I paid him as good or better on the return; whereupon he stepped a

little back and took off his hat to me decorously.
"Enough plows I think," says he. "I will be the offended shentleman,

for who effer heard of such suffeeciency as tell a shentlemans that is
the king's officer he cannae speak Cot's English? We have swords at

our hurdles, and here is the King's Park at hand. Will ye walk first,
or let me show ye the way?"

I returned his bow, told him to go first, and followed him. As he went
I heard him grumble to himself about COT'S ENGLISH and the KING'S COAT,

so that I might have supposed him to be seriously offended. But his
manner at the beginning of our interview was there to belie him. It

was manifest he had come prepared to fasten a quarrel on me, right or
wrong; manifest that I was taken in a fresh contrivance of my enemies;

and to me (conscious as I was of my deficiencies) manifest enough that
I should be the one to fall in our encounter.

As we came into that rough rocky desert of the King's Park I was
tempted half-a-dozen times to take to my heels and run for it, so loath

was I to show my ignorance in fencing, and so much averse to die or
even to be wounded. But I considered if their malice went as far as

this, it would likely stick at nothing; and that to fall by the sword,
however ungracefully, was still an improvement on the gallows. I

considered besides that by the unguarded pertness of my words and the
quickness of my blow I had put myself quite out of court; and that even

if I ran, my adversary would probably pursue and catch me, which would
add disgrace to my misfortune. So that, taking all in all, I continued

marching behind him, much as a man follows the hangman, and certainly
with no more hope.

We went about the end of the long craigs, and came into the Hunter's
Bog. Here, on a piece of fair turf, my adversary drew. There was

nobody there to see us but some birds; and no resource for me but to
follow his example, and stand on guard with the best face I could

display. It seems it was not good enough for Mr. Dancansby, who spied
some flaw in my manoeuvres, paused, looked upon me sharply, and came

off and on, and menaced me with his blade in the air. As I had seen no
such proceedings from Alan, and was besides a good deal affected with

the proximity of death, I grew quite bewildered, stood helpless, and
could have longed to run away.

"Fat deil ails her?" cries the lieutenant.
And suddenly engaging, he twitched the sword out of my grasp and sent

it flying far among the rushes.
Twice was this manoeuvrerepeated; and the third time when I brought

back my humiliated weapon, I found he had returned his own to the
scabbard, and stood awaiting me with a face of some anger, and his

hands clasped under his skirt.
"Pe tamned if I touch you!" he cried, and asked me bitterly what right

I had to stand up before "shentlemans" when I did not know the back of
a sword from the front of it.

I answered that was the fault of my upbringing; and would he do me the
justice to say I had given him all the satisfaction it was

unfortunately in my power to offer, and had stood up like a man?
"And that is the truth," said he. "I am fery prave myself, and pold as

a lions. But to stand up there - and you ken naething of fence! - the
way that you did, I declare it was peyond me. And I am sorry for the

plow; though I declare I pelief your own was the elder brother, and my
heid still sings with it. And I declare if I had kent what way it

wass, I would not put a hand to such a piece of pusiness."
"That is handsomely said," I replied, "and I am sure you will not stand

up a second time to be the actor for my private enemies."
"Indeed, no, Palfour," said he; "and I think I was used extremely

suffeeciently myself to be set up to fecht with an auld wife, or all
the same as a bairn whateffer! And I will tell the Master so, and

fecht him, by Cot, himself!"
"And if you knew the nature of Mr. Simon's quarrel with me," said I,

"you would be yet the more affronted to be mingled up with such
affairs."

He swore he could well believe it; that all the Lovats were made of the
same meal and the devil was the miller that ground that; then suddenly

shaking me by the hand, he vowed I was a pretty enough fellow after
all, that it was a thousand pities I had been neglected, and that if he

could find the time, he would give an eye himself to have me educated.
"You can do me a better service than even what you propose," said I;

and when he had asked its nature - "Come with me to the house of one of
my enemies, and testify how I have carried myself this day," I told

him. "That will be the true service. For though he has sent me a
gallant adversary for the first, the thought in Mr. Simon's mind is

merely murder. There will be a second and then a third; and by what
you have seen of my cleverness with the cold steel, you can judge for

yourself what is like to be the upshot."
"And I would not like it myself, if I was no more of a man than what

you wass!" he cried. "But I will do you right, Palfour. Lead on!"
If I had walked slowly on the way into that accursed park my heels were

light enough on the way out. They kept time to a very good old air,
that is as ancient as the Bible, and the words of it are: "SURELY THE

BITTERNESS OF DEATH IS PASSED." I mind that I was extremely thirsty,
and had a drink at Saint Margaret's well on the road down, and the

sweetness of that water passed belief. We went through the sanctuary,
up the Canongate, in by the Netherbow, and straight to Prestongrange's

door, talking as we came and arranging the details of our affair. The
footman owned his master was at home, but declared him engaged with

other gentlemen on very private business, and his door forbidden.
"My business is but for three minutes, and it cannot wait," said I.

"You may say it is by no means private, and I shall be even glad to
have some witnesses."

As the man departed unwillingly enough upon this errand, we made so
bold as to follow him to the ante-chamber, whence I could hear for a

while the murmuring of several voices in the room within. The truth
is, they were three at the one table - Prestongrange, Simon Fraser, and

Mr. Erskine, Sheriff of Perth; and as they were met in consultation on
the very business of the Appin murder, they were a little disturbed at

my appearance, but decided to receive me.
"Well, well, Mr. Balfour, and what brings you here again? and who is

this you bring with you?" says Prestongrange.
As for Fraser, he looked before him on the table.

"He is here to bear a little testimony in my favour, my lord, which I
think it very needful you should hear," said I, and turned to

Duncansby.
"I have only to say this," said the lieutenant, "that I stood up this

day with Palfour in the Hunter's Pog, which I am now fery sorry for,
and he behaved himself as pretty as a shentlemans could ask it. And I

have creat respects for Palfour," he added.
"I thank you for your honest expressions," said I.

Whereupon Duncansby made his bow to the company, and left the chamber,
as we had agreed upon before.

"What have I to do with this?" says Prestongrange.
"I will tell your lordship in two words," said I. "I have brought this

gentleman, a King's officer, to do me so much justice. Now I think my
character in covered, and until a certain date, which your lordship can

very well supply, it will be quite in vain to despatch against me any
more officers. I will not consent to fight my way through the garrison

of the castle."
The veins swelled on Prestongrange's brow, and he regarded me with

fury.
"I think the devil uncoupled this dog of a lad between my legs!" he

cried; and then, turning fiercely on his neighbour, "This is some of
your work, Simon," he said. "I spy your hand in the business, and, let

me tell you, I resent it. It is disloyal, when we are agreed upon one
expedient, to follow another in the dark. You are disloyal to me.