really he meant in the classics, for his thoughts were
running that way and I could see that he was itching to be at it again
with Freddy.

"Tell your mother," he said, adjusting his spectacles on his nose, "and
please shut the door after you!"

Having thus obtained leave from the power-that-was, the matter was
broken to my mother. She only asked if we had told John, and being
assured of that, felt that her entire responsibility was cleared, and so
subsided into the fifth volume of Sir Charles Grandison, where thrilling
things were going on in the cedar parlour. It was my mother's favourite
book, but was carefully laid aside when my grandmother came--nay, even
concealed as conscientiously as I under my coat conveyed away the
bell-mouthed, silver-mounted blunderbuss which hung over the hat-rack in
the lobby. Buckshot, wads, and a powderhorn I also secreted about my
person.

On our way I catechized Agnes Anne tightly as to the nature of the
danger which had put her so suddenly in fear. But she eluded me. Indeed,
I am not sure she knew herself. All I could gather was that a letter
which had reached Miss Irma that morning, had given warning of trouble
of some particular deadly sort impending upon the dwellers in the house
of Marnhoul. When Agnes Anne opened the door of the hall to let the
sunshine and air into the gloomy recesses where the shadows still lurked
in spite of the light from the high windows, she had found a folded
letter nailed to the door of Marnhoul. The blade of a foreign-looking
knife had been thrust through it deep into the wood, and the stag's-horn
handle turned down in the shape of a reversed capital V--the spring
holding the paper firm. It was addressed to Miss Irma Maitland, and
evidently had reference to something disastrous, for all day Miss Irma
had gone about with a pale face, and a pitiful wringing action of her
fingers. No words, however, had escaped her except only "What shall I
do? Oh, what shall I do? My Louis--my poor little Louis!"

The danger, then, whatever it might be, was one which particularly
touched the boy baronet. I could not help hoping that it might not be
any plot of the lawyers in Dumfries to get him away. For if I were
obliged to fire off "King George," and perhaps kill somebody, I
preferred that it should not be against those who had the law on their
side. For in that case my father might lose his places, both as chief
teacher and as postmaster.

I got Agnes Anne to loo