment is dead too--and the siller, which should have
been to the fore, is neither seen nor heard tell of in the repositories.
How am I to believe a' this?"

_Stephen._ "I dinna ken, your honour; but there is a bit memorandum note
of the very coins; for, God help me! I had to borrow out of twenty
purses; and I am sure that ilka man there set down will take his grit
oath for what purpose I borrowed the money."

_Sir John._ "I have little doubt ye _borrowed_ the money, Steenie. It is
the _payment_ to my father that I want to have some proof of."

_Stephen._ "The siller maun be about the house, Sir John. And since your
honour never got it, and his honour that was canna have ta'en it wi'
him, maybe some of the family may have seen it."

_Sir John._ "We will examine the servants, Stephen; that is but
reasonable."

But lackey and lass, and page and groom, all denied stoutly that they
had ever seen such a bag of money a