Huntingtower

as still in fair preservation, having till twenty years before been an adjunct of the house of Dalquharter, and used as kitchen, buttery and servants' quarters.

ated to lumber and the storage of produce. But it was dry and intact, its massive oak doors defied any weapon short of arti

en-and I guessed it was the key o' this castle. I was thinkin' that if things got ower hot it would be a good plan to f

heard the scurry of rats. A dismal place, indeed, but Dickson felt only its strangeness. The comfort of being back again among allies had quickened his spirit to an adventurous mood. The old lords

ng, their lanterns and camp kettles. These and the pro

s and the drip from the azaleas trickled over his spine. Two of the boys fetched the ladder and placed it against the verandah wall. Heritage first, then Dickson darted across the lawn and made the ascent. The six scouts followed, and the ladder

spers was held i

locked from the inside. So is the main door. But there's the verandah door, of which they have a key, and the back door beside the kitchen, and I'm not at all sure that there's not a way in by the boiler-house. You understand. We're holding this place against all comers. We must barricade the danger points. The headquarters of

o," assen

it's a scrap in the dark make for the man's throat. I expect you little devils have eyes like cats. The scoundre

d Dickson. "I go

ou have! Can

n't k

eight of us should be able to manage three and one of them lame. If the others turn up-well, God help us all! But we've g

s no light in the room, but Dickson was certain that t

McCunn and I will explai

ke no, and being a powerful man-rich and well-born and all the rest of it-she had a desperate time. I gather he was pretty high in favour with the old Court. Then when the Bolsheviks started he went over to them, like plenty of other grandees, and now he's one of their chief brains-none of your callow revolutionaries, but a man of the world, a kind of genius, she says, who can hold his own a

at he was like

angel-a lost a

enly had an

oreigner. Well, he was asking for a place he called Darkwater, and there's no sich place i

ight trail by this time. He'll be here to-night. That's why the three have been lying so quiet to-day. Well, we'll go thr

more t

. Good God, I wouldn't be elsewhere for worlds. It's t

about dying when there's no other way out. I'm looking at thi

ssage to the smoking-room. Dickson blinked in the light of a very feeble lamp and Heritage saw

tell you to cheer up-a stout heart to a stey brae, as the old folk say. I'm handling this affair as a business proposition, so don't be feared, M

uits, and another of salted almonds. Then from his hideously overcrowded pockets he took another box, which he

broke slowly into a smile. Youth came back to it, the smile changed to a

id, "you are kind and

she kis

which explodes some powerful charge and alters the face of a countryside. He blushed scarlet; then he wanted to cry; then he wanted to sing. An immense exhilaration seized

ly eating chocolates, but

ld the house

e final hours, so they will almost certainly come here to be on the spot. Our object is to keep them out and confuse their plans. Somewhere in this neighbourhood, probably very near, is the man you fear most. If we nonplus the three watchers, they'll have to revise their policy, and that mean

your law," the girl interru

thful man, but I'll lie like a packman if I'm asked questions. For the rest, it's a question of kidnapping, I understand, and that's a thing that's

kson made their way to the hall, where there was a faint glimmer from the moon in the upper unshuttered windows-enough to reveal the figure of Wee Jaikie on duty at the foot of the staircase. They ascended to the second floor, where, in a large room above the hall, Heritage had bestowed his pack. He had

his body from the buffetings of the past days, was almost instantly asleep. It seemed to him that he had scarcely closed his eyes

door," whispered the Chieftain. "I seen them

ed Heritage, who had ap

en to them. That gives us a chance to get them separated, and lock them up. There's walth o' closets and hidy-holes all over the place, each with good doors and good keys to them. Supposin' we get the three o' them shut up-the others, when they come, will h

come in one at a tim

gal firmly. "There's no tim

tage. "Who's at

our stockin' feet. Wait you in the hall and see ye're well hidden, for likely whoever comes in will have

plaster fluttered down. The noise was an advantage for the game of hide-and-seek they proposed to play, but it made it hard to detect the enemy's approach. Dickson, in order to get properly wakened, adventured as far as the smoking-room. It was black with night, but below the door of the adjacent room a faint line of light

ter Paterson and me had the barricade down. As we expected, Spittal tried the key again and it opens quite easy. He comes in and locks it behind him, and, Dobson having took away the lantern, he gropes his way very carefu' towards the kitchen. There's a point where the wine-cellar do

are at the verandah

ere. Ye can trust him. Ye'l

d he had played hide-and-seek, and his memory had always cherished the delights of the game. But how marvellous to play it

assage which led to the verandah door. That is to say, he could have seen these things if there had been any light, which there was not. He heard the soft flitting of bare feet, for a d

as a clatter on the floor and a breaking o

glistened from the weather. Dobson halted and listened to the wind howling in the upper spaces. He cursed it bitterly, looked at his watch, and t

here five minutes syne. It wou

e watchers under lock and key before reinforcements arrived, and so put grit in their w

t Spidel in. We want another lamp. Get the one tha

irs. Dickson's ear of faith heard also the soft patter of naked feet as the Die-Hards

f the hall, believing that Léon had gone to the smoking-room. It was a dangerous thing to do, for suddenly a match was lit a yard from him. He had the sense to drop low, and so was out of the main glare of the light. The man with the match

d as loud as he dared,

. He jumped a step back and then stood at att

essed as "Dogson" after the Poet's fashion. Had he dreamed it was Léon he would not

me," he

Scotch, like Dobson's, a

here is no chance of the Danish brig making your little harbour in this weather.

and ruminating. The silence made the Belgian suspect; he put out a hand and felt a waterproofed arm which might have been Dobson's. But the height of the shou

" he gaspe

ed the neck so savagely that the owner loosened his hold on Dickson. The last-named found himself being buffeted violently by heavy-shod feet which seemed to be man?uvring before an unseen enemy. He

ckground. The light went out as suddenly as it had appeared. There was a whistle, and a hoarse "Come on, men," and then for two seconds there was a desperate silent combat. It ended with Léon's head meeting the floor so violently that its possessor became oblivious of further proceedings. H

Dobson?"

Govey Dick! but yon was a fecht! Me and Peter Paterson and Wee Jaikie star

er," said a p

l have his work letting out the others. Now, I'm for flittin' to the old Tower. They'll no ken where we are for a long time, and anyway yon place will be far easier to defend. Without they kindle a fire and smoke us ou

oked limply. Blood trickled over his eyes from an ugly scar on his forehead. Dickson felt his heart and pulse and found the

should flit," said Dougal.

r would be late. We've still got that Somebody to tackle. Then Léon spoke to me in the dark, thinking I was Dobson, and cursed the wind, saying it would keep the Danish brig from getting in at dawn as had been intended. D'you see what that means? The worst of the lot, the ones the ladies are in terror of, are coming by sea. Ay, a

again sunk in gloom. "W

God we'll hold out long enough for help to arrive. But we mustn't hang about here. There's the man Dobson mentioned-he may come any second, and we want to be away first. Get t

wraps; more than one journey was needed of small boys, hidden under clouds of baggage. When everything had gone he collected the keys, behind which, in various quarters of the house, three gaolers

have locked all the three up,

that, properly speaki

u say?-a turning of the

. There was still only the faintest hint of light, and black night still lurked in the crannies. Followed another fall of pots,

was that villain from whom all the others took their orders, the man whom the Princess shuddered at. Before st

and clapped a hand to his left arm. Then h

and raised his pistol for another shot. Then he dropped it, for h

returned. "But the shot wasn't wasted. I'v