I. A BEGGAR ON HORSEBACK II. THE HIGHLAND WRITER III. I GO TO PILRIG IV. LORD ADVOCATE PRESTONGRANGE V. IN THE ADVOCATE'S HOUSE VI. UMQHILE THE MASTER OF LOVAT VII. I MAKE A FAULT IN HONOUR VIII. THE BRAVO IX. THE HEATHER ON FIRE X. THE RED-HEADED MAN XI. THE WOOD BY SILVERMILLS XII. ON THE MARCH AGAIN WITH ALAN XIII. GILLANE SANDS XIV. THE BASS XV. BLACK ANDIE'S TALE OF TOD LAPRAIK XVI. THE MISSING WITNESS XVII. THE MEMORIAL XVIII. THE TEE'D BALL XIX. I AM MUCH IN THE HANDS OF THE LADIES XX. I CONTINUE TO MOVE IN GOOD SOCIETY Part II _FATHER AND DAUGHTER_ XXI. THE VOYAGE INTO HOLLAND XXII. HELVOETSLUYS XXIII. TRAVELS IN HOLLAND XXIV. FULL STORY OF A COPY OF HEINECCIUS XXV. THE RETURN OF JAMES MORE XXVI. THE THREESOME XXVII. A TWOSOME XXVIII. IN WHICH I AM LEFT ALONE XXIX. WE MEET IN DUNKIRK XXX. THE LETTER FROM THE SHIP XXXI. CONCLUSION * * * * * PART I THE LORD ADVOCATE * * * * * CHAPTER I A BEGGAR ON HORSEBACK The 25th day of August, 1751, about two in the afternoon, I, David Balfour, came forth of the British Linen Company, a porter attending me with a bag of money, and some of the chief of these merchants bowing me from their doors. Two days before, and even so late as yestermorning, I was like a beggarman by the wayside, clad in rags, brought down to my last shillings, my companion a condemned traitor, a price set on my own head for a crime with the news of which the country rang. To-day I was served heir to my position in life, a landed laird, a bank porter by me carrying my gold, recommendations in my pocket, and (in the words of the saying) the ball directly at my foot. There were two circumstances that served me as ballast to so much sail. The first was the very difficult and deadly business I had still to handle; the second, the place that I was in. The tall, black city, and the numbers and movement and noise of so many folk, made a new world for me, after the moorland braes, the sea-sands, and the still country-sides that I had frequented up to then. The throng of the citizens in particular abashed me. Rankeillor's son was short and small in the girth; his clothes scarce held on me; and it was plain I was ill qualified to strut in the front of a bank-porter. It was plain, if I did so, I should but set folk laughing, and (what was worse in my case) set them asking questions. So that I behooved to come by some clothes of my own, and in the meanwhile to walk by the porter's side, and put my hand on his arm as though we were a pair of friends.