ly, but you have made it impossible. Impossible!" he repeated
sombrely, and stalked to the door.

Next morning, Sir Malcolm left for London, his confidence still locked
in his breast, and Cicely was alone with Lady Cromarty.

XVI

RUMOUR

One windy afternoon a man on a bicycle struggled up to the door of
Stanesland Castle and while waiting for an answer to his ring, studied
the front of that ancient building with an expression which would at
once have informed his intimates that he was meditating on the
principles of Scottish baronial architecture. A few minutes later Mr.
Bisset was shown into the laird of Stanesland's smoking room and
addressed Mr. Cromarty with a happy blend of consciousness of his own
importance and respect for the laird's.

"I have taken the liberty of calling, sir, for to lay before you a few
fresh datas."

"Fire away," said the laird.

"In the first place, sir, I understand that you have been making
enquiries through the county yourself, sir; is that not so?"

"I've been through this blessed county, Bisset, from end to end to see
whether I could get on the track of any suspicious stranger. I've been
working both with the police and independent of the police, and I've
drawn blank."

Bisset looked distinctly disappointed.

"I've heard, sir, one or two stories which I was hoping might have
something in them."

"I've heard about half a dozen and gone into them all, and there's
nothing in one of them."

"Half a dozen stories?" Bisset's eye began to look hopeful again. "Well,
sir, perhaps if I was to go into some of them again in the light of my
fresh datas, they might wear, as it were, a different aspect."

"Well," said Ned. "What have you found? Have a cigar and let's hear what
you've been at."

The expert crackled the cigar approvingly between his fingers, lit it
with increased approval, and began:

"Yon man was behind the curtains all the time."

"The devil he was! How do you know?"

"Well, sir, it's a matter of deduction. Ye see supposing he came in by
the door, there are objections, and supposing he came in by the windie
there are objections. Either way there are objections which make it
difficult for to accept those theories. And then it struck me--the man
must have been behind the curtains all the while!"

"He must have come either by the door or window to get there."

"That's true, Mr. Cromarty. But such minor points we can consider in a
wee while, when we have