who had ridden away in such a furious fashion, could not have escaped a similar fate.

The horse had only been found about an hour previous to the arrival of the mistress; and the men were just proposing to proceed down the burn in search of the body of their master when they observed her approaching.

They received her with gloomy countenances, yet not without expectation that she would be able to assure them of the guidman's safety. The intelligence that Robin had not been home since he had gone off with Brown Jock startled her, and the spectacle presented by the mutilated carcass of the horse gave her a new shock of horror. It seemed as if the wretched events springing out of Falcon's return were to have no end.

As she was unable to give any account of the whereabouts of her husband, there was nothing to be done but start on the expedition already proposed. First, however, Jeanie despatched one of the men to the neighbouring farm of Boghaugh to inquire if Cairnieford had called there.

In less than an hour the man came back, accompanied by the old farmer Dunbar, his son Jock, and a couple of ploughmen. None of the Boghaugh folk had seen Robin since Monday last; and, alarmed by the news of his absence and the finding of the horse which the Cairnieford messenger had brought, they had come over to render what assistance they

could in the search.

'Three of the men immediately started to follow the course of the burn down to the shore; whilst young Dunbar, Mackie the Cairnieford grieve, and two others, proceeded up the glen, keeping close to the bed of the stream, and as that was a difficult matter owing to the many narrow passes, with high, steep, and sometimes perpendicular sides, through which the current flowed, their progress was necessarily slow. It was therefore agreed that the first party, failing to discover anything on their way to the shore, should hasten after the second, to assist in the more arduous part of the undertaking.

Each party carried ropes and long pitchforks, the latter to

probe pools, deep gullies, and fissures in the rocks. It was nearly an hour past noon when they started, and they had to make the most of their time, as they would only have about three hours of daylight for the work. Although any of them could have walked to Askaig and back in a couple of hours by the ordinary road, that which they were to follow would оссиру double the time, even if they had not had the drawback of having to search the stream.

Dunbar and Mackie were in advance of their companions; and before they had proceeded many paces the latter said with sagacious shake of the head—

"I doubt there's been a gey habble at ween them."

"Atween wha?" queried Jock Dunbar, a stalwart young fellow, whose whole thoughts were bent on the melancholy task in hand, and his eyes searching the stream closely, whilst . at almost every step his long fork was dipped in the black

current.

"Atween the mistress and her guidman," rejoined the grieve, who was diligent enough in the work, although less active than his comrade. "Cairnieford gaed off yestreen after her in siccan a fury as I never saw him in afore; and did ye no notice the face o' the mistress ? '

"Aye, she looked skeart like."

"Skeart—doonricht miserable, say I. Tak' my word for't, there's been a braw habble, an' I'm misdoubtin' we'll find the end o't yonder" (pointing to the water).

"I hope no, though I can jalouse what they would quarrel about. Can ye?"

Surely; the speak's been out for a week past that Jeamie Falcon had come hame, and that he was bidin' up at Askaig clean crazy at finding that his dawtie was married to Cairnieford. A'body's talking o't, and won'erin' what will be the upshot."

"Its true eneuch that Jeamie cam' hame. I saw him mysel' on Saturday and spoke to him. But he was sae dour that I didna fash to seek him again."

Certain stages of the way were easily traversed, and the

task of sounding the stream was accomplished by simply reaching out the long forks they carried. But gradually as they penetrated the heart of the hills their passage was intercepted by jagged rocks and steep acclivities, at the top of which the forks were useless for sounding purposes.

This difficulty, however, was overcome by Dunbar, who fastened a lump of stone about the size of a bull's head to the end of a rope, and cast it down into the water. By means of this simple drag they were enabled to assure themselves that they did not miss the object of their search. Still it was slow work, and they had made little more than half the distance to Askaig when the deepening shadows of the hills around them intimated that they would not have daylight to complete their task.

The hills rose in solemn gloom above them, and every object at only a few yards' distance was fading into shadow, while dark clouds seemed suddenly to have dipped down touching the earth.

They had now attained a point where they would have been compelled to make a long pause, even had the sun been high above them instead of being low behind the hills. A rock seemed to have been cleft in twain, making a channel for the burn. At the top the ridges leaned towards each other, leaving only a space of about six feet in width. But at the base the water had hollowed out the rock on either side, forming two cavities of several feet in depth, dry when the burn was low.

The searchers were in a strait to find means of examining this place with sufficient care. Mackie proposed that they should cease operations until next day, when they would have light enough to see to the bottom of the chasm, which at present appeared to them only as a black hollow.

Dunbar was indecisively dragging the heavy stone across the current at the bottom, lifting it above the water and swinging it as far under the projecting rock as he could manage. The stone encountered some obstacle. He tugged gently; the obstacle seemed to yield, not like stone.

N

“There's something yonder," he said in an awe-stricken whisper; and his companions held their breath.

"Better no shift it then till the morn," said Mackie after a pause, also in a whisper.

"Halloo, halloo!"

The men started at the shout which reached their ears, as if they had fancied for a moment that the sound had come up from the depth of the chasm where that “something” was lying.

The halloo was repeated, nearer and more distinct. They answered the signal, peering in the direction whence the sound proceeded. At length they descried two figures approaching, and in a little while they were beside them.

They were two of the men who had been on the search down the burn to the shore.

"Hae ye found onything?" queried Mackie.

“No, we hae nae foun' ought; but whan we got back to the house they tauld us that word had cam' the maister was in the toon safe eneuch.”

"Hooray!" shouted the listeners heartily-all except Dun

bar.

He regarded the speaker doubtingly.

“Are ye sure o' that ?”

“Weel, I'm sure eneuch, gin they haena tauld me a lee about it, an' I ettle they wouldna do that.”

"No, they wouldna do that," echoed Dunbar, looking perplexedly down the chasm; "but there's something yonder."

“Fient a hair need we care noo what's there, sin nacbody's drooned. Come awa, lad, it'll be dark eneuch afore we win hame," argued Mackie.

"I'd like to ken what it is, though."

"What would it be ?"

"A body.”

66

Hoots, what would a body dae there—onyway leave it till the morn, when we'll be able to see what we're doing; it'll no be a hae't the waur. Ye can let the rape hing there a' nicht,

and we'll row this stane on tae the end o't to keep it siccar, though I'll warrant ye, we's get naething for our pains, but aiblins a clod o' peat, or an auld ewe that tint hersel'."

There was a slight laugh at Dunbar's expense, and he turned away with the rest after the rope had been made secure as arranged. The laugh had not been very loud, for there was a certain eerie aspect on the place, with the broad shadows of the hills and the night deepening over it, and the melancholy swish of the stream through the chasm, which restrained mirth. But it was enough to make the young fellow wince and yield his point; for, like most folk, he was more sensitive to ridicule than reason.

A body was lying down there under the rock, although not that of Robin Gray.

CHAPTER XXIV.

A MESSAGE.

"And are ye sure the news is true,

And are ye sure he's weel?"—Jean Adams.

JEANIE had seen the men start on the search with a kind of trepidation, which she could not clearly define to herself. It was not fear that they would find her husband--for recollecting that when he had encountered her on the top of the Brownie's Bite he had been without the horse, she calculated that the animal must have been lost before he had arrived at Askaig. It was a fear lest they should find somebody else-whom, she dared not whisper to herself.

She had detained her father from accompanying the searchers, as he had intended, by telling him that she had need of his help for another mission. She purposed sending him to Clashgirn to make inquiries about Falcon, as she thought it probable that, before quitting the country finally, he would either visit the Laird or send him some message. She was anxious to be assured in some way, that the fine hypothesis she