'It's naething o' the kind, sir!' she cried; 'Mister Brown's as sound as a bell on a' p'ints o' doctrine, an' nane has ever ventured to say the contrar. It's a daftlike story o' ill livin' 'at they're wantin' to pruive on him, an' they canna do 't, an' sae they hae come here til himsel', to gar him confess an' save mair fash. I hae heard my granny tellin' the gate they gaed to wark wi' the wutches lang syne, hoo they garred them confess whether they wad or no, an' I'm thinkin' gin they daured, they'd be for tryin' sic like on him. Drobbin' him wi' prins, an' what no. But it's a terrible daftlike haver, an I'm thinkin', sir, ye'll hae heard tell o't afore noo.' Captain Drysdale had not heard of it, but Eppie very speedily made him acquainted with the whole story, while Mary and the baby were out looking at his horse tethered to a post hard by. Kenneth's entrance brought composure alike to Roderick and the Laird, both from necessitating more self-control, and also from the satisfaction of seeing that not quite all the world had turned their backs on him. Roderick could not speak above a whisper, but the Laird gave a very full account of the late visitation. 'There is one point, Captain Drysdale,' he added after a lengthy narrative, 'on which you may be able to throw light. One of the points they made against him was that this story of his exploits had originally come from Inchbracken.' 'I cannot imagine how that could be. Ah!' he added after a pause, 'it must be one of my uncle's heavy jokes! I do remember, now I think of it, his telling us how he had met Roderick carrying home a baby, and the clumsy joke he made over it. You know my uncle is a very good fellow, but he can scarcely be called a wit, though he would vastly like to be thought one, and when by any chance he has struck out some little smartness he _will_ repeat it till every one for ten miles round has heard it. I remember it perfectly now, and Tibbie Tirpie's name got into the conversation about that same time somehow, and so the servants combined the two. Oh, Rod! He will be so awfully sorry. But this poor little baby who has been the innocent cause of all the annoyance. Such a pretty little thing it is too! How did you come by it?' Roderick was lying on the bed, calmer now, and soothed by the friendly sympathy of his two friends, but his voice was weak and the pain in his side made speaking irksome. He looked to Mary, and she repeated to Kenneth the story of the shipwreck and the finding of the baby. 'And what was the name of the ship?' asked Kenneth; 'was that ever discovered? To know it would be the first step towards finding out who the child belongs to, and after all the annoyance it has brought, you would no doubt be glad to restore it to its lawful guardians.'