At this appeal, I could see the lass was in great trouble of mind,
being tempted to help us, and yet in some fear she might be helping
malefactors; and so now I determined to step in myself and to allay her
scruples with a portion of the truth.

"Did ever you, hear" said I, "of Mr. Rankeillor of the Ferry?"

"Rankeillor the writer?" said she. "I daur say that!"

"Well," said I, "it's to his door that I am bound, so you may judge by
that if I am an ill-doer; and I will tell you more, that though I am
indeed, by a dreadful error, in some peril of my life, King George has
no truer friend in all Scotland than myself."

Her face cleared up mightily at this, although Alan's darkened.

"That's more than I would ask," said she. "Mr. Rankeillor is a kennt
man." And she bade us finish our meat, get clear of the clachan as soon
as might be, and lie close in the bit wood on the sea-beach. "And ye can
trust me," says she, "I'll find some means to put you over."

At this we waited for no more, but shook hands with her upon the
bargain, made short work of the puddings, and set forth again from
Limekilns as far as to the wood. It was a small piece of perhaps a score
of elders and hawthorns and a few young ashes, not thick enough to veil
us from passersby upon the road or beach. Here we must lie, however,
making the best of the brave warm weather and the good hopes we now had
of a deliverance, and planing more particularly what remained for us to
do.

We had but one trouble all day; when a strolling piper came and sat in
the same wood with us; a red-nosed, bleareyed, drunken dog, with a great
bottle of whisky in his pocket, and a long story of wrongs that had been
done him by all sorts of persons, from the Lord President of the
Court of Session, who had denied him justice, down to the Bailies of
Inverkeithing who had given him more of it than he desired. It was
impossible but he should conceive some suspicion of two men lying all
day concealed in a thicket and having no business to allege. As long as
he stayed there he kept us in hot water with prying questions; and after
he was gone, as he was a man not very likely to hold his tongue, we were
in the greater impatience to be gone ourselves.

The day came to an end with the same brightness; the night fell quiet
and clear; lights came out in houses and hamlets and then, one after
another, began to be put out; but it was past eleven, and we were long
since strangely tortured with a