ne of that."

"Well, but my daughter," moaned the wretched man.

"Your daughter will do well enough. Here are two suitors, Cassilis and
I, neither of us beggars, between whom she has to choose. And as for
yourself, to make an end of arguments, you have no right to a farthing,
and, unless I'm much mistaken, you are going to die."

It was certainly very cruelly said; but Mr. Huddlestone was a man who
attracted little sympathy; and, although I saw him wince and shudder, I
mentally endorsed the rebuke; nay, I added a contribution of my own.

"Northmour and I," I said, "are willing enough to help you to save your
life, but not to escape with stolen property."

He struggled for a while with himself, as though he were on the point of
giving way to anger, but prudence had the best of the controversy.

"My dear boys," he said, "do with me or my money what you will. I leave
all in your hands. Let me compose myself."

And so we left him, gladly enough I am sure. The last that I saw, he had
once more taken up his great Bible, and with tremulous hands was
adjusting his spectacles to read.

CHAPTER VII

TELLS HOW A WORD WAS CRIED THROUGH THE PAVILION WINDOW

The recollection of that afternoon will always be graven on my mind.
Northmour and I were persuaded that an attack was imminent; and if it
had been in our power to alter in any way the order of events, that
power would have been used to precipitate rather than delay the critical
moment. The worst was to be anticipated; yet we could conceive no
extremity so miserable as the suspense we were now suffering. I have
never been an eager, though always a great, reader; but I never knew
books so insipid as those which I took up and cast aside that afternoon
in the pavilion. Even talk became impossible as the hours went on. One
or other was always listening for some sound, or peering from an
upstairs window over the links. And yet not a sign indicated the
presence of our foes.

We debated over and over again my proposal with regard to the money; and
had we been in complete possession of our faculties, I am sure we should
have condemned it as unwise; but we were flustered with alarm, grasped
at a straw, and determined, although it was as much as advertising Mr.
Huddlestone's presence in the pavilion, to carry my proposal into
effect.

The sum was part in specie, part in bank paper, and part in circular
notes payable to the name of James Gregory. We took it out, counte