off his hat, and held it in his hand.

"Oh, nothing to you, nothing at all, Mr. Macartney. I did not know you
were here. Indeed, you were quite right to stop the man. As for what I
said, I beg you to forget it. It was nothing but a joke, a little joke
of mine."

He bowed and cringed. He spoke in a deprecating whine, very different
from the blustering tone he had used before. Neal's interest in the
scene before him became suddenly very acute. He was almost certain now
that he recognised the voice. The whining tone brought back to him the
night when he had interfered with James Finlay's salmon poaching. The
voice was, he felt sure of it, Finlay's voice. He drew back quickly,
and from within the window watched Finlay pass through the inn door. He
heard his steps in the passage, heard him open the door of the room in
which the travellers were gathered. Neal shrank back into the shadow of
the window seat and watched.

Finlay swaggered across the floor and then paused and looked at Donald
Ward, who smoked his pipe in the chimney corner. Then he turned to the
other two.

"I don't know this gentleman," he said. "Is he----?"

He paused, his eyebrows elevated, his face expressing significant
interrogation. Neal saw him plainly in the lamp light. He had not been
mistaken in the voice. It was James Finlay. The man who had guided them
to the inn rose without speaking and led the way to the private room
which the maid had prepared for his reception. Neal jumped down from his
seat and approached his uncle.

"Uncle Donald," he said, "that was James Finlay, the man we are looking
for."

Donald took his pipe out of his mouth and looked hard at Neal.

"Are you quite sure?" he said. "It won't do to be making a mistake in a
job of this sort."

"I'm quite sure."

Donald replaced his pipe in his mouth and puffed hard at it for some
minutes. Then he said--

"You don't know either of the other two, I suppose? No. Well it can't
be helped. It would have been convenient if we had known. They may be
honest men or they may be another pair of spies. I think I'll try and
find out something about them. Do you stay here, Neal, and watch. Let
me know if any of the three of them leave the house. I'll go down the
passage to the tap-room. I'll drink a glass or two, and I'll see what
information I can pick up. You see, my boy, if the other two are honest
men we ought to warn them of our suspicions about Finlay. If they are
spies we ought to