Violet Jacob > Flemington

THE PARTING OF THE WAYS 269
the Jacobites, which were every whit as great as
those of his friend.
Lord Balnillo was a puzzle to the intelligence
department. His name had gone in to head¬
quarters as that of a strongly suspected rebel;
he was James’s brother; yet, while Archie had
included him in the report he had entrusted to
the beggar, he had been able to say little that was
definite about him. The very definite information
he had given about James and Ferrier, the details
of his pursuit of the two men and his warning of
the attack on the Venture, had mattered more to
the authorities than the politics of the peaceable
old judge, and Balnillo’s subsequent conduct had
been so little in accordance with that of his
brother that he was felt to be a source of small
danger. He had been no great power on the
bench, where his character was so easy that
prisoners were known to think themselves lucky
in appearing before him. No one could quite
account for his success in the law, and the
mention of his name in the legal circles of
Edinburgh raised nothing worse than a smile.
He had taken no part in the rejoicing that fol¬
lowed James’s feat at Montrose, but had taken the
opportunity of leaving the neighbourhood, and
during his long stay in Edinburgh he had fre¬
quented Whig houses and had been the satellite
of a conspicuous Whig lady, one who had been
received by Cumberland with some distinction,
the grandmother of the man who had denounced
Logie. The authorities decided to leave him alone.