"And what about the kiss of Judas, dominie, when on such matters?" continued the sneering Cosmo. "That I leave you, sir, to discover; but that there may be nothing wrong in the act itself, I can refer you to Genesis, Hosea, and all the sacred writings, which abound in solemn salutes by the lip, so that the kiss of Quentin may have been a pure and sinless one." The dominie gave the fore-cock of his hat a twist with his hand, as if he had settled the matter, while Lord Rohallion, notwithstanding his annoyance, could not but join his son in a hearty laugh at the serious earnestness of the defence. "You will have a vigorous search made for Quentin Kennedy," said he; "despatch messengers in every direction, John Girvan; spare neither trouble nor money, but bring the young rogue back to us." "That shall I do blithely, my lord," replied the quartermaster, as he and the dominie made their bows and retired, while Cosmo curled his thin lips; and after a pause, uttered one of his harsh and unpleasant mocking laughs. "The Master has the eyebrows of a wicked man, or I am no physiognomist--grieved am I to say so, dominie," whispered Girvan, as they walked away together. "Ye are right, John, the _intercilium_ is covered with hair, whilk I like not, though Petronius and Ovid call such eyebrows the chief charm of the other sex; "'Ye fill by art your eyebrows' vacant space,' saith the latter. It is an auld--auld notion that beetle-brows indicate an evil temper--a crafty and fierce spirit; and of a verity, the Master Cosmo hath both." "Who the deuce could have anticipated such a blow-up as this?" "About a woman! Pah! women," said the dominie, cynically, "according to a German philosopher, are only like works carved of fine ivory: nothing is whiter or smoother, and nothing sooner turns _yellow_." "Are ye sure he was not a Roman philosopher?" asked the quartermaster, drily. "I am: yet Petronius and Ovid both say----" "Bother them both, dominie! leave Greek roots and Latin verbs alone, _now_ that the poor boy is gone--God bless and watch over him! I know he'll ever have a warm corner in his heart for us both, and that, go wherever he may, he'll neither forget you nor the poor old quartermaster; but now to have a glass of grog, and then to set about this search that my lord has ordered--a search which I know right well will prove a bootless one." A vigorous pursuit and inquiry along all the highways were now instituted. Girvan, the dominie, the gardener, gamekeepers, grooms, Jack Andrews, Irvin the fisherman, the running footman, the parish minister on his puffy Galloway cob, and even Spillsby, the portly and unwieldy butler, were all despatched in various directions to the neighbouring farms, mansion sand villages, without avail.