posed,
muffled herself up in the plaids provided for her, so as to cover her
head, and thus conceal her face. But it soon after appeared that these
plaids had nothing under them--the lady was not there.

No one had seen her move; and it must have been done in the thickest
darkness of the night. One man had heard a splash in the water
alongside. A cotton handkerchief, which she had worn on her head, was
found floating. It was to be feared that the lady had drowned herself.
After searching about in the neighbourhood all day, Macdonald departed
in his vessel, leaving a man to watch, in case of the body being thrown
up among the rocks. He had now no doubt of her death; and with a heavy
heart he went to confide this event--unfortunate for him, whether so or
not for anyone else--first to friends on the island, and next to his
chief. He met the minister on his landing, and took the opportunity of
whispering his news to some of those who came down to greet the pastor,
to his own wife, and to Annie Fleming, desiring them not to inform the
pastor, without his permission, that such a person as Lady Carse had
been among them. Then he set sail for Skye, to tell Sir Alexander, with
what face he might, that the poor lady would trouble them no more. It
would have been a vast relief to him to have anticipated the way in
which his chief would receive the news--how he would say that a great
perplexity was thus solved--that no harm could ensue, as the lady was
buried so long ago at Edinburgh--and that he had himself many times
repented having gone into the affair, and that he never would, but for
political and party reasons, and that he was heartily glad now to be
quit of it, in any way--to say nothing of this being, after all, a happy
event for the wretched lady herself and all belonging to her.

Meanwhile Lady Carse was not yet out of their way. She had still voice
to utter political secrets, and temper all eager to punish her foes.
She had slipped away in the dark, thrown herself overboard when she
found Rollo below, got drenched with sea-water and bruised against the
rocks, but was safe in hiding again.

Rollo's trouble was, that she laughed so heartily and so incessantly for
some time, that there was danger of her merriment betraying her. He
told her at last that she must try if she would leave off laughing when
left to herself. If she could not, she would then, at any rate, cause
no one but herself to be taken. He shoul