famous criminal who had paid the last penalty for his
crime? And a graceless but fascinating woman at that. The whole thing
might be a gigantic plot to wrest more from the estates than that will
of Sir Andrew's was likely to leave to her and her immediate family.

Captain Macdonald and the good lady might share things between them, and
then make off together when things had righted themselves and start
again in another country. It seemed incredible after what Maud Duggan
had said of him, and yet.... Love blinds a woman's eyes even more than
it blinds a man's, and the good Captain was a handsome devil, to say the
least of him.

The web of his imaginings spun itself on and on during that brief walk
back to the house alone, with the parcel containing those tell-tale
hunting-boots under his arm, Dollops having been left on the outskirts
of the wood to "keep his eyes open and see what he could see." It was
remarkable how one thing led to another, tightening the chain all the
time. Here was possible motive, surely, and what if that note had been
written by the worthy Captain? H'm. That certainly was possible. And
the initials were the same. Gad! it gave one to think, as the French
say. It did indeed! For the Law gave a widow a third share of
everything--and in the case of no will her son had an equal share with
the other children of the first family. And Maud Duggan had told him
that Sir Andrew had left her enough to live upon for herself and
Cyril.... But all these estates in Scotland, that were not part of the
entail, well, a third would certainly bring them more than _that_.

He didn't trust Lady Paula. He'd met her kind too often before to take
her upon face value. But the Duggans themselves came of far different
stock. H'm. That might be it. And the air-pistol stunt simply used to
throw the blame upon Ross. Gad! it grew more credible as one went on
thinking about it. But there were loop-holes to be filled up before one
could be even sure. The condition of Captain Macdonald's affairs would
assist considerably. Maud Duggan had said he was poor. Another link. He
might even be in debt. Possibly was. Well, that must be looked into,
too.

But if the thing had actually gone so far as murder, why had there been
two of 'em--when one would have done? And Lady Paula had stood upon her
liege-lord's _right_ hand, and not upon his left. And it was through the
heart that that little poignard had pierced. And Catherine Dowd stood
t