"But you—you know Gaelic very well?" she said.
"I think I may fairly say that I do," he confessed frankly enough.
"Then," said she, "if you could find the time, would not that be sufficient to form a commission—Mr. Watson, and you, and I? There would be no kind of conflicting interests; and we should all want to do what was equitable and right by the people."
"Oh," said he, in a wondering sort of way, "there would be only these three—Mr. Watson, yourself, and I?"
"Mr. Purdie," said she, "would simply be a kind of clerk——"
And instantly his face changed.
"Mr. Purdie," said he, "is he coming to take part in it?"
"Only as a kind of clerk," she said quickly. "He would merely register our decisions. And of course he knows the people and all the circumstances; he could give us what information we wanted, and we could form our own judgment."
But there was no return to his face of that sympathetic interest that she had read there for a brief moment or two. His manner had entirely altered; and as they were now close to Lochgarra House, he had to take his leave.
"As far as I am concerned, Miss Stanley," said he, "I would rather leave this resettlement in Mr. Purdie's hands. Intermeddlers only make mischief, and get little thanks for their pains."