"Tell me what has happened?" I exclaimed. "Who is this man?" "As far," said he, "as I can mak’ oot by the licht o’ these twa tallow candles, he is the Rev. Mr. Corsane, the ousted minister o’ Minniehive. I canna exactly tell what happened afore I cam’ into the cave, but juist as your feet were disappearing into the hole, they began to dance in the air, remindin’ me o’ the cantrips I ha’e seen a man perform when the hangman had him in haun’. I was at a sair loss to ken what ye micht be daein’, and I was mair puzzled still when, just inside the cave, I heard a terrible struggling. Hooever, as ye weel ken, I’m nae coward, so in I crawled, wi’ my auld frien’ ’Trusty’ in my kneive. Though it was awfu’ dark, I could mak’ oot twa men strugglin’. Ane o’ them was astride the other and I judged that you were the nethermost. I shouted, the man that had you by the throat let ye go and flung himsel’ on me. I caught him a dunt wi’ the point o’ my elbow juist ower his breist-bane. He reeled back, but when he got his breath he rushed at me again. By this time my e’en were better used to the darkness, so I up wi’ ’Trusty’ and gi’ed him a clout on the side o’ the heid, and here he lies. Then I lichted the candles I had brocht wi’ me, and found that he had gey near throttled you deid. By the look o’ him I jaloused that he was the Rev. Mr. Corsane, and then the whole thing was plain to me. Maist likely he has been hidin’ in this cave--a cave weel kent by the Covenanters--so when you cam’ crawlin’ in withoot word said or signal given, he maun ha’e thocht it was ane o’ the dragoons and like a brave man he made up his mind to sell his life dearly. That’s the story so far as I can mak’ it oot and I ha’e nae doot it’s the true ane. "But I wish ye would lay your hand ower his heart and tell me I haena killed him, for I wouldna’ like to ha’e the death o’ sic a godly man on my conscience." I did as I was requested and I was able to reassure the packman that the man’s heart was beating regularly and strongly, although somewhat slowly. "Thank God," he said fervently. "I’ll see what my salve will dae for him," and he opened a pot of his ointment and proceeded to rub it gently into the lump which his stick had raised upon the minister’s temple. The effect, however, was far from being immediate. The minister lay with lips half parted and eyes half open, breathing heavily, without signs of returning consciousness. Hector began to show signs of alarm. "If," he said, "this was only a dragoon I wouldna worry: but this is a minister, a different breed o’ man a’ thegither. A clout that would dae nae mair than gie a dragoon a sair heid micht kill a minister. He maun be in a bad way if my salve winna revive him."