'Clacher must have heard about it,' said Miss Jane.
'I shouldn't wonder,' said Lee. 'Clacher, do you know about the
Inverkip Glen affair?'
'Of course. I'm Robert Chartres. I'm Clacher too, and Bonnie
Prince Charlie. I don't know how.'
'Then,' said Lee, 'just tell us about it. Your acquaintance with it may be evidence of your identity.'
'The Inverkip Glen business?' said Clacher. 'A'body kens that.
Damn!' he growled at the Scotch.
'Let us see, now,' said Lee. 'Have you any details that could only be known to Robert and his family?'
'Inverkip Glen,' said Clacher. 'When I was fourteen or thereabouts, I went away wi' a wheen laddies an' hid in it for twa-three days. I ca'ed mysel' Prince Charlie, an' the ithers wis cheeftans—Lochiel an' Glengarry, ye ken. We fought the servants that wis sent tae bring us hame, an' they had tae send the polis tae fetch us.'
This was spoken very haltingly, and ended with a savage oath at his own inability to speak correctly.
'He could have learned all that in the village,' said Miss Jane.
Lee rose, leant gracefully against the mantelpiece, and addressed
Clacher.