"His name was McGuirk."
"A Hieland body?" Nancy inquired.
"In the service of the duke himself."
"What did he swear to?"
"He swore to Tod's having threated the duke's life, and that Tod had said to him there was a way to even the matter of the raised rent."
"Ah," said Nancy, and there was a bit of admiration in her tone, "the duke's a clever man. In all his law-suiting he finds out just what bit of testimony is needed and gets it."
"If you'll excuse me," she said, rising, "I'll go down and see Meenie, who probably thinks everything in life is over."
As she went over the grass with Jamie, Danvers Carmichael turned an astonished face toward us.
"What is it all about?" he asked.
"It's a long tale," I answered, "which, stripped of its trappings, runs like this: Meenie is Jamie's adopted sister, and the Lapraik man is a sweetheart of hers who owns a bit farm in the Highlands next to Borthwicke Castle——"