"I will take oath, sir; I will pledge my word as an officer and a gentleman that I was not in company with any young man during the whole day, save such chance companionship as was thrust upon me by the inn-keeper at Musselburgh, the men from whom I bought horses, and so on," I protested warmly. General Ramesay of his kindness here did me a good turn. "I have known Sir Hugh Richmond these many years, my lord," he said to the Chief Justice; "we have served together and I would stake my life upon his honour." "I have heard the testimony of many men," said Sir Alexander. "I think I am as able to tell when a man is speaking the truth as any judge in all Scotland. I beg to assure you, General Ramesay, and you, Sir Hugh Richmond, that I not only believe but know that you are speaking truthfully, for the man who held you up on the highway, with whom you rode to Musselburgh, with whom you entered the city, was a woman. What is her name?" If a bombshell had exploded at my feet, I could not have been more amazed. "That," I said at last, with such firmness as I could muster, "I decline to state." "Sir Hugh Richmond," continued the old man, pointing his finger at me, "I rather like your bearing and appearance. I have no doubt what you say is, in the main, true; that you were robbed on the highway by a woman." He laughed grimly, and, while I was willing to be robbed by her ladyship, I could have killed him for the mocking sneer in his voice. It is one thing to be robbed by the woman you love; it is another thing to be twitted about it and have the world throw the fact in your face. But I could do nothing. It was part of the price that I would have to pay for the winning of her ladyship, which had become the chief object of my life, from the moment I held her wounded and senseless in my arms by the brook-side in the wood. "But, sir," continued the Chief Justice, "while I, for one, am rather glad that the warrant hath not reached my hand, for I understand that a petition for pardon, with a full statement of certain circumstances which render it reasonable, is to be presented to the King, yet all this has nothing to do with your conduct. You are constructively guilty of the gravest dereliction of duty and of high treason, and it becomes my duty, sir, to see that you are arrested and tried forthwith. The fact that you have done this halfway under compulsion, and halfway out of foolish regard for a petticoat, or that which should have worn one I would better say, may mitigate your offence in the eyes of frail mankind, but the law takes no cognisance of that. I think, however, that I may promise you clemency and my interest with His Majesty, which is not small, as well, if you will disclose to me the name of your accomplice, the woman in question." "That, sir," said I, bowing to the old man, "is the one thing which as a gentleman, if not as a justice, you will perceive that I can by no means declare."