s course--but
when a thing was trusted to ane in her way, doubtless they were
responsible; but she suld cry in Deacon Bearcliff, and if Mr. Glossin
liked to tak an inventar o' the property, and gie her a receipt before
the Deacon--or, what she wad like muckle better, an it could be sealed up
and left in Deacon Bearcliff's hands--it wad mak her mind easy. She was
for naething but justice on a' sides.'

Mrs. Mac-Candlish's natural sagacity and acquired suspicion being
inflexible, Glossin sent for Deacon Bearcliff, to speak 'anent the
villain that had shot Mr. Charles Hazlewood.' The Deacon accordingly made
his appearance with his wig awry, owing to the hurry with which, at this
summons of the Justice, he had exchanged it for the Kilmarnock cap in
which he usually attended his customers. Mrs. Mac-Candlish then produced
the parcel deposited with her by Brown, in which was found the gipsy's
purse. On perceiving the value of the miscellaneous contents, Mrs.
Mac-Candlish internally congratulated herself upon the precautions she
had taken before delivering them up to Glossin, while he, with an
appearance of disinterested candour, was the first to propose they should
be properly inventoried, and deposited with Deacon Bearcliff, until they
should be sent to the Crown-office. 'He did not,' he observed, 'like to
be personally responsible for articles which seemed of considerable
value, and had doubtless been acquired by the most nefarious practices.'

He then examined the paper in which the purse had been wrapt up. It was
the back of a letter addressed to V. Brown, Esquire, but the rest of the
address was torn away. The landlady, now as eager to throw light upon the
criminal's escape as she had formerly been desirous of withholding it,
for the miscellaneous contents of the purse argued strongly to her mind
that all was not right,--Mrs. Mac-Candlish, I say, now gave Glossin to
understand that her position and hostler had both seen the stranger upon
the ice that day when young Hazlewood was wounded.

Our readers' old acquaintance Jock Jabos was first summoned, and admitted
frankly that he had seen and conversed upon the ice that morning with a
stranger, who, he understood, had lodged at the Gordon Arms the night
before.

'What turn did your conversation take?' said Glossin.

'Turn? ou, we turned nae gate at a', but just keep it straight forward
upon the ice like.'

'Well, but what did ye speak about?'

'Ou, he just asked ques