members of the Triple Alliance said good-bye to Mrs. Shaw, thanking her
profusely for all her kindness, and then started homewards, going
together to the Braeside gate. Before they parted Alan said,--

"I say, look here, you two; should you mind if I asked you not to tell
about this morning? It was a jolly good hit, and all that, but I
shouldn't like Herbert to know about it. He'd chaff me so, and tell the
fellows." And his face flushed crimson at the thought.

"More secrets," said Blanche. "I'll promise not to tell any one but
mother. I simply can't keep a secret unless I tell her."

"Irishman!" cried Alan promptly. "Well, tell your mother if you like;
and Marjory can tell her uncle, and nobody else. Do you agree?"

"I don't know that I shall want to tell," remarked Marjory, flushing in
her turn. "It wasn't such a very nice thing for me to do."

"Well, I'm jiggered," said Alan inelegantly; "I thought the first thing
a girl would want to do would be to go and blab about it all over the
place." And he regarded Marjory as if she were a natural curiosity.

"And yet," she continued, "I suppose I ought to tell, because I think
you behaved so well about it, making friends after it. And then think
what you did for Curly."

"Ra--ats! Good-bye, and long live the T. A.!" cried Alan, running off
towards home.

It was nearly four o'clock when they said good-bye at the Braeside gate,
and it was rapidly getting dark. Marjory went quickly up the hill,
fearing a reprimand from her uncle for being out so late. The day had
been an eventful one, but its excitements were not yet over. As she
hurried through the wood, she heard a sudden crackling and rustling
amongst the fallen leaves and twigs, and a man came from behind a tree
and stood facing her.

"Don't be frightened, miss," he said in a low voice. "I'm a stranger
here, and I want to ask if you can tell me where Dr. Hunter lives."

"He lives in that house up there," replied Marjory, pointing towards
Hunters' Brae; "and this is his ground," she added, as much as to say,
"What are you doing here?" Then she continued, "Do you wish to see Dr.
Hunter?"

The man took no notice, and resumed his questioning.

"Isn't there a house on his property called the Low Farm? and can you
tell me who keeps it?"

Marjory wondered who this man could be. His manner was straightforward,
and from what she could see, his face was honest; still she felt
somewhat suspicious. There had been rumou