up
till daylight, and Sir Murray returned to the Castle, to find McCray
sitting up in bed with a blanket round him, sipping whisky and water,
hot and strong.

"Gude sake, Sir Mooray!" he exclaimed, as his master entered. "We won
the day. I ken a' aboot it--how ye shot one and took the ither; and
Jock Gurdon's coming round--the villin!--and no more dead than I am.
But it had got verra close to the end, Sir Mooray."

"My brave fellow!" exclaimed his master--"you did nobly."

"Hoot! just naething at a', Sir Mooray. But winna ye try the whuskee?"

"No, my good fellow. But I don't know how I am to reward you."

"Hoot! then, Sir Mooray, I'll just tell ye," said the Scot, whose eye
was even now on the main chance. "Tam Wilkins is a gude servant, but
he's auld, and past the gairden. Suppose ye mak' me head-gairdener, and
give Jenny Barker a hint that she'd better marry me as soon as we've
transported Jock Gurdon."

"My good fellow, I'll stand your friend, depend upon it," said the
baronet, smiling in spite of himself. But the next moment he frowned
heavily, as he said, in a low voice: "Do you know who it was that saved
you?"

"No, Sir Mooray, unless it was one of the lads in the bit skiff. But
this is rare whuskee, Sir Mooray!"

Sir Murray frowned more deeply before speaking again.

"Did you see any one with the villain you so nobly captured? Though how
you came to suspect the attack I don't know."

"Not a soul; only the two ye've taken, Sir Mooray," said Sandy,
reddening, perhaps from the effect of the whisky. "And as to
suspecting, I have no suspicion in me; but I jist like to see of a night
that naebody's after the grapes or bit of wall-fruit, for Tam Wilkins is
getting past minding it."

There was nothing more to be learned here, and, day breaking soon after,
Sir Murray summoned two more of his men--a couple who had not been so
harassed--and proceeded once more to drag the lake, more assistance and
better implements being at the same time sent for.

But first he had himself rowed carefully over the water, peering down as
he went, but the dragging had fouled the lake, so that this was soon
given up as useless, and Sir Murray was about once more to lower the
grapnel, when one of the men pointed out, with scared face, what
appeared to be the body of a man floating at a short distance.

To reach the spot took but a few moments, and one of the men reached
over to draw in a coat and vest, saturated, so t