CHAPTER XXVII

EPILOGUE

JAMES LOGIE stood at the window of a house in a Dutch town. The pollarded beech, whose boughs were trimmed in a close screen before the walls, had shed its golden leaves and the canal waters were grey under a cloudy sky. The long room was rather dark, and was growing darker. By the chair that he had left lay a yellow cur.

He had been standing for some minutes reading a letter by the fading light, and his back was towards the man who had brought it. The latter stood watching him, stiff and tall, an object of suspicion to the dog.

As he came to the end, the hand that held the paper went down to James's side. The silence in the room was unbroken for a space. When he turned, Callandar saw his powerful shoulders against the dusk and the jealous shadows of the beech-tree's mutilated arms.

"I can never thank you enough for bringing me this," said Logie. "My debt to you is immeasurable."

"I did it for him--not for you."

Callandar spoke coldly, almost with antagonism.

"I can understand that," said James.

But something in his voice struck the other. Though he had moved as if to leave him, he stopped, and going over to the window, drew a playing-card from a pocket in his long coat.

"Look," he said, holding out the ace scrawled with the picture of the sentry.

James took it, and as he looked at it, his crooked lip was set stiffly, lest it should tremble.

"It was in his tent when I went back there--afterwards," said Callandar.

He took the card back, and put it in his pocket.

"Then it was you----" began James.

"He was my prisoner, sir."

James walked away again and stood at the window.

Callandar waited, silent.

"I must wish you a good-day, Captain Logie," he said at last, "I have to leave Holland to-night."

James followed him down the staircase, and they parted at the outer door. Callandar went away along the street, and James came back slowly up the steep stairs, his hand on the railing of the carved banisters. He could scarcely see his way.

The yellow dog came to meet him when he entered his room, and as his master, still holding the letter, carried it again to the light, he followed. Half-way across the floor he turned to sniff at an old Kilmarnock bonnet that lay by the wainscot near the corner in which he slept.

He put his nose against it, and then looked at Logie. Trust was in his eyes and affection; but there was inquiry, too.

"My poor lad," said James, "we both remember."

THE END

__________ BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD

Transcriber's Note

This transcription is based on images posted by the HathiTrust Digital Library from a copy made available by the New York Public Library and digitized by Google:

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100614266

The following changes were made to the printed text:

-- No attempt was made to reproduce the convention of using opening quotation marks along the left margin when quoting a letter. See pp. 31-35, p. 107, and pp. 341-43.

-- p. 14: by the abrupt departure of his accuser,--Changed the comma after "accuser" to a period.

-- p. 22: Where is your postillion?--Changed "postillion" to "postilion" for consistency.

-- p. 32: But I am telling you only effects whenyou are wanting causes.--Changed "whenyou" to "when you".

-- p. 40: The author's note defining "Tod," originally at the bottom of the page, has been moved to the end of the chapter in the html-based versions of this transcription or placed in square brackets next to the word in the text version.

-- p. 52: The wall which bounded the great Balnillo grassparks--Changed "grassparks" to "grass-parks" for consistency.

-- p. 60: who had been inces santly absent--Changed "inces santly", which was split between lines without a hyphen, to "incessantly".

-- p. 94: for his throat had grown thick--Added a period after "thick".

-- p. 97: I left the Scots' Brigade--Deleted the apostrophe after "Scots" for consistency.

-- p. 104: the gallant background of the Scots' Brigade--Deleted the apostrophe after "Scots" for consistency.

-- p. 104: the grave at Bergen op Zoom--Changed "Bergen op Zoom" to "Bergen-op-Zoom" for consistency.

-- p. 145: I will give you the details of my report quickly.--Added a closing quotation mark after "quickly."

-- p. 157: that overlooked the mass of shiping opposite Ferryden.--Changed "shiping" to "shipping".

-- p. 175: was grapling with him so that he could not get his arm free--Changed "grapling" to "grappling".

-- p. 190: The women were ruuning out of their houses too.--Changed "ruuning" to "running".

-- p. 191: "There's fechtin!" . . . "Fechtin?" . . . "Ay, there's fechtin . . ."--Added an apostrophe after "fechtin" for consistency.

-- p. 195: would make him no safer from Lord Balnillno.--Changed "Balnillno" to "Balnillo".

-- p. 215: The author's notes defining "kyte" and "kaipit," originally at the bottom of the page, have been moved to the end of the chapter in the html-based versions of this transcription or placed in square brackets next to the word in the text version.

-- p. 215: a' tell 't Maister Flemington the road to Aberbrothock.--Deleted the space before the apostrophe in "tell 't" for consistency.

-- p. 215: he tell 't me.--Deleted the space before the apostrophe in "tell 't" for consistency.

-- p. 216: A' tell 't him wha 'd get him a passage to Leith--Deleted the space before the apostrophe in "tell 't" for consistency.

-- p. 229: to begin the seaach for Flemington.--Changed "seaach" to "search".

-- p. 231: another smaller appartment could be--Changed "appartment" to "apartment".

-- p. 272: partial cultivation down to the Basin of Montrose--Added a period after "Montrose".

-- p. 280: He had just began the ascent--Changed "began" to "begun".

-- p. 286: a've tell 't ye afore an' a'm telling ye again--Deleted the space before the apostrophe in "tell 't" for consistency.

-- p. 288: on whicht he party had bivouacked--Changed "whicht he" to "which the".

-- p. 291: he gave himt he slip of paper--Changed "himt he" to "him the".

-- p. 297: what a heart there is the poor brute!--Inserted the word "in" between "is" and "the".

-- p. 311: Callander listened, the lines of his long face set.--Changed "Callander" to "Callandar" for consistency.

-- p. 311: You see, Callander, I have been true to nobody.--Changed "Callander" to "Callandar" for consistency.

-- p. 325: the Duke of Cumberlaid is still in Edinburgh.--Changed "Cumberlaid" to "Cumberland".

-- p. 327: he could see the dirty roofs of the Cannongate--Changed "Cannongate" to "Canongate".

-- p. 336: it was to be Calandar's voice--Changed "Calandar's" to "Callandar's".

-- p. 342: but you believed it, and would have helped me?--Changed the question mark at the end of the sentence to a period.

-- p. 347: Callandar spoke coldly, almost with antagonism--Added a period at the end of the sentence.

Spellings deemed to be variants (e.g., "carring" and "East Nauk") were retained.