sit down, man-a Highlander laughs at a lock upon leather." And unsheathing his dirk, he ripped up the valise from end to end.

The contents were now exhibited, and along with two or three shirts, a pair or two of stockings, some handkerchiefs, a soap-box, a pocketglass, combs, razors, blacking-ball and brushes, &c. there was found a chamois leather-bag, containing coins, which Alexander Macgillivray emptied into the lap of his kilt, in such a manner as to enable himself to form a general judgment of the amount, without permitting the others to be equally wise. Amherst, from his position aloft, had an opportunity of observing that there were a number of gold and silver pieces, but he could not possibly guess at the amount, for all the heads in the group were instantly thrust forward to reckon them, and so concealed the heap from his view, without getting any satisfaction themselves, for Alexander Macgillivray still managed very cleverly to veil them.

"This is not so bad," said he, "though, after all, it can hardly be the fellow I suspected. Let me see now-there's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!-ten yellow boys!—

then as to silver.

But hold!" said he, sho

velling them again into the bag,-"We'll count them all over, and share the booty in the morning.-John Forbes, you shall have a double portion, as a reward for your good shot; meanwhile, I'll put them in here," rising and opening a chest on which he had been sitting; " and now let us have something to eat and drink. Donald Robertson, see what you can get us out of the try, man!"

pan

In obedience to his command, one of the gang got up, and, much to Amherst's uneasiness, came towards the end of the hut over which he was lying, and lifted the lid of the large wooden chest, and going and returning once or twice, took from it some cold provisions, some bottles of spirits, and other articles for their meal. As he passed under the spot where the young Englishman was concealed, he observed a pool of blood on the clay floor, which had dropped from the death-wound made by the miller's ball in the breast of the unfortunate officer.

Och, hoch! hoo she bluids!" cried he.

"Never mind that, Duncan !" said the reckless miller, with a hardened laugh," it's the

blude o' the bottle, man, that we hae to do wi' ye noo,-sae come awa' wi't!"

The gang now began to eat, and to carouse it heartily, quaffing down large draughts of ardent spirits at intervals. The chief speakers were Alexander Macgillivray and Forbes the miller, who seemed to be a sort of lieutenant amongst them.

"Weel, after a' noo," said the miller," that devil o' a hellicate drover wad hae been worth twa o' this lobster-coated fallow, had we but felled him. I'se warrant his bags were furnished in anither sort o' manner, after a' thae south kintry marcats ?"

"It's a thousand pities we missed him, John,” replied Alexander Macgillivray. "But what is worst of all, I fear he may tell some tales, that won't be much to the advantage of our trade."

"Troth we have muckle need to do things cannily," rejoined the miller," the mair, sin' we see that the Laird is sae resolved to protect that English loon that's staying wi' him the noo, down yonder at the house o' Lochandhu. An I had the sortin o' him,-my faith, I wad whittle his craig for him as soon as gif he ware ane of my ain grice."

My brother Edward is too much of a gentleman for us," said Alexander,-" his imprudence If he didn't is absolutely astonishing to me. mean to permit us to make our own of the youth, who, from what Angus saw at Macphie's, has something about him well worth our while, at least it was madness to bring him to Badenoch to be a spy upon our actions.-I have argued and argued with him till I am tired about this Saxon. I have endeavoured to persuade him of the truth of what I myself believe, that he was the man who defended Lord Eaglesholme, and assisted him in killing the two brave fellows who beset him on the cliffs,-but all in vain. It won't do,—we must not suffer Edward's folly to hang us as well as himself. We must serve this fellow as we served Kennedy, and that soon too. The accident of his finding the corpse of that traitor has made a strong impression on him, by Lochandhu's account. We know not all he may have learned from the villain when he was alive, and we must not give his suspicions time to operate. I should have proposed to way-lay him last night when he went to the loch, or this afternoon as he returned from the moors, where I under

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stand he went this morning, had not the job of these trunks, and these affairs to-night, given us enough to do. But to-morrow night the deed must be attempted, even if it should be in the house of Lochandhu itself; and we must even trust to our after endeavours for pacifying Edward, and overcoming those ridiculous notions of the rights of hospitality,' and the hereditary claims of gratitude,' about which he is always rhyming."

"Can ye no shake the Laird's determination anent him, by raising suspicions of his having discovered some o' his secrets ?" demanded the miller; "that might, maybe, be a way o' throwin' cauld water upon his scruples."

66.

I thought I did succeed in some degree last night, after he told me of the lad's discovery of the corpse of that rascal Kennedy," replied Macgillivray. "Edward was very angry at first, that we should have taken such summary vengeance upon the false knave at our own hands, without consulting him. But when I told him the cause, and described to him what we had observed to pass between them that day of the deer-hunt, I thought he seemed to wince and fidgit a