lad, be he lord or labourer, to lea'
himsel' oot whan the blame comes. An' says I, 'My lord,' says I, 'ye
oucht to ken better! I s' say nae mair i' the noo, for I'm ower angry.
Gang yer ways--but na! no thegither, my lord! I s' luik weel to
that!--Gang up til yer ain room, Eppy!' I said, 'an' gien I dinna see
ye there whan I come in, it's awa' to your grannie I gang this varra
nicht!'

"Eppy she gaed; an' my lord he stude there, wi' a face 'at glowert
white throuw the gloamin'. I turned upon him like a wild beast, an'
says I, 'I winna speir what ye 're up til, my lord, but ye ken weel
eneuch what it luiks like! an' I wud never hae expeckit it o' ye!' He
began an' he stammert, an' he beggit me to believe there was naething
'atween them, an' he wudna harm the lassie to save his life, an' a' the
lave o' 't, 'at I couldna i' my hert but pity them baith--twa sic
bairns, doobtless drawn thegither wi' nae thoucht o' ill, ilk ane by
the bonny face o' the ither, as is but nait'ral, though it canna be
allooed! He beseekit me sae sair 'at I foolishly promised no to tell
his faither gien he on his side wud promise no to hae mair to du wi'
Eppy. An' that he did. Noo I never had reason to doobt my yoong lord's
word, but in a case o' this kin' it's aye better no to lippen. Ony
gait, the thing canna be left this wise, for gien ill cam o' 't, whaur
wud we a' be! I didna promise no to tell onybody; I'm free to tell
yersel,' maister Grant; an' ye maun contrive what's to be dune."

"I will speak to him," said Donal, "and see what humour he is in. That
will help to clear the thing up. We will try to do right, and trust to
be kept from doing wrong."

Donal left her to go to his room, but had not reached the top of the
stair when he saw clearly that he must speak to lord Forgue at once: he
turned and went down to a room that was called his.

When he reached it, only Davie was there, turning over the leaves of a
folio worn by fingers that had been dust for centuries. He said Percy
went out, and would not let him go with him.

Knowing mistress Brookes was looking after Eppy, Donal put off seeking
farther for Forgue till the morrow.

CHAPTER XXV.

EVASION.

The next day he could find him nowhere, and in the evening went to see
the Comins. It was pretty dark, but the moon would be up by and by.

When he reached the cobbler's house, he found him working as usual,
only in-doors now that the weather was colder, and the l